The killing of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week sparked protests around the nation this weekend. We’ll look at what happened here in Texas.
The state of Texas has handed over voter registration rolls to the Trump administration Justice Department. Why Texas Democrats and some experts fear that could have violated federal law and exposed confidential information about Texas voters.
For some women behind bars in Nueces County, a financial education effort is underway that proponents hope will be life changing.
Also, why one commentator says the Houston Texans – not the Dallas Cowboys – are now America’s team.
money
A family fight over Bonnie and Clyde’s graves
Texas voters are deciding on 17 proposed amendments to the state constitution – including one to dedicate a portion of state tax revenues to funding water projects. We’ll take a closer look at Proposition 4.
There are growing concerns among military families as the federal shutdown continues, with no clear end in sight.
East Texas is seeing a surge in mineral mining as companies explore new lithium deposits.
And: How Bonnie Parker’s niece has spent decades trying to have her aunt buried alongside Clyde Barrow in Dallas.
Could Texarkana be a political bellwether?
The state says the West Texas measles outbreak is over. What that means for parents and children.
Are natural gas wells, pipelines and storage facilities prepared for another dangerous winter storm? Mose Buchele of KUT News examines the inspection process.
We know AI data centers need a lot of power, but they also use a lot of water in drought-stricken TX.
Austin author Louis Sachar, perhaps best known for “Holes,” is back with his first adult novel, “The Magician of Tiger Castle.”
And: Could Texarkana be the new Peoria? A new study looks at green energy investments and voting patterns in red America.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
Texas lawmakers begin special session focused on floods, maps
Lawmakers recently ended a regular session of the Texas Legislature, but on this Monday, they’re back. They call it a special session: 30 days to complete a long list of action items including a response to the Hill Country flooding, the regulation of THC consumables, and a rare mid-decade push for redistricting that has some Democrats complaining the fix is in for next year’s midterms.
A hold on billions of education dollars sends Texas public school administrators scrambling.
Also, European sanctions against Russia’s oil industry – will there be ripple effects in Texas?
And this week in Texas music history.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
Plan to expand Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is in peril
How a secretive gambler known as “The Joker” and his partner helped take down the Texas Lottery.
A new order from the Trump administration took effect yesterday requiring documentation of cash transactions along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A plan to expand the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in the Panhandle is now in peril. The Texas Standard’s Michael Marks explains.
nVidia is coming to Texas: The chipmaker that powers much of today’s AI for the first time will build its supercomputers in the U.S.
And: Actors with disabilities find a place on stage with Big Heart Theater in Dallas.
UT Morning Newscast for March 27, 2025: Carole Keeton, Austin’s first and only woman mayor, dies at 85.
Central Texas top stories for March 27, 2025. Carole Keeton, Austin’s first and only woman mayor so far, died at age 85. Capital Metro doesn’t know how much money it lost from problems with its fare collection system in 2023-2024. Austin City Council will hear today on new wildfire maps today.
Texans weigh in on how to spend the state’s $24 billion surplus
If Texans were in charge of the state’s budget, how would they spend the money? A new survey from the Hobby School of Public Affairs sheds light on priorities.
We know many state lawmakers are prioritizing a school voucher effort that would give money for private education directly to families – and the proposal has moved forward in the Senate.
Some Texas business are already feeling indirect impacts of deportation efforts.
And: With Texas attracting more data centers, -what’s being done to ensure the energy grid can handle it?
A&M’s next giant leap is the Texas Space Institute
It’s still election season in the Texas Legislature, where there’s a race for speaker of the House of Representatives. We’re taking a close look at the top two contenders this week, starting today with Rep. Dustin Burrows.
Billy Bob Thornton, who’s long been an honorary Texan, has earned his eighth Golden Globe nomination for his role as Tommy Norris in Taylor Sheridan’s new series, “Landman.” He joins the show today.
Plus: Last month, the Texas A&M Space Institute broke ground near NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Director Nancy Currie-Gregg shares the details.
Ultramarathoner prepares for run across Texas
Americans are pretty evenly divided on the issue of gun rights versus regulated ownership. How might it show up at the polls?
The number of migrants trying to cross the border with Mexico into the U.S. is down quite a bit. A look at why.
We’ll also introduce you to an endurance runner preparing to make his way from El Paso to Galveston. His goal is to draw attention to a cause.
The first spacewalk involving private citizens instead of astronauts is in the books. How we got here and what’s ahead.
Plus, recalling the journey to erect the Tejano Monument at the state capitol.
And why Texas lawmakers are working across the aisle to reverse a death penalty case.
On Labor Day, a look at the ways our work is changing
Millions of Texans are marking Labor Day across the Lone Star State. This hour, we’re looking at some of the ways our work is changing:
– Artificial intelligence leading to a rethink of so-called busy work.
– How high tech is affecting labor unionization.
– The gig economy, and the hidden dangers of breaking out on your own.
– There’s one job on a few cattle farms – and many sheep farms – that is increasingly being done by dogs: herding.
Plus much more on a special Labor Day edition of the Texas Standard.
John Sharp on why he’s retiring as Texas A&M chancellor
A conversation with John Sharp, who – as the longest-serving chancellor in Texas A&M System history – has announced he’s retiring next year.
