We’ll bring El Cuatro, season 4 of the Tacos of Texas Podcast with a live event at El Perrito ATX. We recap some of the best things we ate in 2024 and talk to our special guest from Visit El Paso, Julio Cotto about his identity and favorite taco spots.
Mando Rayo
Big Bend seeks artists to capture park’s rugged beauty
Last night’s chill has many Texans asking how the state’s power grid is looking for the winter. How much has changed since the freeze and blackouts of February 2021? Mose Buchele of KUT News has been keeping tabs.
The Texas legislative session hasn’t even started, yet more than one representative claims to be the de facto speaker-elect of the House. The Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey joins us with the latest.
Calling all creatives: Big Bend National Park is accepting applications for its artist-in-residence program.
And: What’s in your mug? Mando Rayo, host of the Tacos of Texas podcast, has winter tips for cozy sips.
A closer look at the country music Grammy nods
As lawmakers prepare to take up a school voucher-like plan, many state public schools are struggling with more cutbacks.
Gov. Greg Abbott is seeking an extension of a tuition freeze for public colleges and universities.
What the tiny town of Rockdale, Texas, could teach us about the energy transition and rising demand.
Mando Rayo of the Tacos of Texas podcast breaks down the state’s new Michelin-recognized restaurants.
And: What the Grammy nominations tell us about the changing landscape of country music – and why it’s sounding a lot more like an increasingly diverse Texas.
Is that Freddy Fender on my tortilla?
Let’s talk about folklore in Mexican cooking from apparitions of La Virgen or Freddie Fender on a tortilla, good and bad omens to ofrendas for our loved ones. Guest is Ayden Castellanos from the podcast, SUSTO.
Taco Pop Culture
From Taco shticks, antics in media and pop culture and cultural appropriation, we’ll explore the highs and lows of taco pop culture. Guest is Stephanie Guerra from San Antonio’s Puro Pinche.
Tools of the Taco Trade
Cazos, Discadas y parrillas, oh my! Take a tour of La Tia Pancha Flea Market in the northside of Houston as we discover the tools that taqueros y taqueras use to create their muy ricos tacos.
Spanglish, Botanas and Border Cultura
If you grew up along the border in Tejas, you can speak con ganas, know where the good tacos and botanas are and your identity runs as long as the Rio Grande across Texas. Guest is Eddie Vega, Taco Poet and San Antonio Poet Laureate.
Are Chico’s Tacos actually tacos?
This might be controversial but those drowned tacos are actually flautas or are they? We’ll dig into this highly debated issue in Chucotown. Guest is Ivan Enriquez, owner of El Perrito Austin.
Is Boomer Influencer a thing?
Let’s get cooking with Arnie Segovia (ArnieTex), father, son, traditional cook and Tío Influencer?
On a mission with Chef Ana Liz Pulido
Let’s talk with Ana Liz Pulido, winner of Best Chef – Texas, on how she went from a small town, Mission, TX to the national stage of the James Beard Foundation.
How Rico Torres went from Chef to Historian
From Mixtli, to historian and community builder, let’s find out how Chef Rico Torres digs into history and culture through cookbooks and recipes.
Tacos of Austin FC Special – Tacos of Texas takes a closer look at the tacos around Q2
The new season of Tacos of Texas starts with taco journalist Mando Rayo on a taco tour up to el partido of Los Verdes. On the way, we’ll talk to fans, find the must-stop taco joints and see how comida y gente have welcomed Austin FC to Central Texas
You had me at Queso
Let’s take a melty, gooey trip into what we know as queso, chile con queso, con queso or for you phonetically abled chip eaters, keso. Guest is Nadia Chaudhury – editor of Eater Austin.
Vaqueros, Longhorns and Breakfast Tacos
Explore the origins of the cowboy and our favorite breakfast on a tortilla. Guests include Katie Gutierrez, author and writer and Miguel Cobos, co-owner of Vaquero Taquero.
Los Verdes: Goooool!
Goooool! But first, tacos. Let’s take a taco tour up to el partido of Los Verdes. On the way, we’ll talk to fans, find the must-stop taco joints and see how comida y gente have welcomed Austin FC to Central Texas. Guests include Joseph Gomez – Owner of ConTodo Austin, Sam Boisjoly – Senior Executive Chef at Austin FC, and Axel Beverido and Tony Avila, co-owners of One Taco Taqueria.
What VP Kamala Harris said at her Houston stop
The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee comes to Houston talking teachers, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Andrew Schneider of Houston Public Media was at Kamala Harris’s speech to the American Federation of Teachers. We’ll hear what she had to say in her sprint toward the convention and Election Day.
How El Paso could teach the rest of Texas a thing or two about the future of managing water.
In the Panhandle, a federal plan to expand a wildlife refuge tenfold. Not everyone’s happy about it, either.
Corn or flour? Taco journalist Mando Rayo on some choices we Texans must face.
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry from Typewriter Rodeo.
Thoughts on being a woman in Texas this International Women’s Day
Two veteran Texas-based politics watchers offer their analysis of Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.
What’s it like being a woman in Texas right now? We’ll hear voices of Texas women from across the state answering that question on this International Women’s Day.
South by Southwest is getting underway in Austin. Freelance journalist and documentary filmmaker Karen Bernstein joins with a film preview, while taco journalist Mando Rayo has tips on what to look for and what to avoid on the taco front.
Plus: The week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
Why El Paso Mexican food hits different
There’s a six-way race in Houston for the Democratic bid to represent part of the city in the Texas Senate. We’ll look at how it’s shaping up.
A case involving a Navy SEAL is testing a Pentagon policy designed to keep extremists out of the military.
Change is coming to a corridor in the Texas Hill Country known for its wineries. Why it could just be the beginning of more development.
Megan Thee Stallion’s new single, “Hiss,” is her first solo track to debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It’s also being received as a “diss” track.
And: El Paso, with its proximity to New Mexico, does Mexican food a bit different. We’ll hear about some of the people contributing to its unique flavors.
Bonus Episode: The intersectionalities of Black Mexicans with Chef Adrian Lipscombe.
Chef Adrian Lipscombe grew up in San Antonio and we’ll discuss Texas foodways from her Black heritage to growing up in the gateway to South Texas, San Antonio. Chef Lipscombe is the founder of the 40 Acres & A Mule Project, a city planner and Culinary Diplomat with the U.S. Department of State.
The state 2D artist draws on his El Paso heritage
There haven’t been any votes yet, but we kind of already know what the Texas delegation to the U.S. House will look like in 2024.
The Israel-Gaza war is challenging what it means to have free speech at colleges across the country. A visit to a San Antonio campus highlights why.
Gov. Greg Abbott is set to sign into law a measure that makes illegal border crossing a state crime. What you need to know.
It’s tamale time for many folks across Texas. We’ll explore the base ingredient, masa, with our go-to taco journalist.
And a conversation with this year’s state 2D artist, Gaspar Enriquez, about how he depicts El Paso and what it means to be Chicano.