Does the lack of air conditioning in Texas prisons amount to cruel and unusual punishment? A state prison official testifies that heat levels contributed to three deaths last summer.
The Great Springs Project aims to someday create a whole new route between San Antonio and Austin – via hike and bike trail.
Rick Jervis, author of the book “The Devil Behind the Badge,” shares the 2018 story of a string of murders in Laredo by a Border Patrol officer.
And: Is there a connection between West Texas wildfires and unregulated power lines?
Grid
Tracking the unprecedented rise in ocean temperatures
Rising temperatures in the forecast this week. Will blackouts come with them? ERCOT, the state’s electric grid operator, says the power might go out this week.
Did a doctor in Houston keep patients from receiving organ transplants? His own hospital is investigating.
And becoming a psychologist is expensive, but Texas is trying to make it cheaper. Could it make mental health care more accessible too?
Is high school football on the decline in Texas?
A conversation with state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a self-described progressive Democrat who’s running to challenge Ted Cruz for his U.S. Senate seat.
Three years after the big freeze that plunged most of Texas into darkness, a new bill aims to connect the state to neighboring electric grids. Mose Buchele of KUT in Austin has more.
A big change for the Texas STAAR tests: student essays graded by computer. How does that work, and how fair is it?
And: Is football still king in Texas? A Washington Post analysis looks at the sport’s rise and fall across the country.
Is the industry ready for Beyoncé’s country music album?
As Texans prepare to cast their first ballots in 2024, a conversation with Colin Allred, one of the top Democratic challengers for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Ted Cruz.
Lubbock throws the switch to join Texas’ open electricity marketplace – for better, and some fear, for worse.
A new ‘queen’ of country music? Houston-born Beyoncé generates buzz with a stylistic shift.
Also: Commentator WF Strong on a notorious Texas partnership in crime, and a love story at the heart of it.
A report from Eagle Pass after a weekend of immigration protest
A bipartisan bill to address border security: one that mandates that President Biden shut down the border. David Martin Davies with more on the Senate bill on immigration and border security and an update on border protests over the weekend.
What appears to be the first human brain chip implant by Elon Musk’s Neuralink is raising concerns about safety, consent, and transparency. We’ll hear from a medical ethicist who’s been studying the implications.
In El Paso, a new exhibit that highlights a surprising relationship between humans and ducks.
And the thousandth PolitiFact check of Donald Trump – what the numbers say.
As arctic front looms, how is the electric grid looking?
As Texas braces for a true blast of wintry weather, how much should we be worried about the power grid holding up? Mose Buchele of KUT in Austin is monitoring the power grid and joins us with the latest.
Federal funding cuts for special education could hit Texas hard.
Many Texans who are eligible for Medicaid aren’t signed up. Will Bostwick shares more on his reporting for Texas Monthly.
And: Remembering a musical British invasion of Texas more than a decade after the Beatles.
Exploring the Lone Star State with the evolving Texas Almanac
Charges have been dismissed against 17 Austin police officers accused of assault during racial justice protests of 2020. Andrew Weber of KUT has more.
A prison assault and what records suggest about a lack of transparency over security and safety in Texas lockups.
First published in 1857, the Texas Almanac has evolved and changed hands several times. We’ll hear about the 72nd edition of the journal from its managing editor, Rosie Hatch.
Worried about the power grid holding this winter? Why Houston Chronicle columnist Chris Tomlinson says, he, for one, isn’t.
And a tradition for football fans of the Cowboys, hundreds of miles from Big D.
Celebrating a century of Texas state parks
Dozens of Texas school districts have sued to stop changes in the A-F grading system used to evaluate schools.
The manager of the state’s power grid is out with a new forecast for winter. How prepared is Texas for another statewide freeze like 2021?
Israel, Hamas and disinformation on social media: Tech expert Omar Gallaga joins us with more.
New numbers in the race for mayor of Texas’ biggest city.
And a new book written by longtime Texas conservationist George Bristol, “Texas State Parks: The First 100 Years,” tells the story of how the state’s parks began.
Dungeons & Dragons becomes lifeline for some Texas death row prisoners
When it comes the electric grid, every megawatt counts during peak demand. Industrial batteries have long been seen as a potential game-changer for energy storage. We’ll have details about how they’re coming online in the Lone Star State.
A new vaccine for COVID-19 will be in pharmacies soon. An epidemiologist lays out what you and your family needs to know.
Plus, Dungeons & Dragons on death row, the latest headlines, and a school finance revolt in North Texas.
Carbon capture is coming to the King Ranch
High winds, unrelenting heat and lots of dry vegetation are feeding a Stage 4 wildfire warning across the state.
As heat remains a major story in Texas, the electric grid has managed to hold out in a summer of record highs.
New technology advances mean that geothermal energy may soon become a bigger part of the nation’s energy generation mix.
Some recent major rulings on gun laws and where we stand in Texas.
And the Energy Department is financing two carbon capture projects, including one at the famed King Ranch in Kleberg County.
Could Texas connect to other electric grids?
A Texas redistricting challenge is being described as an important test of the Voting Rights Act.
