A bill that would restrict abortions and likely prompt a test of Roe vs. Wade is now on the fast track in the Texas legislature. Andrea Zelinsky of Texas monthly joins us with details of a fetal heartbeat bill picking up momentum in the Texas legislature. Also Lauren McGaughy of the Dallas Morning News with more hot water for the state’s attorney general. Plus a drop in people seeking vaccinations in west Texas. What comes next? We’ll explore. And a central Texas mother and her daughter on their options should a new bill pass defining gender affirming treatments as child abuse. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
abortion
Texas Standard: May 3, 2021
Mayoral contests in San Antonio and Fort Worth, a public camping ban in Austin and much more on the May first ballot. We’ll have more on some closely watched ballot propositions including voter approval of an ordinance in Lubbock that would ban abortions in that city. A move that’s almost certain to face a legal challenge. Plus, the great American road trip: running on fumes by the summer? Why some fear there could be gasoline shortages at the pumps. And at one of Texas’ top vacation destinations, detour signs as firefighters battle flames in Big Bend. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 30, 2021
Where’d the 11 billion go? Now there’s a plan for federal pandemic aid money for Texas public schools. Emily Donaldson of the Dallas Morning News education lab on how badly needed federal aid will be distributed to Texas public schools. Also it’s election day tomorrow and one of the most talked about ballot measures in the state will be decided in Lubbock. How that city found itself at the center of the debate over abortion restrictions. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 29, 2021
From guns to immigration, green jobs and more, an historic speech by President Biden with big implications for Texas and the nation. Todd Gillman of the Dallas Morning News with more on the President’s speech to congress. Also a supreme court case on how far public schools can go in trying to control off-campus speech by students. And the outgoing mayor of Fort Worth on policing, the pandemic, and changes to the city she’s governed for the past decade. Plus upsetting the Apple cart: facebook pushing back big time over a new feature on iPhones. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 18, 2021
Bottlenecks creating a backup of detentions of young people crossing the border without documentation. We’ll have the latest on what’s needed as concerns grow over the detentions of young migrants. Also a wave of bills to restrict abortion rights in Texas taken up this week by the Texas legislature, abortion opponents seeing opportunity in recent changes to the supreme court. And a red hot real estate market in parts of Texas rivaling what we’ve seen in places like California. Demand up, supply down. Are more Texans getting priced out of homeownership for the long haul? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 3, 2021
New executive orders on asylum seekers and family separation policies at the border get a lukewarm reception from advocates for change. President Biden orders an official review of the remain in Mexico policies. Some are asking why not just change the policy? Also COVID-19 and the double squeeze on nonprofits. More demand for their services, but less money to provide those services… We’ll explore. And the governor’s call for legislation to further restrict abortion access in Texas. Are republican lawmakers hoping for a fight in the high court? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 19, 2020
As a new wave of COVID-19 cases sweeps across the state, a strikingly different response from Governor Abbott compared to the last statewide surge. We’ll hear what health experts are saying. Also, more on an emergency treatment approved by the FDA. And as those cases rise, a test of faith for some Catholics called back to the pews. And a forthcoming vote on a new sex education curriculum Texas LGBTQ advocates say falls far short. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 3, 2020
Bloomberg delivers a surprise in Texas. We’ll look at why the former New York mayor and billionaire is scoring so highly in a new survey. Also, Texans don’t often express an interest in doing things like they do it in California, but firefighters in central Texas are eager to make an exception right now: we’ll hear why. And amid record setting violence in Mexico, reasons for optimism? A security expert in Mexico city says yes. Plus a super bowl win for Texas last night? Maybe more than many in the Lone Star state realize. All those stories and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 31, 2020
The wind-down and the takeaways: what if anything has been learned from the impeachment drama on capitol hill? We’ll explore. Other stories were covering, a new database of Catholic priests said to be credibly accused of child abuse, how credible is it that the list is complete? And the end of an era? Two families trying to keep a once robust wool industry in Texas spinning. Plus the week in Texas politics and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 20, 2020
The star of the show or a bit player? What’s likely to be a major role for a former heard of Baylor university in the upcoming impeachment trial, we’ll have details. Also, the proliferation of so called sanctuary cities for the unborn across Texas. And temperatures plummet across Texas… are natural gas bills skyrocket? Not so much! What’s keeping the cap on heating. Plus, Texas public colleges and universities getting graded on how well they help first generation, low income students. Who makes the grade and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 3, 2019
One sentence handed down. Many different reactions to it. We’ll look at the fallout from the trial of a former Dallas police officer convicted of murder. Also, court proceedings for the El Paso shooter will soon begin. So how should media outlets provide news without feeding into a narrative that could spark copycats? We’ll have two perspectives. Plus, evidence in University of Texas at Austin archives that the school was purposefully slow to move towards racial integration. And the mayor of the Texas Capital City joins us to react to a letter he just got from Texas Governor Greg Abbott. All of those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 15, 2019
A potential challenge to Rowe vs. Wade by Alabama lawmakers as a federal appeals court hears a Texas case that could sharply curb abortion access, we’ll have the latest. Also thousands of fish, crabs and other sea life wash up dead along Galveston bay. Oystering there is closed until further notice. A clampdown on seafood safety on the Texas gulf after a chemical spill, we’ll have details. And the return of the so-called education degree in Texas. Plus, has Texas removed more Confederate monuments than any other state? A politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 15, 2019
Texas is now flaring off enough natural gas to power all of households in the Lone Star State. Can anything be done to harness the energy? We’ll take a look. Also, the Texas legislature is stuck: once again stalled on some key issues. Time to prepare for a special session, Ross Ramsey doesn’t seem too worried. We’ll ask with the co-founder of the Texas Tribune why not. And after several decades, the University of North Texas solves the case of the missing Hobbit… first edition, that is. Plus the battle of San Jacinto that wasn’t, at least not this year. That and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 8, 2019
After weeks without wedge issues in the legislative session, two GOP lawmakers say Texas cannot remain silent on the issue of late-term abortions. In the wake of fights in Virginia and New York, we’ll have more on how the abortion issue could rattle the work on bread and butter matters here in Texas. Also, former CBS newsman Dan Rather tells us about a story he thinks is as big as the development of the atomic bomb, and his concerns we’re not talking about it. Plus the week in Texas politics and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 6, 2018
A federal judge struck down another Texas abortion law. We’ll take a look at what this ruling means and what’s next for the ongoing fight. Also- have you been paying attention at all to what’s happening in Venezuela? It’s bad. But what should the U.S. do about it? We’ll get one perspective. Plus Texas is trying address the impacts of denying hundreds of thousands of students special education. Unraveling the challenge. And the next time you go to a live concert your experience could be enhanced by some new technology. We’ll explore. Plus… why you may want to take a trip to Mount Vernon, Texas and what you’re really smelling when you think you smell rain. All that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 9, 2018
The president announces his choice for the Supreme Court -but is it his pick or someone elses? A brief history of high court picks and how tonight fits in- today on the Standard.
The Attorney General spends half a million dollars on expert testimony defending the state’s abortion restrictions. How much bang for the buck? You might be surprised –the Houston Chronicle’s Alejandra Matos joins us.
Help wanted signs dot the oilfields, not enough men to fill the jobs, the push is on for more women. And now something that may make the work a bit for comfortable for those new female roughnecks.
Plus, what a so-called failed school in Houston could teach the rest of Texas.
Texas Standard: June 15, 2018
A huge lawsuit targeting an entire range of abortion restrictions in Texas. An organizer calls it the big fix, the state says it’s going nowhere. The story coming up on the Texas Standard.
Cities across the lone star state have instituted plastic bag bans–are those laws about to be trashed? A whole lot rides on three little words. We’ll hear why–and what they are.
Also, one year after America’s biggest online retailer announced it was purchasing Texas based Whole Foods- what’s happened to the store’s foodie culture? And what changes are happening in the grocery biz?
Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more.
Tomás Q. Morín
Poet Tomás Q. Morín reads his poem “For My Daughter” from his collection Patient Zero, and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about experiencing loss, the power of imagining the unlived life, and the vulnerability it takes to create as a poet and an artist.
Texas Standard: March 7, 2018
Greg Abbott goes one for three, democrats from Houston and Dallas to duke it out for the governors race, and more takeaways from the primaries. And another emerging theme for Texas politics in 2018: the female factor. We’ll explain. Also, the most expensive battle in the Texas primaries goes to the woman. We’ll have the latest on a bitter fight for a state senate post. And Beto O’Rourke gets 60 percent of the democratic vote to set up a November showdown with Ted Cruz, and the nation is watching. Also getting the border wired for the web and a questionable claim about the leading killer of African Americans and much more, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 2, 2017
One small step for a sports franchise, one giant leap for for Harvey Hit Houston. Baseball, we have a world champion. We’ll have the view from their hometown. Plus, they are prescribed to combat some of the toughest diseases out there, but are they really necessary? A new report spells out a kickback scheme: not for patient health, but for under the table profit. And if you can’t get kids to the great outdoors, bring the great outdoors to the kids? A test at a school in East Dallas. And what’s old, outdated and red hot in high tech? With holiday shopping season looming the answer may be serious business, we’ll explore. All that and more today on the Texas Standard: