As the Governor announces he has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus, his ban on mask mandates remains in place. We’ll have the latest. Also, as one school system in west Texas hits the pause button on classes as the Delta variant spreads, what about others confined to smaller spaces for hours at a time potentially exposed to the delta variant? We’ll hear about growing concerns for nursing homes and long term care facilities for older Texans. Plus as the longest war draws to an end in Afghanistan, for many Afghans, a new life may be just beginning in Texas. Resettlement plans, the challenges ahead and much more today on the Texas Standard:
America
Texas Standard: July 5, 2019
Texas’ fraught relationship with everything cannabis just took a new turn. The new hemp law that’s left law enforcement agencies scratching their heads, we’ll have details. Also, some of Texas’ fastest growing cities have public schools where the population is shrinking: “The Charter Effect”. We’ll explore. And from the days of the California Gold Rush to today, the Midland area remains crucial to those seeking fortune. Plus, nurdles and the woman in a kayak who’s fighting to rid Lavaca Bay of these plastics. And should your relationship with your gun change as you age? We’ll take a look at that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 25, 2019
The President’s deal with Mexico inflated, critics said. But the New York Times among those now crediting Mr.Trump with a change at the border. The White House threat to increase tariffs with Mexico. Did the gambit work? We’ll take a closer look. Also, a conservative firebrand says goodbye to the Texas legislature. Does it say something more about a changing of the guard in Texas politics? Plus, from oil giant to energy superpower: the story of renewables coming of age in the Lone Star State. All of that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 20, 2019
Where there’s smoke there’s, a lack of oversight? Calls for greater accountability in the aftermath of fires in the nation’s petrochemical capitol. Plus, a year and a half after the deadly mass shooting at Sutherland Springs a new chapter opens for the church and the community, we’ll take a look. Also, the difficulty of getting closure after the death of a loved one. Why it may be taking longer here in Texas. And at what price Whataburger? 6 billion dollars? The iconic Texas brand explores a possible sale. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 25, 2019
No collusion, no exoneration. The Mueller report promised to get us closer to the truth, what’s the reaction in an increasingly polarized Texas? We’ll discuss the implications of the Mueller report and reaction here in the Lone star State, a place increasingly seen as turning to a purplish hue. Also, gas prices on the rise: a seasonal blip, or a long term price hike? And pushback against the woman picked as sole finalist to become the next president of UTEP. And Marfa, the city that never sleeps? Why locals are on edge and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 27 2018
Hundreds of asylum seekers released in El Paso with little warning, straining resources and highlighting big issues at the border. We’ll talk with Bob Moore in El Paso about the latest. Also, race and criminal justice: we’ll take look at just how different America’s prison population is from the population at large and why. Plus a Texas lawmaker tells us why he’s fighting for the expansion of medical marijuana. And did you unwrap a new gadget for Christmas or Hanukkah? Our tech expert Omar Gallaga tells us what to do with the old one. Also, the calls for civility in politics and online have come from every corner. But some say it’s not enough. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Erika Meitner
Poet Erika Meitner reads her poem “I’ll Remember You As You Were, Not As You’ll Become,” and talks with poet and novelist Carrie Fountain about working in documentary film, coming to poetry, and what it means to her to write “political poetry” today.
Texas Standard: July 17, 2018
It’s being called by some treasonous; more and more Republicans now breaking with the President. Words matter. We’ll try to decode them. Also, MS-13, a hyper violent gang from Central America at the center of a new litmus test in U.S. politics. How much of a threat does the gang really pose in the Lone Star State? And how the zero-tolerance border backlash has put some San Antonio lawyers in the national spotlight raising 20 million dollars to help separated families. Plus in our spotlight on health: what looks like a psychiatrist shortage in west Texas. And east Texas bugs beware: the mosquito assassins are in the air. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 16, 2017
At campuses across Texas, posters and flyers calling for white people to take their country back. We’ll explore the recruitment campaign and the pushback. As a white supremacist group called the American Vanguard expands its college recruitment effort, demands grow for college leaders to take action. The president of the state’s flagship university joins us. Plus, after a defeat in the high court, Texas lawmakers bounce back with a new round of abortion-related bills. We’ll have the latest. Also, how high tech is getting political close to home. And the forgotten pieces of an underground railroad that ran…south. All that and much more just ahead on the Texas Standard:
Election Results 2016
No matter which party you voted for last Tuesday, this election has revealed a lot about the psychology of our country. There is a lot of anger, alienation, and fear on both sides and it will take hard work to recover and move forward.
We might not be ready to do so now, and that is okay. We are all feeling the effects of the aftermath, and it can be tough to get a sense of perspective; in either victory or defeat.
However, in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke, offer a few words of advice on how we can repair, forgive, and move on.
TSI Weekend: Nationalism
“It is the most artificial thing that humans have ever built,” says Appadurai of nationalism. “That seems the most natural.”
In this edition of The Secret Ingredient Weekend, Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebecca McInroy summarize our show with Dr. Arjun Appadurai about food and nationalism – food trucks, Maggi noodles, cook books and much more.
Texas Standard: June 21, 2016
A drug to stop opioid overdoses requires a prescription, now there’s one for all of Texas. We’ll meet the doctor who wrote the script. Also Abortion laws in Texas have the number of doctors in decline and changes in how new doctors are being trained… We’ll hear what rising OB-GYN’s are learning about instead. And Mars needs farmers. Ready to suit up? Nasa launches a new recruitment campaign with retro posters, but they’re quite serious. Plus the international spotlight hits Houston again…we’ll do the numbers on the Copa America. And the vote on Brexit just hours away…could Texit be that far off? A reality check and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Education with Dr. John B. Diamond (Ep. 48, 2015)
Dr. John B. Diamond, co-author of “Despite the Best Intentions: How Racial Inequality Thrives in Good Schools,” shares his thoughts on race, class and education in society, now and in our country’s past.
Texas Standard: July 7, 2015
An astonishing admission rekindles a discussion about sexual assault. Is Texas law on the side of the survivors? Also today two competing visions for the future of America…which with the nation choose, California or Texas? Also as oil prices dip and layoffs continue one profession is picking up steam in shale country. Plus how one Texas based bookstore chain is bucking the trend of shutdowns, a challenge to the law license of the state’s top attorney, grocery store wars and much more:
Jazz: Freedom and Liberty (7.5.15)
In this edition of Liner Notes, Rabbi and jazz historian Neil Blumofe, talks about the relationship between jazz and the idea of freedom in America.
He quotes how Duke Ellington describes jazz as, “a good barometer of freedom.” Ellington said, “In its beginnings, the United States of America spawned certain ideals of freedom and independence through which, eventually, jazz was evolved, and the music is so free that many people say it is the only unhampered, unhindered expression of complete freedom yet produced in this country.”
As we celebrate this nation and the freedom and liberty we enjoy, may we also contemplate the ways in which we still carry around chains, and operate within the prisons of past oppression. Knowing that true emancipation can only be obtained, through the most difficult of all forms of liberation, freeing ourselves from ourselves.
Home and Homelessness
This month’s episode explores what it means to be displaced or without a home. Our new roundtable participants ask: How do we define “home”? Is it a house? Is it family, a sense of community? Is it a place or a feeling? The discussants share their perspectives, from the practical concerns of living on the streets of Austin, to the role of creative production in dealing with homelessness, to challenging notions of displacement and transience as unnatural. Ultimately, the discussion turns toward the ways in which our perceptions of home and homelessness influence our views on immigration, the need for refuge, and national identity.
A Tribute to the late John Hope Franklin (Ep. 3, 2014)
An examination of the career and legacy of John Hope Franklin, distinguished and prolific scholar and historian of African American history.
Leonard Bernstein (11.24.13)
Composer, conductor and pianist Leonard Bernstein had a lengthy storied career. His music speaks of the “can-do-ism” of Americans. It crossed through jazz, classical, musicals, television and movies. Bernstein is an iconic figure in our musical heritage.