All politics is local, the saying goes…but hyperpartisan, too? How the TX landscape is changing for local and school board races. Republicans in Potter County, home to Amarillo say they’ll conduct their own primary without the help of election officials and they’re urging other Texas counties to do the same. We’ll have the latest. Plus Texans sparked a lithium battery revolution, now another Texas breakthrough that could lead to something more sustainable and stable. And a critically acclaimed Texas trio hits it big, inspired by the sounds of Houston. Our conversation with the members of Khruangbin and more today on the Texas Standard:
Omicron
Texas Standard: December 13, 2021
The Texas secretary of state asks for detailed information on the 2020 presidential election from 4 Texas counties. Why? We’ll have more on whats described as phase two of a controversial audit of voting in Texas in the November 2020 elections. Also the national guard’s involvement in an ongoing border mission, and new concerns about soldier deaths, car crashes and other issues. And Texas grapefruit growers grow concerned over the future of their industry with a lifting of rules on imports. Plus an artist committing the tastes of her Texas community to canvas. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 9, 2021
Survey says: Governor Abbott with a double digit lead against his best-known democratic challenger in the governor’s race. We’ll take a look behind the numbers with the Houston Chronicle’s Jeremy Wallace. Also, allegations of sexual abuse and assault against federal judges and what investigative reporter and author Lise Olson discovered about a code of silence that has protected them. Plus a huge body of water in the desert…though it’s no mirage, you don’t want to swim in it, either. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 8, 2021
As Texans gather for the holidays, pandemic trends not moving in a positive direction in the Lone Star State, as concerns mount over a new COVID-19 variant. We’ll talk with a member of the Texas Medical Association’s COVID-19 Task Force on increases in COVID-19 hospitalizations and the Omicron variant. Also, a Politifact check of women in the workforce and changes since the start of the pandemic. And the woman heading up a return of the Buffalo to tribal bands in Texas. Plus the filmmaker famous for the first feature shot entirely on an iPhone turns his camera to the Texas Gulf Coast. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 7, 2021
The U.S. Justice Department files suit against the State of Texas alleging that the new redistricting maps violate the Voting Rights Act. We’ll have details. Other stories we’re tracking the first case of the newly named Omicron COVID-19 variant discovered in Texas. We’ll look at what we know and what we don’t. Also after years of talking about a massive infrastructure project to defend the Texas coast from hurricanes and flooding, bipartisan momentum finally building in Washington. We’ll hear the latest. Plus turning a spotlight on a highly respected Black artist from Texas, who’s avoided the spotlight for years. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
J Soulja Speaks!
On this episode of The Breaks
- You’ll hear Confucius and Fresh’s interview with Austin artist and entrepreneur J Soulja.
- In this week’s installment of Hip Hop Facts, you’ll learn interesting tidbits about Wu-Tang Clan’s beef with Hot 97, how T.I. got Young Dro on the Grand Hustle label, how Kanye West hooked up with Jamie Foxx to make Slow Jamz, the connection between CeeLo Green and the song “Happy” and more.
- Fresh states the Unpopular Opinion that the tragic events at the Astroworld Festival won’t lead to any big changes in how music festivals operate.
- In his new segment, Confucius Reads the News, Confucius talks about the omicron variant’s appearance in California, the future of Roe v. Wade, LeBron James recent COVID diagnosis and Stacey Abrams’ announcement that she will run for governor of Georgia.
You can hear the latest full broadcast of The Breaks Saturday night show.
Texas Standard: December 6, 2021
Twas the month before an election year and all thru the House and Senate and beyond, concerns rising among Democrats in Texas. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune reporting on a push for change at the top of the Texas Democratic Party. Also a growing list of unanswered questions one month after the deadly tragedy at the Houston’s Astroworld festival. We’ll hear about findings by the Houston Chronicle. Plus representative Donna Howard on where we stand with reproductive rights in Texas in the wake of last week’s oral arguments in a major abortion case. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 3, 2021
The Trump era policy for asylum seekers to resume after talks between the Biden administration and officials in Mexico. The so-called remain in Mexico program is coming back, despite promises of change. We’ll hear why. Also the push to preserve the history of a formally segregated school in West Texas. And El Paso’s ban on planting Mulberry trees. Now that the existing ones are dying off, what will take their place? Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune, and remembering the Texan getting tons of attention right now for his role in keeping the fab four together. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 2, 2021
Reading between the lines of questioning in one of the most potentially consequential abortion cases since Roe vs. Wade. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: how the Texas Capitol city appears to be on track to become the least affordable city in the country after California. We’ll talk with the New York Times reporter who wrote about those findings. Also small Texas towns, big problems with cybersecurity. Omar Gallaga on what they’re doing to try to manage the threat. And the fruitcake fraud of Corsicana, now the subject of a documentary film, we’ll talk with the director and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: December 1, 2021
Four new laws aimed at improving the lives of almost a million and a half Texas residents who served in the military. We’ll have Details. Other stories we’re following: young authors and librarians weigh in on the Governor’s attempts to purge what he calls pornography from public schools. Also big news for a small city: what the decision to locate a new multi-billion dollar semiconductor facility means for the town of Taylor in Central Texas. Also what’s in the name “Brackenridge” and a Politifact check of a claim that U.S. households are on track to spend 19 billion dollars more on energy by 2030. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 29, 2021
With a big rise in COVID-19 cases in New Mexico and pediatric cases up in El Paso, experts raise red flags for Texas. In time for the holidays, growing warnings about COVID-19 in Texas as the President announces new steps amid the spread of a new variant. We’ll have the latest. Also, with the infrastructure bill, the push for electric vehicles in one of the nation’s top gasoline consuming states, you know the one. Plus a conversation with the mother of a Texas elementary school student pushing for changes in how the stories of Indigenous people and Native Americans are taught. And a college football outlook and more today on the Texas Standard: