The start of the 2021 Texas legislative session, minus some lawmakers who plan to skip what they call as a super-spreader event. Also, as the governor announces several new hubs for the distribution of covid vaccines, others worry about Texas’ role as a hub for vaccine misinformation. Plus Dr. Fred Campbell of UT Health San Antonio takes on more of your questions about COVID-19 and the vaccine in Texas. And disorder in the court: as case go unresolved due to the pandemic. And fights over water: an ongoing part of the Texas story, but could the final chapter be forthcoming thanks to new research? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Donald Trump
Texas Standard: January 8, 2021
Will prominent Texas politicians who sided with unsubstantiated election fraud claims pay a price for that position after Wednesday? And what is a coup? It’s a question many Americans are asking about and arguing over after the invasion of the capitol. We’ll talk with a Texas scholar whose focus includes authoritarian regimes. And she’s one of the few health providers for miles around in a rural part of east Texas. And right now she’s overwhelmed with demand for vaccinations, we’ll talk with her. Also the impact of the pandemic on the future of Texas public schools, the week in Texas politics and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 7, 2021
A normally ceremonial ritual of democracy stalled by the storming of congress. But it didn’t stop the confirmation of change. After violence at the capitol inspired by unsubstantiated claims of a fraudulent election, congress defies a mob and confirms Joe Biden as the next President of the United States and Kamala Harris as Vice President. But the political spectacle shocked many in the U.S. and around the world as images seldom seen from the capitol city recalled the toppling of the government of other nations, and the dissolution of the rule of law. We’re talking with Texans helping to make sense of Wednesday’s mayhem and what it means for our future, today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 6, 2021
As Georgia goes, so goes Texas? What the results of the senate runoffs in Georgia may tell us about changing politics in the Lone Star State. Major population growth, shifts in suburbs once reliably republican… sound familiar? Could politics in the peach state tell us something about political change coming to Texas, too? Texas based ABC News analyst Matthew Dowd with a closer look. Also, Texas’ two senators, both Republicans, not on the same page when it comes to certification of the electoral college vote…more on that plus why people of color in Texas may have less of a shot at getting the COVID-19 vaccines they need. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 4, 2021
A Texas senator joins almost 11 colleagues in a pledge not to certify the electoral college results. Political theatre or something more? We’ll explore. Also, demand at food banks has doubled since the pandemic. What happens now with cuts to a critical fresh food program? How the pandemic has accelerated the widening of the gap between rich and poor. Also a federal crackdown on the marketing of CBD and what it might mean for Texas. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Was it Worth it Wayne?
In this episode of The Breaks:
- Hosts Confucius and Fresh talk about Lil Wayne’s recent legal troubles and wonder if the rapper regrets endorsing Donald Trump.
- Both hosts talk about the upcoming Verzuz battle between E-40 and Too $hort.
- In this weeks edition of “Random Hip-Hop facts,” Confucius and Fresh focus on Biz Markie and Lupe Fiasco, Twista and Spice 1.
- Fresh states the Unpopular Opinion that the recent focus on white representation in hip-hop journalism actually discounts the many contributions of Black journalists.
- In his Confucius Says segment, Confucius encourages people to give The Breaks the credit they deserve for elevating Austin’s hip-hop scene.
The Breaks are on every Saturday 10pm-1am on KUTX 98.9.You can hear the latest full broadcast of The Breaks Saturday night show.
Texas Standard: December 8, 2020
He is set to become, if not a household name, a statewide presence in politics: just who is Dade Phelan and why should everyday Texans care? We’ll explain. Also, by court order, the Trump administration says it has restored the deferred deportation program called DACA. But recipients remain fearful of its future. Also the change in Texas law that left some Texas cities, hard hit by the pandemic with fewer hospitals than they used to have. And questions raised about why so many c-sections concentrated at certain Texas hospitals? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 7, 2020
Front line workers in Texas get to get COVID-19 vaccines but educators and staff are demanding a better place in in the vaccination line. We’ll have details. Plus as Texas lawmakers get ready to start a new session, both republicans and democrats prepare to take on issues of voter fraud and voter access. Also, powering up: with a new administration in Washington, what’s set to change for the energy capitol of the U.S.? And billions of federal dollars for pandemic relief and time’s running out for Texas to spend it all. Where’s the money going? Plus listener questions about COVID-19 and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 2, 2020
With Texas reporting new record high numbers of Coronavirus cases, a warning from Washington that more needs to be done, we’ll have details. Also, as the fight against COVID-19 continues, setbacks reported in the war against human trafficking in Texas. Plus high hopes versus realistic expectations: with change at the White House, what Texas immigrant rights advocates think they’ll see when it comes to changes on the ground. And rarely has a nation been so well served by a people so ill treated. Now the postal service set to celebrate the Japanese American soldiers who saved thousands of Texans in WWII. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 24, 2020
How did an agency that oversees managing office space and procuring supplies come to play such a role in the presidential transition? Gimme a T for transition: what changes and how for Team Biden with an election acknowledgement by a key government agency? Also, who Biden’s tapping for his administration and what it could mean for Texas. Plus Mexico’s president also slow to concede the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. What that could mean for relations with our crucial neighbors to the south. And before the family gatherings begin, a north Texas family offers a warning informed by experience. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 20, 2020
