Many Texas Standard listeners are thankful for the “Stories from Texas” brought to us by our regular commentator WF Strong. Today’s story is a little different — he explains why.
Episodes
August 13, 2025
The start of the school year means it’s the end of summer travel season for many families. As Texans well know, depending on where you live in the state, it can take longer to travel out of it than to cross several state lines beyond our borders. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong reflects on coming […]
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July 16, 2025
There are a few symbols so deeply woven into the fabric of Texas that they seem as native as mesquite or bluebonnets. One of them is the Stetson hat. Not just any Stetson hat – the Boss of the Plains. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong says that oddly enough, it didn’t come from Texas at […]
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July 2, 2025
Creative smuggling when Texas was a republic
If there’s one thing the Texans of the early republic never lacked, it was imagination – especially when it came to dodging tariffs and taxes. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong explains.
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May 21, 2025
Back in frontier times, it was the most deeply feared moon in Texas and northern Mexico.
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April 23, 2025
New York aids Texas Revolution
This bit of history really does seem too strange to be true. It involves the family of John Wilkes Booth, the son of Abraham Lincoln, and Sam Houston.
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April 2, 2025
Growing up in Texas, WF Strong found that whistling played a important role in his life. But there are many ways to whistle. He explores a few of them.
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March 12, 2025
If you examine any good map of Texas, you’ll notice a natural division of East and West Texas that runs from the eastern side of the Panhandle down to Abilene and San Angelo and on past Uvalde to Carrizo Springs and Laredo. To the west side of that line is arid and to the east […]
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January 29, 2025
John Steinbeck (and Charley) on Texas
Steinbeck’s comments about Texas and Texans go well beyond his “Texas is a state of mind” quote. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong explores.
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