If you’ve consumed any media with commercials lately you know why the race for U.S. Senate between Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat James Talarico has become so expensive. We’ll dig into the details.
With the election now just weeks away, it’s worth making sure your voter registration is in order. A backlog is affecting a lot of Texans. We’ll walk you through how to fix things.
A school district along the Texas Gulf Coast found a way to keep some of the tax money set to go back to the state — but state lawmakers are now questioning that tactic.
Texas produces a lot of sorghum — and we could all soon be eating more of it.
Plus, Fort Worth rockers the Toadies have a new full-length album — their first in nearly a decade. We sat down with them at an iconic Austin venue.
Agriculture
US Supreme Court issues ruling on birthright citizenship
It’s the last official day of the U.S. Supreme Court’s term. Among the decisions — whether to end birthright citizenship.
Dust from the Saharan Desert traveled thousands of miles to Texas, creating hazy skies and air quality concerns.
Smaller herds mean higher beef prices. Our Michael Marks has the all the details.
The largest virtual school in Texas is closing. What happened to the Lone Star Online Academy?
And the author of “The Chismosas Only Book Club” on friends bonding over books.
All that and more just ahead on the Texas Standard.
Another small peach crop frustrates Hill Country growers
New World screwworm is affecting a part of South Texas currently vacant a member of Congress. Some say that should spur a quick special election.
UT researchers believe they’ve figured out who has been scrambling GPS signals across huge swaths of Europe in recent years. We’ll find out about their discovery and what it might mean.
The World Cup means lots of fans descending upon Texas cities. Environmental scientists will be studying their impact in real-time.
A new film invites all Texans to participate in the ecological recovery of the Guadalupe River after devastating flooding. Filmmaker Ben Masters joins us to talk about “Hope for the Guadalupe.”
And it may be a bit harder to get your hands on a Fredericksburg peach this year. Why that may be a growing trend.
Big Bend border wall plans upend vital park changes
Supreme Court cases on birthright citizenship, gun rights, transgender women and girls in sports… Where do we stand? Constitutional law professor Seth Chandler of the University of Houston Law Center joins us with what cases to watch for and where the high court appears to be leaning as the nine justices wrap up the current term.
More cases of New World screwworm in Texas discovered: How the Lone Star State is scaling up for all-out war on a parasite that could wreck the ranching industry.
And whither the pristine Big Bend amidst controversy over a border wall? A firsthand account.
Camp Mystic faces reopening doubts as flood hearings begin
Texas lawmakers hold the first public hearings on last July’s deadly flooding at Camp Mystic.
Sticker shock at the supermarket: How some Texans are bypassing the meat counter and going straight to the ranch. The Texas Standard’s Michael Marks with more.
How Greg Abbott has reshaped the state’s top executive office.
Texas is hosting 16 World Cup Matches as officials warn of an increase in sex trafficking. What does the data have to say about the connection to major sports events?
And this week in Texas Music History remembers trumpeter Martin Banks and “The Magic of Ju-Ju.”
Why the Spurs owe San Antonio millions after failed MLS bid
Texas Republican Tony Gonzales has begun the process of resigning amid accusations tied to sexual misconduct. What’s next for Texas’ 23rd congressional district?
There’s an annual ritual going on right now on parts of the Texas Gulf Coast. Why conservationists are celebrating the unusual display of the Attwater’s prairie-chicken.
The San Antonio Spurs are headed into the NBA playoffs, but its parent company is facing a challenge. Why Bexar County says it’s owed millions.
The Trump administration had a plan to help farmers hire foreign workers, but many say the idea to lower wages under the visa program is not the way.
Plus, we’ll introduce you to new novelist Rebecca Bendheim, and we’ll explore a bit of lesser-known Texas history.
Corpus Christi water crisis collides with mayor recall effort
As Corpus Christi scrambles to keep from running out of water, a complication arises: A petition to recall Mayor Paulette Guajardo.
After last year’s deadly July 4 Hill Country floods, plans to reopen Camp Mystic are tearing friends apart.
A confusing and chaotic primary in Central Texas’ Williamson County leads election officials to look back to the future.
Plus, how to defend against a parasite moving north from Mexico that could devastate Texas ranches? Researchers testing a new idea to combat the New World screwworm: Virtual fences.
Exploring the global future of Texas-made kimchi
Federal immigration agents have arrived at both of Houston’s airports. What are they doing and has it reduced long TSA lines?
Two North Texas Democrats who were once allies — Rep. Julie Johnson and Rep. Colin Allred — are battling for the nomination for a congressional seat.
Many military dogs are living in sub-standard conditions. We’ll dig into reported problems at kennels at bases, including in San Antonio.
The son of Texas baseball legend Don Baylor tells us why it’s especially meaningful to have an Austin park renamed in his dad’s honor.
Plus, how Texas could fill an international demand for kimchi.
Historic Baptist ledger sheds light on early Texas faith
As gas prices nationwide skyrocket, President Trump announces a massive new Texas-based refinery in Brownsville he claims could spur thousands of new jobs.
Plus, Exxon’s move may signal a tipping point for Texas as a center for business.
Also, a cultural change in the U.S. military leads to growing concerns about reporting of sexual assault and harassment.
And a rare record book gives a glimpse at faith on the frontier and health concerns spark action affecting ranches on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border.
The Texans in the Epstein files
Can Sylvia Garcia, Houston’s only Latina U.S. representative, hang on to her seat? We may know sooner than some realize.
