Alarming figures from the border show an 11 year high in the number of migrant families apprehended. But do the numbers add up? Just a few weeks ago, we were hearing that the claim of a border emergency was overblown, but now mainstream news outlets report what sounds like, at the very least, a crisis overwhelming customs and border patrol. We’ll try to get a better sense of what’s happening. Also, a first of its kind effort in Texas to be prepared for wildfire season. And a top doctor warns of a looming crisis in Texas health care. All of those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Election
Texas Standard: February 20, 2019
Lawsuits mounting over the Texas Secretary of State’s efforts to purge voter rolls of suspected non-citizens, we’ll have the latest. Also, lawmakers promised a focus on education and now, a big push for an across the board pay raise of 5 thousand dollars. So why the muted applause from public school educators? We’ll find out. And Southwest Airlines declares an operational emergency planes, with nearly 200 flights cancelled and little love lost between company chiefs and its mechanics union, we’ll look at details. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 15, 2019
Second shutdown apparently averted, but the focus remains on the border as the fight over a wall looks set to shift to a new venue, we’ll have the latest. Also, a property tax cut that could carry a high price tag for Texans. And honk your horn if you’re behind on your car payments…what a record number of auto loan delinquencies tells us about the health of our economy. Plus 10 oscar nods for the movie Roma: why the spotlight comes at a crucial moment for Mexico. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 4, 2019
A delayed State of the Union finally happens tomorrow, but what of the State of the State? We’ll take a look at what rumblings in the legislature may tell us. Also, no money from Congress for the wall? No problem, say 350 thousand online donors who’ve raised 20 million dollars for private construction. And they’ve been scoping out south Texas for their privately funded wall as well. And naturalized citizens sue over the Texas voter citizenship review. Also, the undocumented? They’re not always who you think they are. Some were born in the U.S.A. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 31, 2019
First the ranches, then the big cities. Come 2020, is the next great political battleground in the Lone Star State the suburbs? We’ll take a closer look. Also, senator John Cornyn now warning fellow Republicans that President Trump could lose Texas in 2020. Is the Lone Star State no longer reliably red? The answer might be found in the suburbs. And although the Permian basin’s booming, we might be on the road to a new foreign energy dependence, we’ll hear why. All that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 30, 2019
People have been flocking to the Lone Star State for its economy, but is a good job the key to the good life in Texas? We’ll take a look at the unreported face of household hardship. One problem with the poverty line: what it fails to factor in. A new report shows more working Texans struggling with economic hardship than you might think. Also, a politifact check on the cost of illegal immigration. And it’s not just what you say but how you say it: an expert linguist decodes the Governor’s Texas twang. All that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 23, 2019
The Supreme Court appears to take DACA off the table in shutdown negotiations, but where does that leave thousands of DACA recipients in Texas? We’ll explore. Also in the Texas Standard newsroom, another Supreme Court order we’re assessing: the impact of the reinstatement of the Trump administration’s so-called transgender military ban. We’ll take a look at the impact of those seeking to serve. And police, veterans, cancer research, political action committees have formed around lots of worthy causes. But where’s the money going? A look at so called scam pacs and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 16, 2018
More than just a me too moment: the Texas House holds hearing on how to crack down on sexual harassment at the capitol, we’ll have the story. Also, the face of Texas politics is changing, and both political parties would like to win over the fastest growing ethnic demographic in Texas. Why California might be able to Texas a thing or two about how to get them. And as the Fed considers another interest rate hike, should you buy or rent your next home? Why hurricane Harvey’s made the calculation more complicated for some. Plus the week in politics and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 12, 2018
The nation focused on races too close to call in Florida and Georgia, but what about the one in Texas: the largest district in the nation? We’ll have an update on the still unsettled contest between incumbent Will Hurd and his Democratic challenger, Gina Ortiz Jones. Also, a day after Texas is ordered to pay back more than 30 million dollars for violating laws over special education, evidence emerges that may leave Texas on the hook for another 41 million dollar plus federal penalty. We’ll hear why. Plus a view from the border as thousands of active duty troops take positions. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 7, 2018
It didn’t break for Beto, but something like a blue wave nonetheless reached the shores of Texas Tuesday. We’ll look at what it means for the future of the Lone Star State. Analysis of races big and small as Republicans prevail in statewide races but as Democrats take control of the U.S. House they also make inroads in the Texas congressional delegation. We’ll hear what this means for Texas making its mark on capitol hill. Plus reaction from listeners statewide and a look to what this might add up to for 2020 on the day after midterms. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 6, 2016
We’re checking in with polling places from one end of the Lone Star State to the other as Texans cast their ballots on decision day 2018. How are the lines looking at the polls? If you’re not in line, you’re about to find out as we touch base reporters statewide for the latest. Also, who actually counts all those ballots and without a paper trail, what then? We’ll explore how the sausage gets made on election night. And in other news, the famous Texan who’s remixing black feminism. You’ve heard of Beyoncé? You’ll wanna hear this. Plus the rare bird returning to the Texas gulf coast. All of that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 5, 2018
In 2016, Hillary Clinton took the majority of votes in Texas’ 7th Congressional District. Now: what could be a test case for Republican control in Texas. John Culberson is the nine term Republican incumbent in a district that’s trending Democratic. We’ll take a closer look at the dynamics of the district and what it might tell us about the future of Texas politics more broadly. Also, slippery stuff: oil falls to new boomtime lows. And hats off to Roy Hargrove: the Waco born trumpeter once considered jazz music’s brightest promise passes at age 49. All those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
KUT Weekend — November 2, 2018
This week, we run through the ballot ahead of Election Day.
Texas Standard: November 1, 2018
Along a major bridge in south Texas, welders putting barriers in place. We’ll get a first hand look at steps being taken in an apparent effort to shut down the border. We’ll be talking with a reporter from the McAllen monitor about unprecedented work on a bridge spanning the Rio Grande and what it could mean in practical terms. Also, the FDA green lights what could be a life saving new flu drug even though the researcher behind it says it could have happened long ago. Why the wait? Think: money. And a deal by IBM turns the nation’s attention to Texas farms, and not the kind that grow crops either. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 31, 2018
It’s a Texas contest for U.S. Congress that may add up to more than a single congressional seat. We’ll take a look at that race and why the stakes are so high. Also, signs signs everywhere signs: a conspicuous number of Texas front yards enlisted in the 2018 midterms. Signs of the times you might say, but do political yard signs move the needle? We’ll take a closer look. And a Politifact check from the Texas Senate contest, and General Motors calls for the Federal government to issue its first zero emission standards. Should truck huggers across Texas tremble? Fasten your seatbelts and turn up the radio, because its Texas Standard time:
Texas Standard: October 29, 2018
As a nation reels in the aftermath of a synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, congregants gather in Sutherland Springs to reflect on what happened there a year earlier. Also, as texans continue to set records at the polls, political experts keep talking about the so-called sleeping giant. But a case can be made that there’s a better metaphor for the power of the Hispanic vote in Texas. We’ll hear about that. Plus the Army Corps of Engineers and the Texas general land office pushing a massive multi-billion dollar plan to put a wall between part of the Texas gulf coast and the next major storm. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 26, 2018
What some are calling the most drastic move to date against would be immigrants: a shutdown of the southern border. Preparations underway to send up to a thousand U.S. troops to the border to stop a caravan of thousands of would be migrants, all this days before midterm elections. We’ll hear what the leaders of Texas border cities have to say. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 24, 2018
As the midterms get underway in earnest, The Pentagon launches its first cyber operation to counter Russian interference. We’ll have the latest. Plus all this week, as Texans head out to the polls, we’re taking your questions about the midterms. Today: who’s saying what, and to what extent, when it comes to climate change? We’ll explore. Also, in a place that loves to be number one, Texas is below the middle of the pack when it comes to the healthiest states. What’ll it take to turn things around? And the government gives A&M the greenlight to turn cotton into food. All that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 23, 2018
Setting records statewide as early voting gets underway across Texas. Meanwhile President Trump turns up the volume on immigration as a migrant caravan from Central America makes its way through Mexico to the U.S. border. We’ll have the latest. Also, watch what you wear before you head out to the polls. Why that favorite shirt or cap could land you in trouble with the law. And tornado alley winding its way eastward? Climate experts track a surprising long term weather pattern. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 22, 2018
Early voting gets underway across the Lone Star State and more Texans are registered than ever. But are they actually voting? We’ll check in on how early voting is going as Texans begin casting ballots in the much anticipated midterms. Plus a primer on early voting should you plan to cast a ballot. Plus a Texas filmmaker revisits Molly and Ann: what two of the most famous and politically restless Texans could teach us about how to do politics today. And what impact could the Khashoggi affair have on Texas energy? All that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard: