After a year covering miles and miles of Texas, what did our producers pick as standout stories? With a new year dawning, we asked our team of producers and reporters to hand pick some of the standout stories we’ve shared over the past 12 months. From amateur astronomers making celestial discoveries to a reconsideration of labor leader Cesar Chavez, and a mysterious tradition involving a certain Sam Houston. We offer a collection of unforgettable voices and tales from 2022 today on the Texas Standard:
music
Texas’ top musical moments of the year
From the highlights to the blue notes, what happened in the world of Texas music in 2022. A Texas country music legend says goodbye to the road that goes on forever; our conversation with Robert Earl Keene. Also a renaissance for one of the best know Texas artists of all time: the impact of Beyonce’s 7th album, an homage to house and disco music. And Adrian Quesada turns up the volume on a rediscovered musical genre with his Boleros Psicodélicos. A lonestar-studded review of the year, today on the Texas Standard:
Largest teacher prep program in Texas at risk of losing accreditation
A long awaited report on Maternal Mortality in Texas is now two months delayed and may not be available for the next legislative session. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: amid a statewide teacher shortage, the biggest teacher accreditation program in Texas now facing the possible loss of accreditation. We’ll hear more. And after several local ordinances to decriminalize marijuana pass on the November ballot, a pushback from many local officials. Also a singer from El Paso who’s new release, Frontera, is turning a spotlight on latino voices in country music. Our conversation with Valerie Ponzio, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:
The Great War (of buying Taylor Swift tickets)
For fans of a certain musician, a certain recent ticket-buying experience was a certain nightmare. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: November 25, 2022
Had your fill yet? No need to loosen the belt…we’re serving up something different today. As many Texans dash about in search of gift-giving deals on this Friday, we’ve made out a list of some of our favorite books this past year. From tales of trailblazing women clearing the way for the final frontier of space to an examination of re-wilding as a way to get back to a balance with nature and make cities more livable. A memoir from a music superstar and the hidden histories of gay power in high places. Just a few of the reading selections we’ve been perusing today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 24, 2022
It’s a day marked by feasts and celebrations: Thanksgiving Day across Texas and the US. Our producers, reporters and others behind the scenes share some of the stories they’re grateful for over the past year. From efforts to preserve an historic Freedmen’s cemetery in North Texas, the Black Women kayakers breaking down racial barriers in recreational sports, the work being done to save turtle hatchlings along the Texas coast, to the efforts to preserve the voices and stories of San Antonio’s historically vibrant West Side music scene. These stories and much more today on a Thanksgiving edition of the Texas Standard:
Tardeadas
Move over Sunday brunch! Today we are vibing at a Tardeada in Seguin, Texas. Travel with us as we fill our panzitas with Tacos and our soul with good music y good afternoon vibes at Burnt Bean Co. The Pope of BBQ Ernest Servantes will guide us through a Sunday ritual of some sacred tacos of Texas. We talk tardeada traditions, memorias, and some of our favorite tardeada tunes y comida.
Taco Beats
What goes better with tacos than with a little Screwmbia? That’s cumbia chopped and screwed. We’ll talk with los mero meros de screwmbia, including Principe Q (Corpus Christi DJ, chef, and nephew of Selena, yes that Selena) and Gracie Chavez (co-founder of Houston’s Bombón collective) to understand how the music genre took off. We’ll also take a deep dive into creating taco beats with music producer Adrian Graniel who helped IDENTITY Productions create their own taco beats that go perfect with tacos al pastor and a bien sazonada carne asada.
Ode to an Austin Icon
John Aielli is one of those people who truly made Austin weird. He was known for his genre-defying show and meandering conversations. Aielli wasn’t just an icon of the music scene but a companion in kitchens and on commutes for decades. He died on Sunday at age 76 and was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: July 21, 2022
Thousands of acres across Texas ablaze as firefighters struggle to save lives and property amid record breaking heat and drought conditions. We’ll have the latest. Other stories were covering, a new study finds a generation of Texas kids affected by pandemic lockdowns and social isolation. What experts are saying about the mental health impact on adolescents. Also the latest on Texan basketball star Britney Griner, now being held in Russia. What the Biden administration is doing to secure her release and where her trial on drug charges stands right now. Plus what horticulture experts say Texans should do to weather the heatwave and much more today on the Texas Standard:
NFTs and Music: What is a NFT? The Song!
Here’s your very own, very fungible copy of the soon-to-be hit song, “What is an NFT?”
Texas Standard: June 28, 2022
An horrific discovery outside of San Antonio where investigators describe one of the deadliest human smuggling incidents in years. The bodies of at least 50 people, all suspected migrants, found in and around an unair-conditioned abandoned tractor trailer truck. We’ll have the latest. Also the continued repercussions of the Dobbs decision. How the fall of Roe factors into Texas politics: specifically the race for governor. Plus post Roe privacy concerns and the intersection with technology, including the smartphone. And the push for truancy reforms after the shooting in Uvalde and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 17, 2022
Is there a big push for Governor Abbott at the Texas GOP Convention? Not exactly… Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom with the latest. Other stories we’re tracking, more warnings of record demand for electricity in coming days as Texas tries to beat the heat. While wind and solar getting credit for helping us avoid major blackouts, why these ongoing warnings? And is Texas moving quickly enough to meet constantly growing demand? Also, a new massive SpaceX rocket test cleared for liftoff in South Texas? The FAA imposes new restrictions. And reflections on Juneteenth: do Black Texans consider themselves really free? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
NFTs and Music: Minting an NFT
Miles and Elizabeth go on a journey to mint an NFT. But in order to do that they have to write and record a song, buy cryptocurrency, set up a wallet, and list an NFT for sale. But things don’t quite go as they planned.
Texas Standard: April 22, 2022
Ukranian refugees at the southern border being told do not enter as of Monday. A change in policy from the Biden administration. Dallas morning news D.C. bureau chief Todd Gilman with more on U.S. plans to change the policy for Ukrainians feeling the war in their home country. Also, you’ve heard of Iowa’s early role in picking presidential nominees? Maybe not much longer. Texas expected to make a bid to move into the top slot. We’ll look at why and what it means for picking presidential candidates. And the father daughter duo that became an international sensation with a twist on one of Texas’ favorite foods. The story of the travel taco and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Math, Music, and The Brain
There are some things that just feel like they’re true. For example, the idea that people who are gifted musicians are also good at learning math, or vice versa.
However, there isn’t any data that suggests that there are any links in the brain between these proclivities. As Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, we underestimate the role emotions play in what we believe to be true.
Texas Standard: April 12, 2022
As evidence mounts of atrocities by Russian forces in Ukraine, the conversation shifts beyond war crimes to allegations of genocide. Ukraine says civilian killings constitute genocide. We’ll have a Texas expert on how and why that term is contentious, and what it could mean for the future. Also closer to home, with population growth in Texas, demand for concrete grows and Black and Hispanic communities in Houston disproportionately affected by concrete batch plants. We’ll have more on analysis by the Houston Chronicle. And federal dollars flowed to Texas landlords who pledged not to evict tenants during the pandemic. But many were evicted anyway. So what happens next? Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Bonus! A City Department just raised their rate for musicians to $200 per hour.
The City of Austin’s Economic Development Department just raised their rate of pay for musicians to $200 per hour per musician. Hear why that happened, and how they hope this change will inspire other departments.
Texas Standard: March 23, 2022
Texas two senators press President Biden’s Supreme Court nominee in historic confirmation hearings at the capitol. Todd Gilman of the Dallas Morning News with more on the roles of Senator John Cornyn and Ted Cruz in the confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. Also, does Texas need an independent monitor of the natural gas industry? A conversation with a Texas Senator pushing for this change. Plus a book that is as much a celebration of Texas 250 rivers as it is a warning. And why allegations of sexual abuse against the Boy Scouts are factors in a bankruptcy court settlement. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 18, 2022
High winds, low humidity and dry conditions fuel wildfires in Texas. In Abilene authorities have ordered evacuation. We’ll have the latest. Also, extradition can ensure those who flee to another country face justice. A judge in Scotland though ruled returning a man would be a human rights violation because of poor conditions in Texas prisons. Plus a trailblazing Secret Service agent talks about being one of the first women hired to do the job. Also, the Texas border chef nominated for a prestigious national award three years after opening his restaurant in El Paso. All of those stories and more today on the Texas Standard: