One year after an attack on a synagogue in north Texas: an appeal to fellow Texans to step up the fight against antisemitism. We’ll have details. Other stories we’re tracking: with a record surplus, a legislative wishlist from leaders of higher ed in Texas. And which comes first, chicken or eggs? Inflation forcing some tough choices for many Texans as grocery prices scramble home budgets. Also dry January? Or just drier than usual? Some considerations for those resolving to abstain from alcohol in the new year. And a post apocalyptic video game transformed into a TV series. Actor Gabriel Luna on the show’s ties to Texas as well as his own plus much more today on the Texas Standard:
alcohol
Texas Standard: November 2, 2022
What exactly happened during law enforcement’s response to the school shooting in Uvalde? We’ll look at what newly obtained recordings reveal. More than 5 months after the Uvalde school shooting, the Texas Tribune and Propublica obtain 911 calls and communications between police and dispatchers showing the scale of miscommunication in law enforcement’s response. Also with just 6 days til midterms, how Harris county has become ground zero over concerns about election monitors. And in a state that is mostly wet when it comes to alcohol, booze back on the ballot in some parts. The how, the why and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 15, 2020
No other state has shown as many cracks in its system of counting COVID-19 cases as Texas. Now the numbers are set to shift again. Why is Texas having such trouble with Coronavirus case counts? Edgar Walters of the Texas Tribune has the latest. Also, a plan for affordable housing gets slammed as a tax windfall for developers, we’ll hear why. And an indigenous tribe pushes the University of Texas to hand over Native American remains. Plus the ultimate how to book for those ready to leave it all behind: How to Astronaut. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 28, 2019
The Texas Legislature has recently taken up charges focused on mental health. Can those priorities maintain momentum into the next session? We’ll explore. Plus, mental health has been used in the same sentence a lot lately as mass violence. We’ll break down that connection. And as loved ones gather this holiday, one discussion point might be family history. Digging deep into what that means for one Texas family. Also, don’t ask don’t tell: it seems that’s still largely the policy when it comes to mental health at work. We’ll look at how to change that. All of those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 7, 2019
Crisis on the border? Depends on who you ask. We’ll check in with McAllen’s Mayor to find out what he’s seeing and what he’d tell President Trump. Also, Texas’s largest school district gets some harsh attention from the Governor. How we got to this point and what’s next. And it’s game day. The college football national championships will bring in big money for the coaches and schools. How should players benefit? Plus the telenovela bridges country lines and generations. We’ll explore the cultural phenomenon. And space exploration in 2019 could definitely be out of this world. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Addiction Recovery
This Typewriter Rodeo poem came about as a request by Texas Standard listener Vicki.
Texas Standard: April 17, 2018
The Commander is Chief wields a lot of power over U-S military action, but where do those powers begin and end? We’ll explore. Also, it’s been almost 10 years since Hurricane Ike devastated Galveston. But the city still hasn’t rebuilt much of the housing many depend on. And it’s been exactly 5 years since a fire and explosion at a Central Texas fertilizer plant killed 15 people and destroyed a large part of a small city. What’s been done to prevent another catastrophe like West, Texas? Also, Pulitzer prize-winning author Lawrence Wright’s new book hits shelves today. “God Save Texas” is all about the state he calls home, including what he describes as AM and FM Texas. Plus we’ll hear the argument for why it seems Texas lawmakers could have been drunk when writing the liquor laws. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 9, 2018
A budget deal reached, but it took a while to get there and it’s STILL not a long-term fix. We’ll look at how Texas lawmakers voted. Also, suing the federal government: It’s not something that went out of fashion for Texas when Obama left office. Why the state continues to file lawsuits even with a Republican in the White House. And, tequila! A shortage could be on the horizon for the liquor that goes so well with Tex Mex. We’ll look at what’s going on in the industry that’s causing some crisis. And Texans may not be natural snow bunnies, but a few have still jumped to the highest levels of winter sports competition. We’ll tell you who to keep an eye out for in the Olympic action. Those stories plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 15, 2017
A death at a college campus: now Texas State joins the ranks of universities nationwide putting greek life on hold, perhaps for good? We’ll have the latest. Also, 26 people were killed by the shooter at Sutherland Springs, but there’s something in those numbers that goes beyond the horror of mass shootings and it appears firmly grounded in the debate over abortion, we’ll hear how and why. And after outrages over the improper use of police force, many Texas cities embraced body cameras. But not all as readily as others, a report card. And do you know who’s listening to your cell phone call? Could it be the Texas military? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 16, 2017
Once the bete noire of Texas Republicans, the EPA is in regulatory rollback mode. What does this mean for Texans? We’ll explore. Also, sometimes what regulations won’t do, economics will: as folks living near two coal fired power plants are discovering. The small town of Rockdale reckons with its future. And while another, in far west Texas, continues to transform into something few locals would have ever expected: Marfa, reconsidered. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 9, 2016
Breaking news: three top members of the Texas Veterinary board resign after a scathing state review. A state senator bites back today on the Texas Standard.
What’s the difference between a light drinker and a heavy drinker? It may be the genes. A possible breakthrough reported by a Texas researcher.
For the 30 thousand kids in the state’s troubled foster care system, a new plan to help them stay healthy, we’ll hear how it works.
One of the state’s best known Texas republicans opens up her political warchest to battle for women. The moment that sparked her outrage, and what she’s doing about it.
Plus the week in politics and much more—turn it up, it’s Texas Standard time.
Texas Wines
Texas has queso, tacos, and barbecue – but you’ll need something to wash all of it down with. And while the craft beer craze is here to stay, Texas is also known for some fantastic vineyards.
Craft Beer
Breweries are popping up all over Texas, each with their own unique style and flavors. That was the inspiration for Typewriter Rodeo’s Sean Petrie as he wrote this week’s poem.
Sarah Hepola
Sarah Hepola’s new memoir, Blackout: Remembering Things I Drank to Forget, chronicles her addiction to alcohol with brutal honesty and brilliant humor. The book is gaining critical acclaim from reviewers in The New York Times, The Washington Post, LA Times, and Kirkus Reviews. Entertainment Weekly observed, “It’s hard to think of another memoir that burrows inside an addict’s brain like this one does.”
Blackout was named one of Amazon.com’s Best Books of June 2015, People Magazine’s Best Books of the Summer, and won a spot on the New York Times Best Sellers List.
Hepola recently joined us on The Write Up to discuss the memoir. We also chat about her work as an editor at Salon and as a freelance writer, and the complicated ways alcohol affected her writing and life.
Hepola cut her literary teeth as a writer for the Austin Chronicle in the late nineties and early 2000s. She made a national name for herself as a cultural journalist and personal essayist with Slate, The New York Times, and The Morning News online magazine. Her brand of red-hot wit and self-deprecating honesty earned her admirers and writing jobs. But as her career slowly grew, so did her dependence on alcohol.
From the backyard parties of Austin to basement bars of New York City and the sidewalk cafes of Paris, Hepola tracks her drinking bouts and the blackouts that followed. Many mornings she woke up alone with a cloudy head, mysterious bruises, and black space where the last several hours should have been. On more terrifying occasions, Hepola woke up in bed with someone she didn’t recognize.
It wasn’t until confronted with crumbling friendships and a stalled career that Hepola took the courageous step of getting sober. Hepola’s memoir does not stop there. She describes the struggle to rebuild her mental and physical health, her return to Texas after years in New York, and her discovery that her writing voice did not depend on an open bottle.
Blackout also touches upon the bizarre and sometimes wonderful experience of online dating, the undulations of adult friendship and the pressures of being a professional woman in the once male-dominated world of journalism.
Hepola speaks of her life and writing with an unmasked candor and humor. Her research and insights also enable her to link her own story to cultural trends in dating, women’s liberation, and America’s obsession with alcohol.
On the podcast, Hepola shares the difficulty of transitioning from personal essays to a book-length memoir, the allure alcohol seems to have for so many writers, and necessity of releasing one’s inner editor while writing a first draft.
Find out more at sarahhepola.com