When was the last time you heard three top Texas Republicans call for a tax increase statewide? There’s more to the story, of course, and we’ve got it. Also, Texas may be tops in wind power, but the oil and gas industry not content taking a backseat. Asher Price of the Austin American Statesman on the pushback. And the latest social media platform to grab young people’s attention: why’s it Tic Tok’s time in the spotlight? Digital savant Omar Gallaga checks in. And the teacher in Lubbock making conversations about mental health an everyday thing for her students. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
guns
Texas Standard: March 25, 2019
No collusion, no exoneration. The Mueller report promised to get us closer to the truth, what’s the reaction in an increasingly polarized Texas? We’ll discuss the implications of the Mueller report and reaction here in the Lone star State, a place increasingly seen as turning to a purplish hue. Also, gas prices on the rise: a seasonal blip, or a long term price hike? And pushback against the woman picked as sole finalist to become the next president of UTEP. And Marfa, the city that never sleeps? Why locals are on edge and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 12, 2019
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is removing all diplomatic staff from Venezuela, where he calls the situation “deteriorating.” He tells us why. Also, Houston making headlines for not being chosen to host the 2020 Democratic National Convention. The city pay issue that may be at the center of that choice. Plus, some college-level Black Studies programs are celebrating 50 years, how they’ve changed. And several countries are grounding planes like the one in a deadly weekend crash. But not the U.S. We’ll look at why. All of those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 5, 2019
Will Texans vote to return Donald Trump to the White House? The 2020 contest might be closer than you think. We’ll hear from the head of the Texas Politics Project about the finding of a new poll of 12 hundred Texans and what they’re telling us about the early state of the 2020 presidential contest. Also: hemp. Illegal to grow in Texas, but the times are a changin and the republican ag commissioner is pushing the change. Plus how a forgotten story of hispanic North America tells us something about our politics and our American identity. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 25, 2019
Slate magazine claims the supreme court is preparing to make every states gun laws look like Texas, but is that claim on target? We’ll take a closer look. Also, when was the last time a nuclear arms treaty was making headlines? Why some are warning of a renewed arms race with Russia. And we’ll take a look at the week that was in Texas politics, plus an original Cosmic Cowboy comes home again: singer songwriter Michael Martin Murphy teams up with who’s who of Texas talent in search of old Austin. All those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 3, 2018
He wasn’t born in Texas but it became a big part of his identity. We’ll remember 41st President George Herbert Walker Bush today on the Texas Standard. Also, airport security officials have recently found a record number of firearms in carry-on luggage. We’ll take a look at the trend. And oil prices are up a little after a huge drop. What a high-five between two world leaders tells us about what could be next for the industry. Plus an investigation reveals what the State of Texas was trying to keep secret: where it gets execution drugs. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 15, 2018
Troops at the border: a test of mettle for the Military? The defense chief in south Texas defends the use of soldiers at the U.S. Mexico line. Border security is part of national security says James Mattis at a forward operating base in south Texas. But what’s the long term goal for those 23 hundred troops at the Texas border with Mexico? We’ll take a look. And the state of kids in Texas, today we get new data. Also the President set to sign a bill with bipartisan congressional support. Come again? We’ll hear about the issue that’s brought Congress, the White House, Democrats and Republicans together. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 25, 2018
Are Texas election maps racially gerrymandered, designed to dilute minority vote? It’s a case that’s been 7 years in the making: a challenge to Texas’ redistricting maps claiming that when those lines were drawn, the intent was racially discriminatory, Unconstitutional. A lower court agreed with the plaintiffs, but today the US supreme court overturned that ruling in all but one district. What does this decision really mean? Who’s affected? And what does this mean for the midterms if anything?
That’s just our top story on this Monday, but we’ve got a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 1, 2018
A Foster care system so dangerous to kids, its been ruled unconstitutional. Should the Feds be permitted to order a fix for Texas? We’ll have the latest. Also, after parkland everyone seems to have an opinion on whether there should be tighter controls on guns. But some Texans with a personal stake in the matter say they don’t have a seat at the table, and they’re demanding a hearing. We’ll hear why. Also, Sprint and T-Mobile want to get married. If anyone has reasons why these two should not be wed, it might be Texas-based AT&T who’s fighting its own anti-trust battle at the moment. We’ll hear why that might matter to you. Plus a surprise endorsement in the Governor’s race and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Guns (Re-broadcast)
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology behind both sides of America’s ongoing debate about firearms and gun control.
Texas Standard: February 15, 2018
Harris County’s bail system treats the rich differently from the poor. An appeals court affirms that ruling. We’ll have the latest on what’s next and what it could mean for taxpayers. Also, a Texas lawmaker is leading an effort to roll back some requirements aimed at helping the disabled. We’ll explain. Plus, two native Texans are part of a suit that wants the feds to drop marijuana as a schedule 1 drug. What a ruling could mean. And we’ll explore technology as it’s being used in groundbreaking ways at the Olympics. Plus, LBJ did not like his presidential portrait. We’ll tell you why and what he did about it. Those stories and a whole lot more on todays Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 18, 2017
The GOP says it has enough votes in the Senate to pass its tax bill. The reason? What might be called a last minute Santa clause…The story today on the Texas Standard.
When Katrina made landfall in 2005–more than a thousand guns disappeared in the chaos, reappearing in crimes years later. But after Harvey, the story was different…the results of an investigation by the Texas Standard and the Houston Chronicle.
Also, what’ll it take to bring tourism back to the coastal bend.
And the occupation with the highest rate of suicide? It’s probably not what you think. We’ll hear about a crisis down on the farm –and what can be done…All that and much more today on the Texas Standard.
Texas Standard: December 4, 2017
The US Supreme court refuses to hear a Texas case on employer benefits for same sex couples. But what does this mean? We’ll have the latest. Plus, with rising murder rates in cities across Texas, we’re seeing the return of so called gun buyback programs. So how is it that high-powered arms of the law are winding up on the streets of Texas cities? Alain Stephens with the result of our year long investigation: Blowback. Also, why, after more than 2 weeks, are federal investigators still in the dark over what actually happened in the death of an on duty border patrol agent, and the wounding of his partner? Plus the last republicans and the next Texas speaker of the house. All of that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 17, 2017
It was introduced two weeks ago, and without a single hearing, it’s passed the house. Tax reform of some form seems likely, but at what cost?
The president’s plan for rebuilding America’s infrastructure: price tag? 1 trillion dollars. But who’s gonna pay for it? One expert says the answer should be obvious: China. And Texas could be at the center of it, we’ll hear why. Also, first do no harm, goes the maxim of medicine. But are med school costs hurting the profession itself? Why more prospective doctors are turning to Texas. And surviving a historic storm and emerging world champions, heroic enough for ya? The folks behind Superman and Batman come to Houston to talk superheroes. Those stories plus the week in politics and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 16, 2017
In the wake of Sutherland Springs, should congregants be allowed to carry firearms? Hundreds respond to a Texas church security summit, we’ll have the latest. Also, at Texas prisons its being described as a mass exodus of guards. We’ll hear how bad it is and what’s behind it. File under sign of the times: what do you call it when someone lies by, telling the truth? Why a word with roots in the 16th century is making a comeback in 2017. Plus attention investors: want some partisanship to go with that portfolio? A new way the industry’s blending business and politics. And it’s happened to us all: we’ve run out of Velveeta and Rotel. In queso emergency, the homesick Texan’s got you covered. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 6, 2017
It’s being called the deadliest mass shooting in modern Texas history — why? And why in the tiny town of Sutherland Springs? This is a special edition of the Texas Standard.
Today coming to you from a remote community in Wilson County roughly 30 miles east of San Antonio. In yesterday’s mass shooting nearly one in every ten persons was directly touched by this tragedy—the second major mass shooting incident in the US in less than a month.
What we’re learning about the shooter…his bad conduct discharge from the military and how he obtained access to a new AR-style rifle…
Whether this affects the conversation on guns and the chilling new talk of a new normal in this quiet part of rural Texas. All that and much more today on the Texas Standard.
Texas Standard: August 14, 2017
This time Charlottesville, next time College Station? The warning from white nationalists and the pushback from students, we’ll have the latest. Also, while you were sleeping or trying to avoid the blazing heat: the Texas legislature mopping up last minute business as the special session enters its closing hours. We’ll take a look at what’s passed and what hasn’t. Plus: ready-fire-aim: a gun adopted by scores of police departments raises concerns in Dallas and Houston, concerned about accidental discharges. And what’s a small town to do when there aren’t enough kids for the football team? Six man football struggles with a stigma. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 25, 2017
Education savings accounts, opponents called em vouchers in disguise. Did that fight just scuttle school finance reform statewide? We’ll explore. Also the numbers are in: what does a new census report tell us about the shape of the Lone Star State? Plus there’s a law aimed at getting guns out of the hands of spousal abusers. So why are so few firearms actually taken away? A group of Texas law school students went looking for answers. We’ll hear what they found. And a rite of passage: passing into history. Why the summer job is in jeopardy. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
V&B: Youth, Family & Firearms
KUT’s Rebecca McInroy is joined by Guardian columnist Gary Younge, author of “Another Day in The Death of America,” and journalist Alex Hannaford, to talk about the myths and the realities of gun deaths in the US, the media, and how we’ve come to see gun violence as normal.
Texas Standard: November 21, 2016
Police ambushed in three states this weekend including an officer killed in San Antonio. Mere coincidence, or coordinated? We’ll explore. Plus he calls them the worst of the worst: how does the president elect’s plan to deport millions of undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions square with reality? Also, no longer going Strong? After a weekend loss, Texas’ football coach appears all but fired, but critics say it’s the university that’s fumbled. We’ll hear why. And the rise of a new music city not powered by musicians as much as their producers. Plus the anatomy of a fake news story and much more today on the Texas Standard: