A holiday homecoming for U.S. forces at the border? This, as an 11th hour battle begins in earnest over the so-called border wall. With congress trying to wrap things up for the holidays, what’s standing in the way is what might be President Trump’s last best opportunity to get funding for that wall he promised, before democrats take over the house. We’ll have the latest. Also, in the city that bears the name Big Spring, how the nation’s first “toilet to tap” experiment is fairing five years on. And who was Jim Hogg really? All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
immigration
Texas Standard: December 4, 2018
A Texas Representative is leaving the state house’s ultra-conservative group. We’ll take a look at what the move could say about the upcoming Texas legislative session. Plus, the Texas Attorney General is accusing San Antonio’s police chief of violating the so-called sanctuary cities law. What happens now? And a Texas-based non-profit has been making big money housing immigrant children. A new investigation explores. Plus we’ll introduce you to U.S. Representative-elect Veronica Escobar. Why she says El Paso is the new Ellis Island. And we’ll take a look at a list of 31 of the most powerful people in Texas. You might be surprised. All of that and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 29, 2018
An historic new era set to begin in Mexico on Saturday. What does Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador mean for Texas? We’ll explore. Also, it’s been more than a year after Hurricane Harvey. Whatever happened to those long promised fixes to the floodplain maps? We’ll take a look. And in the first Texas city to shift to 100 percent renewable energy, plans to redesign the neighborhoods of the future. Also, the big news this holiday season may not be buying the latest smartphone, but what we’re buying with those smartphones. Our go-to digital guru Omar Gallaga has got your number. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 27, 2018
As visions of gift shopping danced in our heads, a report on climate released by the Feds. What does it tell us about how Texas may have to adjust? Political recriminations over the timing of the mandatory report on the economic impact of climate change. After having had a chance to review it, what’s it telling Texas? We’ll take a closer look. Also, should the U.S. be worried about a collapse in the housing market? The Wall Street journal singles out a Texas city as a worrisome canary in the coalmine. And who were the first Texans? Why Researchers are rethinking their answers with a discovery near Salado. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 26, 2018
A threat to shut the border permanently after a confrontation involving tear gas and members of a so-called migrant caravan, we’ll have the latest. Also, plans for a school in southeast Texas now on hold after the discovery of scores of unmarked graves, and a history of prison labor seldom discussed. Brooke Lewis of the Houston Chronicle joins us to discuss more. And a scooter hits a car, or maybe it’s the other way around. Whose insurance covers what? And are scooter companies or scooter riders on the hook? Plus old age dementia: researchers think they’ve found a link with mid-life stress. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 20, 2018
Backing away from the border: the Pentagon plans a drawdown of active duty forces there…mission accomplished or something else?
You’ve heard of the wall of separation between church and state—could the church stop a wall between Mexico and the U.S.?
Also, a death at a North Texas jail turns the spotlight on untrained guards at lockups statewide.
A proposed transition from an Obama era policy stokes fear among transgender Texans. We’ll hear why.
And a large scale attempt to woo migrating monarchs back to the Texas capitol city—did it fly?
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: October 9, 2018
Migrants entering the U.S. illegally can request asylum according to U.S. law, but not according to the President. We’ll explore the emergency order on asylum seekers. Also, a federal court orders Texas to pay back millions after a scandal involved special education, we’ll take a look. And a Texas-sized problem for folks with disability parking privileges. Plus an effort in Dallas to get more women conducting symphonies: are their neighbors listening? We’ll explain. And what a week in Texas politics: we’ll look back with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 8, 2018
Lost in large part in the immediate aftermath of the midterms: do you really know what’s changed in the Texas legislature? We’ll get you up to speed. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick may have held on to his partisan supermajority, but he may have a tougher fight over issues of social conservatism. Two state lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican offer a reality check. Also, a gut check when it comes to probiotics. They’re all the rage, promising better digestion and better health, but a Texas researcher raises serious new questions. And did Texas shut down the world biggest marketplace for human trafficking? A politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
Solidarity (Ep. 35)
The Secret Ingredient is “Solidarity.” Listen back as Raj Patel, Tom Philpott and Rebeca McInroy talk with organizers Hodaliz Borrayes, Diana Sierra, and Andrea Schmid from The Pioneer Vally Workers Center, about their profound backgrounds and how they come together to educate, inform, and support immigrant workers.
Texas Standard: November 2, 2018
More jobs than workers to fill them? That’s the message today in the new employment numbers. What does it all add up to for Texas? And where’s the party? The tea party, that is. As democrats appear to be turning out in record numbers on this last day of early voting, what happened to the activist movement on the other side of the political ledger? Plus, a year after Sutherland Springs, survivors are in an uphill legal battle against the Air Force. Also, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and a whole lot more. It’s the Friday edition of the Texas Standard.
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 30, 2018
It’s election season: do you know who you’re casting your ballot for? Are you sure? We’ll take a look at reports of problems with voting machines statewide. Also, the White House calls for more than 5,000 active duty troops to be sent to the border to intercept a so-called migrant caravan, and their mission doesn’t seem so much backup as front lines. We’ll have the latest. Also, the president announces a plan to end birthright citizenship. Can he do that on his own? We’ll take a closer look. Plus flares in the field: why oil companies may be underreporting. All that and then some today on the Texas Standard:
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 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 19, 2018
As Midterms approach, so do thousands of migrants from Honduras and Guatemala en route to the U.S. We’ll have the latest on not one but now two caravans of Central Americans headed north. Mexico sends its military to stop them, as many in the U.S. ponder the political implications in a heated election year. Also the Khashoggi affair hits home for a Texas based journalist and author. Lawrence wright on the death of a friend and the threat to freedom. Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more on today’s Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 18, 2018
It started with a few hundred headed for the U.S. border, now 4 thousand strong: the Honduran caravan en route for the U.S. border, we’ll have the latest. Also, days away from the start of early voting, and a once reliably Republican congressional district now one of the most closely watched of the election season. Why the Texas 32nd matters. And they’re the fastest growing demographic in Texas and politicians are eager to court them. But how much do the political parties really understand about what makes young Latinos and Latinas tick? A new survey offers some answers. All that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 16, 2018
Round two getting underway tonight in San Antonio: what to expect in the last debate before early voting between Ted Cruz and Beto O’rourke. Also, the policy of family separations at the border was a bust, but now the Washington Post reports it may be making a comeback. We’ll hear the how and why. And Texas is a leader in wind energy, but is the push for wind turbines about to run out of air? We’ll hear why some are worried. Also, what some have called a declaration of a new cold war. Why you might have missed it and why the Chinese certainly did not. All those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 15, 2018
Constitutional protections suspended in the name of security: how the so-called border zone is expanding and who if anyone is pushing back. Though the policy of separating families at the border is reported to have ended, the camp housing kids at the Tornillo port of entry is expanding. We’ll get a first hand glimpse inside. Also, Toys R who? with what used to claim to be the world’s biggest toy store out of business, who’s filling the vacuum this holiday season? And seeing the lone star state from a different perspective: a mile in the air. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 10, 2018
As a Category 4 hurricane bears down on the Florida panhandle, parts of Texas Hill Country try to recover from flash flooding. Also, after family separations at the border, a new concern grows: an AP investigation finds deported parents in danger of losing kids to U.S. adoption. Plus, do student athletes have a fundamental right to be protected from concussions? We’ll hear of a closely watched civil rights lawsuit filed by parents of an injured player. And a claim from the campaign trail: is marijuana really legal in most states? We run it by Politifact. All that and more, today on the Texas Standard.