Federal regulators are considering a rule that would force Texas to connect to other electric grids.
With Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial set to begin in the state Senate soon, attorneys for the suspended attorney general have asked for the case to be dismissed, citing the “prior-term doctrine.”
Understanding the new “right to farm” protections going into effect next month – and why they should matter to city dwellers, too.
Also, remembering Texas saxophonist Arnett Cobb.
Everything you always wanted to know about the Texas energy grid
Texas senators met yesterday to talk about two divisive issues: property taxes and the impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton. So where do things stand?
Can Texas’ power grid withstand the heat? We’ll get detailed on supply and demand.
A new book from journalist Dan Solomon, ‘The Fight for Midnight,’ reimagines Wendy Davis’ 2013 abortion filibuster as YA fiction.
And a new law protecting trap-neuter-release programs for cats will soon go into effect – but some say there’s a problem no one considered.
East Texas county lacks power during summer heat wave
Weekend storms knocked out power to tens of thousands in East Texas, amid dangerously hot temperatures and few options for cooling down. We’ll have the latest.
LGBTQ+ teens in Katy, outside Houston, are creating community in the midst of a culture war.
In San Antonio we’ll meet people who are building new lives after escaping the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Some North Texas neighbors found a solution to their fireworks problem – in church.
Plus, ever seen a ‘robot ump’? More changes ahead to Major League Baseball are already underway at AAA stadiums, including one in Central Texas.
Summer heat is here – and so is the strain on Texas’ electric grid
Although Ken Paxton’s already impeached, Texas House investigators continue gathering evidence against the now-suspended attorney general. More scrutiny over the finances of Paxton and his wife, a Texas senator.
Temperatures are hitting triple digits across much of Texas. Can the power grid take the heat?
Tech expert Omar Gallaga on why the release of Diablo IV is more than a game for the video game industry.
And a new podcast, “Sugar Land” premieres this week, exploring a grim discovery that’s reshaping history in a city once called the sweetest place in Texas.
How UT scientists are using AI to read thoughts
What happens to a Republican-led plan to provide taxpayer money for private education if the Texas Senate and House can’t reach agreement in less than two weeks? The governor’s promising he’ll keep the Legislature in session.
The latest on bills aimed at banning access to gender-affirming care for young people.
Mind-reading technology? We’ll talk with a UT researcher at the forefront of the tech using artificial intelligence to interpret brain activity.
Also: Finding the best burgers in Texas.
Marfa art exhibit honors the railroad’s Chinese laborers
Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Texas, but the worst of the freezing rain may be behind us. Mose Buchele of the Disconnect podcast and KUT Austin joins us with more on the power situation.
A new poll suggests a disconnect between the headlines and what Texans really think of the state’s public schools.
Our focus on the push to cut property taxes in the Texas Legislature turns to how schools are funded in Texas.
And an effort to turn attention to a largely forgotten story of how Chinese labor helped to build West Texas.
Corpus Christi designated a World War II Heritage City
A date that will live in infamy, and a new designation for Corpus Christi as a World War II heritage city. We’ll have details. Other stories we’re covering: as the thoughts of many Texans turn to winter preparedness, concerns grow over the power grid and staffing problems for the agency that oversees it. Also a Politifact check of a claim about gun homicides. And remembering a Lubbock-born Texas iconoclast who transformed the creative landscape. Michael Hall of Texas Monthly looks back on the words and music of Jo Carol Pierce who passed away last week. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
TCU makes history with College Football Playoff selection
After a little more than a year in office, the Texas Secretary of State is stepping down. We’ll look at why, and what it means for Texas. Other stories we’re tracking: how a Texan who may be mulling a presidential run in 2024 could, win or lose, shake up politics in Texas in a big way and why. Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News explains. Also the murder trial of a former Fort Worth police officer gets underway after lengthy delays. We’ll hear more. And the rise and fall of crypto and its impact on the Texas power grid. Plus, TCU: Cinderella no more as the Horned Frogs land in the college football playoffs. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 21, 2022
A resource center in San Antonio now in the spotlight. It’s the focus of a national controversy over transporting migrants out of state. At least three migrants from Venezuela file suit against Florida’s governor and other top officials alleging false promises designed to lure them to travel from San Antonio to Martha’s Vineyard. We’ll have details. Also after a hurricane strike’s Puerto Rico, a privatized power grid leaves more than a million without electricity. Echoes of Texas’ own power grid issues? We’ll explore. And as the U.S. moves to over the counter hearing aids, privacy advocates are raising concerns. We’ll hear why plus a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 31, 2022
18 months after a deadly statewide electricity blackout, state officials adopt new weather preparedness standards. But is it enough? We’ll look at what the new rules are and whether they have the teeth to prevent future events like the 2021 Winter Blackouts. Also, El Paso’s DA under fire and facing a petition seeking her removal. But she calls it a political move. Plus drug cartels in Mexico shifting production to an unusually lethal synthetic opioid that has health officials in the U.S. concerned about an overdose crisis. Those stories, a Politifact check on teacher salaries and more today on the Texas Standard: