AND go! The six week sprint to the end of the Texas Legislative Session has begun. We’ll check-in on some big issues. Federal judges ruled the boundaries of three Texas congressional maps discriminate against Latino and African-American voters. But what happens now? Plus sand is becoming big business in Texas, but we’re not talking just any ol’ dirt. We’ll explain. Also, who gets to decide what’s an historic landmark and what’s just an eyesore? And the stars at night may not be quite as bright deep in the heart of West Texas, we’ll tell you why. Those stories plus the crisis to our south that’s been largely overlooked, today on the Texas Standard:
fracking
Texas Standard: January 10, 2016
As lawmakers return to the Texas capitol today, a loud warning from a top state official: money’s tight. What that means for everyday Texans. Plus, yesterday we were at the border. Today we’re looking at another aspect of potential change to Texas in a new political era: a fight over so-called sanctuary cities. Also lights, camera, and cash? Why plans are in the works to shut off incentives for Texas filmmakers. And he’s been called the first social media president. Now some Texas researchers have been given the white house ok to explore what that really means for modern politics. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 23, 2016
Signals from space telegraph warnings for Texas about the source of those earthquakes we’ve been worried about. We’ll explore. Also when doctors can’t offer infants life saving technology because its too expensive: what then? A Doctor at Rice has been working on solutions, and she’s just been awarded a MacArthur genius grant for her efforts: we’ll meet her. And when in Rome, do as the Romans. When in college do you dare go with the Greek system? Hazing rituals back in the spotlight. Plus: it’s a beloved symbol in the Lone Star State, and yet its getting bulldozed out of Texas, almost literally. Can anyone save the Houston Toad? Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 20, 2016
First there was the arrest. Then the jailhouse death. Global outrage over the incident. Now comes the Sandra Bland Act. What it could mean, today on the Texas Standard.
As the nation focuses its attention on threats from abroad, law enforcement launches a multipronged crackdown on a made in Texas terror group with entirely different goals. And one of the leaders talks to NPR’s John Burnett. We’ll hear the backstory.
Also, the controversy over fracking moves offshore as environmentalists spar with industry over what’s happening in the Gulf of Mexico.
And Texas athletes taking a knee for Kapernick: how the NFL player’s protest is spreading among highschoolers.
Texas Standard: September 12, 2016
Kids with special educational needs: in Texas, the numbers are far below the national average. But a new report suggests its a numbers game, we’ll explore. Also in 2016 there have been as many stays of execution in Texas as there have been actual executions, and some experts think we may be looking at a sea change in attitudes over the death penalty, we’ll explain. Plus vive la frack: the French discover deals in the almost abandoned Barnett Shale. Do they know something us companies don’t? And it’s one of the fastest growing careers in Texas. The challenge? Training workers quickly. We’ll hear about what’s behind the rise of the Promotoras. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 5, 2016
The earth shook this weekend rattling people out of bed all across the midwest. Why Texas oil producers are likely watching Oklahoma’s response. Plus thousands of pieces of criminal evidence destroyed: now the Texas law enforcement office involved is under investigation itself. And do you know what you need to take with you to the poll this November election? Do you really? We’ll ID the facts. Plus two Texas cities are leading the national charge against ending youth homelessness. We’ll have the details. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 23, 2016
Lynch mobs are thriving in Texas, only these days they’re online, and kids are often the victims. Now a push for a law to stop them. Today on the Texas Standard.
What’s less likely than this: Donald Trump stumping for votes in the solidly democratic capitol of the reddest of states? We’ll hear what really behind his Texas swing.
Also, the feds say they want to close private prisons, now Texas is talking prison closings too…but not for the same reasons. We’ll have the back story.
And the politics of science: in a debate over what’s causing earthquakes in north Texas, the EPA shakes things up.
Texas Standard: August 17, 2016
11 people dead in Louisiana, the floodwaters now moving south and the national media somewhere else. A drought of concern? We’ll explore. Also two years after the so-called surge of central americans crossing the Texas border, what we’re learning about a sweetheart billion dollar deal to lock them them up. Plus its true, big oil didn’t have major stakes in the fracking boom, but now that oil prices have gone bust, guess who’s getting in the fracking business? All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 21, 2016
It’s been dubbed The Texas Economic Miracle, but now a warning: it may be a miracle Texas isn’t sinking. We’ll explore. Plus the state’s top education official gets sued by the state’s association of teachers: at issue the use of standardized tests in teacher evaluations. We’ll have more. Also shutting down tent city: Dallas tries to get the homeless up from an underpass…but then what? And the Washington post says there’s a new secession push in Texas…we’ll sort the fact from the fiction. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 29, 2016
More than a thousand arrested, their names still secret, in a strike at international syndicates in Texas. We’ll explore. Also: the death of a marine and the explanation raising eyebrows…is there a war going on that official Washington’s not talking about? And many come to Texas to start a new life…not counting on the wether, and having to start all over again…more in our follow up to the Christmas twisters 3 months later. And 50 years ago the game that changed the face of college hoops forever. Kentucky versus Texas Western…All that and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 4, 2015
The Iran nuclear agreement looks like a done deal, but for a Texan who endured months in captivity, can Tehran be trusted? Plus, you turn on the tap, and the water explodes…as in a ball of fire. We’ll hear about the case that could force a rethink over fracking. And horned frogs and raiders and bears, oh my…first and ten time again—but this year, with controversies swirling more college football fans are holding their noses.
Also, the week in Texas politics, Wagner with a Texas accent, your labor day weekend to do list and lots more on todays Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: July 1, 2015
Beyond flags and statues, the Texas front in the battle over confederate connections turns to public schools–that’s just ahead today on the Texas standard. The Texas ban on local fracking bans. After Denton, what comes next? Also doctors step in where politicians won’t in a controversy over childhood vaccinations. A Texas Tech professor speaks out against Tenure…and he says he’s paying an unfair price. And what’s in a name? A whole lot more than you might think, Tex…Those stories and much more coming up on today’s Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 22, 2015
After protests and hunger strikes freedom for scores of south Texas detainees…congressman Joaquin Castro joins us. $300 million in spending cuts…with the stroke of the governor’s pen. We’ll hear what got dropped over the weekend, and what it means for the bigger picture. Using well water in the Barnett shale could be hazardous to your heath…that according to one of the most comprehensive groundwater studies in US history. We’ll have details. You can do anything if you really try. Really? We’ll hear from a Texan who went all in to learn how to dunk a basketball.
June 8, 2015
Police and Race…Texas in the international spotlight as a pair of videos go viral. The EPA says there’s no connection between fracking and pollution of drinking water…end of discussion? Not so much, we’ll explore. Also, a medical breakthrough at a Houston hospital: the first ever skull cap transplant. And a tax that affects only women? Stay with us
KUT Weekend – February 21, 2014
Fracking and earthquakes, and the politics behind them…..inside the world of political opposition research….and five new places to eat in Round Rock. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
KUT Weekend – January 3, 2014
Rash of earthquake frustrates North Texans near drilling sites…German heritage lingers in Central Texas…Flood victims start the new year rebuilding. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend! Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org.