If you were waiting for this fall for the start of election season, wait no more. Early voting in the state’s primaries is set to begin tomorrow. A closer look at a race with huge implications for Texas – and beyond.
Amid concerning reports from the immigration detention center at Dilley, what are conditions really like inside? Ask the children being held there. We’ll talk with a ProPublica reporter who did just that.
Also, the Texans found in the Epstein files.
New exhibit peels back mystique surrounding Daniel Johnston
Major changes at one of the state’s flagship universities, with UT Austin consolidating seven departments focused on ethnic and gender studies into two new ones.
Five years since Winter Storm Uri and a massive blackout that led to investigations and a rethink of how the state manages the power grid. What’s changed? A look back.
The Standard’s Michael Marks on a new pest hitting rice growers at a very bad time.
Hi, how are you? A new exhibit focuses on the life and legacy of the artist Daniel Johnston, who became a Texas cultural icon.
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
‘Witness’ blends music and photography to beckon reflection
A year ago, President Trump began his second term in office with a promise to carry out mass deportations. We’ll have a view from the border on today’s Texas Standard.
Is the state funding private schools that discriminate?
An update on a lawsuit challenging the heartbeat abortion law in Texas.
Plus, award-winning photojournalist and musician Tamir Kalifa combines his talents to document the Uvalde school shooting and other events in a new project titled “Witness.”
Tiny Texas town’s library could be adult education template
Houston, Fort Worth… Now three more Texas school districts are expected to be taken over by state education officials. Where, why and what comes next?
The son of Texas A&M’s campus rabbi is among those critically injured in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia.
Mexican citizens who routinely cross into the U.S. at Texas’ southern border to donate plasma may be taking advantage of an immigration loophole.
And our own Sarah Asch tells us why a library in a tiny Texas town may be a template for preserving adult education programs nationwide.
Trans students push back as university policies shift
Political musical chairs is underway in Texas on deadline day for candidates to file for the midterm elections. We’ll explore where we stand and what it means today.
Mandatory course reviews and changes to policies at universities have faculty warning of dire threats to academic freedom, especially when it comes to teaching hot-button topics – like transgender identity. Kaye Knoll with that story.
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds… What about snacking on cottonseeds? The A&M researcher betting on making them edible.
Also, this week in Texas music history looks at Austin’s jaded teens who get turned on to the new sounds of the ’60s as The 13th Floor Elevators take the stage.
Austin City Council works to finalize budget after Prop Q failure
Austin City Council members are working to finalize a city budget – and they’ll have to find ways to trim after voters resoundingly rejected a proposed tax rate increase that would’ve generated more than $100 million.
The Austin Independent School District will vote this week on shuttering campuses and reassigning some students to different schools after releasing its final version of the plan last week. We have more about what’s changed and what’s the same.
Camp Mystic faces lawsuits over deadly flood
A few Democrats join Republicans in an effort to end the federal shutdown. We’ll have details.
Families of girls killed in the July 4 Hill Country flood sue Camp Mystic.
Car-dominant Texas needs more public transit to meet future needs. So says a new report from TxDOT.
And on this Veteran’s Day, the Voces Oral History Center pays homage to a helicopter pilot who served in Vietnam.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
New exhibit captures the meaning of ‘The Selena Effect’
A new report from the Wall Street Journal raises questions about how a prominent Texas Republican got rich as a politician. The report puts the personal finances of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the spotlight, though his supporters are calling it a hit piece. We’ll talk with one of the reporters behind the story.
A football rivalry like few others, only this year the stakes seem especially high for the Texas Longhorns as they take on Oklahoma.
What is the “Selena Effect”? A new exhibit at Texas State’s Wittliff Collections explores what is behind the enduring impact of a Tejano superstar.
Also, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry from the Typewriter Rodeo.
Texas taps vendor for school voucher rollout
A billion-dollar school voucher program is coming to Texas, but the company running it is based in New York. What that means for families.
A Texas father convicted of killing his daughter faces execution in less than two weeks, but new evidence is raising serious doubts in the case of Robert Roberson.
New World screwworms: The parasite that once devastated Texas ranches is back. We’ll hear from Ag Commissioner Sid Miller on what the state is doing to prepare.
And Austin veteran Greg Stoker is back home after being detained by Israeli forces while trying to deliver aid to Gaza. We’ll learn why he went and what happened.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
Study finds no evidence of serial killer on Austin’s Rainey Street
The Supreme Court allows ICE to round up people based on factors like appearance, at least for now.
The attorneys general of New York and Texas face off over mail-order abortion pills crossing state lines.
For years, rumors have circulated online about a serial killer targeting Rainey Street in Austin. A new study finds no such threat.
The personal toll for people with chronic conditions who don’t have insurance.
Photographer Pat Blashill captures the scene of Texas punk rock on the ’70s and ’80s in his new pictorial oral history, “Someday All the Adults Will Die!”
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
What to know after black bear sightings in East Texas
As the dust settles on this year’s legislative action at the Capitol, where do the two main parties stand?
If you buy beef, you may have noticed that it’s gotten more expensive lately. Michael Marks has the story, and whether there are any signs of relief.
For several years, black bears have gradually spread throughout the Trans-Pecos region. But recently, bear sightings in East Texas have earned headlines, too
What does “BU” mean to you? The latest on a trademark battle between Boston and Baylor.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org