Beto O’Rourke borrows from Donald Trump as he comes out swinging in what may be his final debate against Ted Cruz. We’ll have analysis and more. Also, the alleged slaying of a journalist by the Saudi government: given the ties that bind the Saudis to Houston, what could the crisis add up to for Texas? And the country’s first robot brothel getting pushback in Houston: what does the fight add up to? Florian Martin does the numbers. Also, the latest on historic flooding in hill country, and commentator W.F. Strong on the extreme highs and lows of one of the most dangerous jobs in the Lone Star state. All of that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
art
Texas Standard: June 27, 2018
A court order: the government has 30 days to reunite families separated at the border…and it appears some big changes are already happening, we’ll have the latest. Also, a surprise upset win by a socialist candidate over a high ranking congressman in New York’s primaries last night is reverberating across the country. What about right here in our own back yard? Ed Espinosa of Progress Texas on the future of Texas Democrats. Also, we’re number 2? Not for long. What’s happening in west Texas right now is set to make the U.S. the top oil producer in the world, perhaps sooner than anyone thinks. And getting kids to engage in art by harnessing their brainwaves…just another day at summer camp? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 6, 2018
It was the biggest primary day so far. On the day after, what do the numbers tell Texas about the shape of the midterms to come? We’ll explore. Also, there’ve been lawsuits and noisy protests against school boards across the state as some districts move to replace failing schools with charter partnerships. What’s behind the controversies, and what do they tell us about how Texas is dealing with the issue? And, pain and profit. A year long investigation by the Dallas Morning News reveals how Texas had dropped the ball regulating health care for the state’s most vulnerable. And as the full moon approaches, the mystery of the Texas stonehenge, revealed? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 23, 2018
Lupe Valdez is the Democratic gubernatorial nominee. We’ll take a look at what she faces as she sets her sights towards the November Election, and Greg Abbott. Plus, we’ll break down the runoff results and hear from the political experts about which races surprised them and which could be clues to what could happen next Election Day. We’ll also look at the conversation from the Governor’s first roundtable on how to prevent school shootings like the one that devastated Santa Fe. And we’ll fact-check some of the claims that came out in the wake of the shooting. Also, drought conditions in Texas are causing some ranchers to take dire measures. We’ll talk to one. Those stories and so much more, today on the Texas Standard:
Dirty Computer (Ep. 9)
Alexandria Cunningham talks eroticism and black women on this week’s episode of Two&Fro. Cunningham is a graduate student in African and African Diaspora studies at the University of Texas in Austin. Her work focuses on Black Feminism, Black Sexual Politics, Fantasy and Eroticism, Sexual Economies, Hip-Hop, and Popular and Strip Club Culture. Nigerian American artist and native Texan Dawn Okoro also talks about her Punk Noir exhibit now on view at the George Washington Carver museum in Austin Texas.
Texas Standard: April 5, 2018
President Trump orders troops to the border. Governor abbot says he welcomes the move, but what about residents on the front lines? We’ll explore. Also, the clock is ticking on a new NAFTA deal: with just days to go, where do things stand? We’ll find out. Plus farmers and ranchers get a reprieve from EPA rules. But not everyone’s breathing easier, notably environmental groups concerned about air quality. And despite huge advances in high tech, why is it no one’s come up with a cure for the common conference call? The digital savant checks in. Plus our weekend trip trip, and planning a family camping trip at one of Texas’ military bases? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Teaching Social Justice Through Art
Join KUT’s Rebecca McInroy along with museum educator Sabrina Phillips of The Blanton, Social Studies Teacher at LBJ Highschool Andrea Gaines, Jessica Jolliffe of AISD, and Jullian Bontke from the Anti-Defamation League, to talk about how kids are learning new ways to discuss issues like immigration, bias, economic inequality, and more, through art.
How can art and museums provide space and time for feelings and experiences we have trouble articulating? How are parents, educators, museums, and school systems working together to cultivate more empathetic and engaged students?
Texas Standard: February 16, 2018
Texas educators carry the dual burden of comforting students after yet another school shooting, and coming up with prevention plans. We’ll hear from some of them. Also, sales are flat or even falling in the motorcycle industry. We’ll break down why. And the Houston Astrodome will live on. After years of back and forth a real plan for it’s future, a look at the optimism and skepticism. Also, a new building on the University of Texas campus opens up to the public this weekend. We’ll take you inside what’s not a classroom or an athletic facility but a one-of-it’s-kind art masterpiece. The story behind it. And it’s Friday! That means the Typewriter Rodeo and a wrap up of the big stories this week in Texas Politics. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
V&B: Sonny Rollins and The Art of Power (Part I)
Rabbi and Jazz Historian Neil Blumofe in conversation with Rebecca McInroy. Musical guests include Alex Coke, saxophone; Derrick Becker, trumpet; Sean Giddings, piano; Roscoe Beck, bass; Brannen Temple, drums.
How do we respond to uncertainty and a time of anxiety? By steeping ourselves in Rollins’ confidence and steadfastness, we bear witness to the commanding power of presence. Rollins remains a persuasive poet – as a saxophonist, improviser, and as an innovating voice, he possesses a sense of adventure in exploration and intention. He tells a compelling story of the jazz ancestors, inviting us to join with him, and we step resolutely forward together as we determine the next chapters to be written.
Texas Standard: January 31, 2018
How was President Trump’s first State of the Union? You might not be surprised that it depends on who you ask. We’ll have a Texas perspective. Also the Texas Rangers are getting involved in an investigation into a US Gymnastics team facility outside of Huntsville, we’ll have the latest. And Houston consistently sits towards the top of lists of worst traffic cities in the US. A look at how Space City’s highways came about and how they re-shaped communities. Plus, what happens when local lawmakers disagree with a Texas mandate? We’ll explore. We’ll also head to Waco to visit a new Arts facility, and we’ll take the red pencil to a recent claim by a man hoping to be the state’s next governor. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 11, 2018
Deal or no deal? As a Friday deadline approaches over Iran and concerns about nuclear weapons, we’ll have a Texas researcher explains what’s at stake. Also, black girls attending Texas schools are nearly 7 times as likely to get suspended from school than their white counterparts. One possible factor? What a Texas A&M researcher calls the “adultification” of black girls. We’ll hear what that means. And Texas based AT&T says no way to Huawei, nixing a deal to sell phones by the Chinese company. Some smell politics at the other end of the line. Plus funny man Cheech Marin is serious about Chicano art, we’ll hear why he’s sharing his collection with the lone star state. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 13, 2017
With the senate’s latest bid to repeal and replace Obamacare, but what about Cost? Today 4 big ideas to fix health care. We’ll have the prescription. Plus, the best kind of policy, many believe, is policy driven by academic studies. But a new investigative report shows a secret program at Google:
paying big money to scholars for research that would help the company get favorable regulations, we’ll explore. Also 5 years after A&M left the Big 12, what’s the score for college football in Texas. Plus the smokier the barbecue the better, huh? Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor says don’t be so sure. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 7, 2017
Shots fired: a year after a deadly shootout at an otherwise peaceful march in Dallas, how much has healed and where are the scars? We’ll explore. Also many thought the black death the stuff of history books, but the plague is back, and its in west Texas. A CDC researcher tells us why. And back to the future? A Texas city decides the best way to secure elections: a return to the paper ballot. And researchers battle an unexpected problem for solar power, you might think of it as burnout. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 4, 2017
As Texas goes, so goes the nation? Lawrence Wright makes that argument in a new piece in the New Yorker magazine. He’ll break down his reporting. Also scientists in San Antonio are learning about how the brain’s two halves talk to each other and how that chatter could lead to a better understanding of devastating conditions. And are special needs students the best group to test “private school choice” in Texas? A policy expert weighs in ahead of the start of the special legislative session. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 3, 2017
Salacious emails from a former Baylor University regent about victims of sexual assaults spark outrage. We’ll explore how they tie in. Also special courts for cops: a new law on the books creates diversion programs for first responders. Why counties are hesitant to set them up. Also the cochineal, a small Spanish insect and the source of the red dye in many foods we eat, the makeup we use and the focus of a new Texas art exhibit. And faced with a 19% unemployment rate, some Spaniards are looking for ways to boost their resume. Those stories and so much today on the Texas Standard:
What The Heck Are Those Blue Panels Along The Lamar Underpass?
When you’re driving down Lamar Boulevard between Lady Bird Lake and Fifth Street, do you ever look at the walls of the underpass beneath the train bridge? Do you look at those blank blue signs on the walls of the underpass and wonder: What the heck are those things?
Texas Standard: May 22, 2017
Public money for private education; thought the plan was dead? School savings accounts become an 11th hour battleground, we’ll have the latest. Plus: plunger proof? The so-called Bathroom Bill back on a fast track to become Texas law, we’ll explore. And storms are on track for parts of Texas this week, but when it comes to tornados we’re safer than we might. We’ll hear from a researcher who developed the system. And she was literally the poster girl of the 70’s. Who knew she was a remarkable artist in her own right? Reconsidering Farrah Fawcett. All that and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Picture Taking
You might think that cell phones make everything worse. We can’t remember phone numbers anymore, we are addicted to checking texts and emails, and we end up taking thousands of crappy pictures each month. What good can ever come of this?
As Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, it’s not all bad. We may actually be remembering more moments because of the photos we’re taking and the way we’re engaging with the world through our phones. But then again, there is more to any story, and the jury is still out on this one.
Texas Standard: March 6, 2017
Mr. Obama told his successor it would be the most urgent problem he would confront. Hint: it doesn’t involve wiretaps. Should the Trump administration take out North Korea’s weapons capability, and if so how? In the wake of a new wave of rocket launches, UT’s Jeremy Suri joins us to consider the options. Also winter wildfires in the panhandle…what west Texans need to do now to stay on top of a critical situation. Plus remember the Alamo? Remember what they were planning to do with it? As the bottom line for a massive restoration project grows, so does a question: how to pay for it. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
12th & Chicon: Honoring Austin Blacks in Baseball
The Black Senators, Austin’s black baseball team in the first part of the 20th century, played at Downs Field in East Austin. The field is now home to the Huston-Tillotson University Rams. Houston artist Reginald Adams and members of the East Austin senior center are commemorating the players by crafting murals.