What you need to know about a brand-new consumer privacy law now in effect in Texas.
If you’ve made a big purchase anytime lately, you’ve been paying attention to interest rates. They remain pretty high – but why? We’ll dig in.
We’ll talk to Kareem El-Ghayesh, a Texas pitmaster vying to win the newest season of Netflix’s “Barbecue Showdown.”
One of the most photographed spots in the Texas Panhandle is turning 50. How the Cadillac Ranch became such a phenomenon.
And a new analysis of the out-of-state money funding Texas politics – and to what end.
After devastating tornadoes, Sanderson residents begin to rebuild and recover
The Texas Medical Board has offered guidance to doctors on the emergency medical exception to the state’s abortion ban.
How the small town of Sanderson in West Texas is recovering after a pair of tornadoes.
Shipments of avocados and mangoes from the Mexican state of Michoacán to the U.S. are suspended after two U.S. Department of Agriculture workers in the region were detained by local protesters and later removed from the area, leaving inspections of produce on hold. What will it mean for prices?
Reading, writing and roasting: Texas A&M is hoping to school the next generation of coffee experts by offering a Coffee Processing and Quality Certificate.
And: what Texas architecture of the mid century tells us about the Lone Star State and its complicated aspirations – we’re talking to the author and photographer behind “Home, Heat, Money, God: Texas and Modern Architecture.”
Lawmakers discuss school savings accounts
After unprecedented attacks over the weekend, Israel is at war with Hamas. Jeremi Suri of UT’s LBJ school with more on what to expect as fighting intensifies.
A big day at the state capitol as lawmakers are called back into session by the governor. On the table: school savings accounts, what critics call vouchers, that some fear will upend public school funding.
Texas mega ranches hitting the market at what appears to be a quickening pace.
Plus the would be restaurant rivals who formed what they call the Taco Mafia.
New law will allow chaplains in Texas public schools
The Supreme Court just struck down two race-based university admissions programs. What does it mean for Texas?
Even though Texas lawmakers knew federal money was on the way for expanding high-speed Internet access across the state, they decided to also implement their own program. A look at why.
A new podcast takes a deep dive into the decisions that have made Austin such an expensive place to live – and one where people of color were systematically pushed out.
And a new Texas law set to go into effect will allow public schools to have volunteer chaplains or even to hire them as part of the staff. We’ll hear the argument against the law.
Money, Happiness and Community
New research suggests that the link between money and happiness could be more cohesive than previously thought. In this episode of Two Guys on Your Head Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explore how more money can make you happier.
Time > Money
Confucius and Fresh discuss Swizz Beatz recent comment that for him, time is more important than money. Then they discuss whether being a public figure makes dating more complicated.
You’ll learn Hip-Hop Facts about Dr. Dre’s and Ice Cube’s un-released record “Helter Skelter,” who the role of Rob was originally written for in the movie “3 Strikes,” what the highest-grossing hip-hop tour of all time is, and more.
Fresh states the Unpopular Opinion that it is beneath Lil’ Kim to do a Verzuz with Nicki Minaj.
Confucius talks about the alleged assassination attempt on Vladimir Putin by Ukraine, Ron Desantis’s recent trip to Israel and his ongoing troubles with Disney, the recent bill that passed through the Texas Senate that would allow the Secretary of State to overturn elections in Harris Country, and more on Confucius Reads the News.
How can people get money into the hands of musicians, outside of being fans and going to shows?
Sonic Guild and DAWA are two Austin based that actually give musicians money. In this episode you’ll learn what they do, how they work, and why they were founded.
You’ll hear from Matt Ott, co-founder of Sonic Guild, formerly known as Black Fret, and Jonathan “Chaka” Mahone, founder of DAWA.
Texas Standard: May 11, 2022
What happened to more than a billion dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds for Texas? Officials want to know whether the money was misspent. Were COVID-19 relief funds used to defray the costs of the governor’s border crackdown? That story plus, how nominally non-partisan school board elections in Texas became a magnet for big money donations, and what that could mean for what’s taught in public school classrooms. Also higher ed in Texas prisons: a new report outlines big gender disparities in opportunity. And the work of the code inspector, and why it often isn’t working to help many apartment renters. Plus a Politifact check on SB8 and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Live music doesn’t always pay the bills. So what else can you do?
In this episode, you’ll learn how much money the average Austin musician makes per gig, and why it can be hard to make a living playing live music.
Then you’ll learn all about an alternate revenue stream for musicians — sync licensing. Nathalie Phan, founder of SoundSync Music, will explain the ins and outs of sync licensing from an agent’s perspective and Austin rapper Tee-Double will walk you through the artist’s perspective.
During Nathalie’s segment you’ll hear the song “Black Tea” by Slug, Elijah Fox, Soul Food Horns and Yasper.
During Tee-Double’s segment you’ll hear “Caped Up” from his album Local Transplant.
Money and Happiness
The idea that money doesn’t make you happy is easy to get behind if you have it, but if you don’t it’s a hard one to buy into (pun intended). Yet the correlation between money and happiness is more complicated than one might think.
In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke explain the relationship between money, security, opportunity, and happiness.