Is the presidential contest still a real contest? Texas’ senior senator says it’s still too close to call, we’ll have the latest. Also, he pledged to heal the soul of the nation, but when it comes to immigration, some wonder why that topic doesn’t make it too Joe Biden’s top 5 list of policy priorities. We’ll hear about the concerns of advocates of immigration reform. And airlines may be hard hit by the pandemic, but some Texas towns with ties to the skies are taking off. We’ll hear why. Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot 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: November 13, 2020
As COVID-19 continues to tear through El Paso, an appellate judge lifts shutdown orders and more Texans pin their hopes on news about a vaccine. With hopes building around word of a covid vaccine said to be 90 percent effective, what’s next? A closer look at next steps and a realistic timetable. Also, not Biden his time: concession or no, the president elect must move forward with assembling a new administration and cabinet. Any Lone Stars set to make the short list? And in a season like no other, can the homecoming mum, and the many businesses built up around the tradition survive 2020? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 12, 2020
Texas crosses a critical 1 million mark in COVID-19 cases, and the governor sends help to Lubbock as hospitals reach capacity, we’ll have the latest. Other stories we are tracking: a post-election push to update voting machines in Texas’ biggest county. What’s wrong with the old ones? We’ll follow the paper trail, or lack thereof. Also the top vote getter in Texas history and what it says about the intersection of politics and how top judges get picked in Texas. Plus he was a Texas sharecroppers son in a Jim Crow Navy. Now a super carrier will bear his name. 8 decades after his heroics at Pearl Harbor, Dorie Miller gets his due. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 9, 2020
And we have a winner. What changes for Texas in a Biden- Harris administration, and how quickly? With the presidential contest now called, attention turns to fixing what’s broken and moving forward. We’ll have some projections from a veteran politics watcher and professor. Also, the states top law enforcement official facing a mushrooming scandal and new questions about how much longer he can hang on as Attorney General. And digging a little deeper into the Latina turnout in so-called battleground states. Plus, not your parents biodiesel: as oil prices fall, attention, turns to renewable diesels. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 6, 2020
The magic number is 270. Is this the end of the general election of 2020? Texas-based political analyst Matthew Dowd joins us for an overall look at where we stand in the presidential contest and what it means long term for Texas. Also as COVID-19 spikes once more, it’s not just El Paso and more rural hotspots that need to be concerned. We’ll have an overview of the state of the virus in the Lone Star State as we approach the holidays. And new findings about covid spread among Texas contruction workers raising danger signs nationwide, plus the week that was in Texas politcis with the texas tribune and a whole lot more when the TS gets underway right after this.
Texas Standard: November 4, 2020
A new political landscape in Texas? Not quite. On the day after the general election, what has changed, what hasn’t, any why? The dominant narrative in the run up to election day was how an historic turnout in a state seldom considered in play in recent years might change the political map of the Lone Star State. Notably: the power of younger voters, the Latino vote, and the fight for the suburbs. Donald Trumps six point margin of victory, and republican retention of control of the Texas house raise many questions about expectations and assumptions in the run up. We’ll explore that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 3, 2020 Election Night Coverage
From the capital city of Texas and with reporters across the Lone Star State, it’s special coverage of election night in Texas. Polls are just now closing across Texas, and in just a few minutes we’ll be hearing from reporting partners in El Paso, Houston, Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and beyond on a night that may well set election records and make history in many ways. Democrats hoping to flip control of the Texas house, congressional seats once reliably republican are battlegrounds, and the race for Texas 38 electoral votes is reported to be tigter than at any time in decades. It’s a special election night coverage of the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 3, 2020
It’s the final countdown to what some fear may not be a final countdown tonight. As Texans go to the polls, we’ll tell you the latest and what to watch for. With a presidential race that appears to be more competitive in Texas than it has been for decades, and 8 million voters having already cast a ballot in Texas, and more in line as we speak, Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post and Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune join us live to talk about the issues on this election day. Also a closer look at how the vote counting process will play out across the Lone Star State, professor Steven Vladeck with the legal issues at play and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 2, 2020
One final push before election day 2020. Where do we stand? And what should Texans be looking for as returns come in tomorrow? Reporters from our partners in Dallas, Houston, El Paso and more with the latest on the general election as we prepare for a final vote in the general election and what many expect to be a long final tally. Also the many issues voters will be deciding across the Lone Star State that often get squeezed out by the big banner headlines. Plus a celebration of 20 years of life in outer space and the death of a very good machine puts some El Paso musicians in the international spotlight. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard: