Get ready to cast your ballots. Local elections are scheduled in Texas for May 4, with early voting beginning on Monday. Katya Ehresman, voting rights coordinator at Common Cause Texas, gives us the lowdown.
What a trial run of a four-day workweek in the UK tells us about how well such a shift might work.
Don Louis, a Texan who once hoped to score big in the NFL, has moved the goalposts – now aiming for the country music charts.
Plus: The week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
poetry
The move away from fossil fuels may exacerbate water scarcity in South Texas
Corpus Christi at the intersection of a clash between dueling demands – one for water, another for energy alternatives.
Dallas City Council votes to expand historical preservation efforts, with a specific outreach to communities of color.
If you’re looking for an apartment in Texas, do you know what you’ll really be paying each month? A warning to renters about the rise of so-called junk fees.
A Houston print shop, long popular with musicians, now the center of a labor dispute. Raul Alonzo with that, plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more.
Counting Cattle With the Fathers
Longtime listeners may know — Texas Standard is fast approaching a milestone birthday. We’re turning 10 next March. With us almost from the beginning have been signature segments including the Typewriter Rodeo and Stories From Texas — these bi-weekly commentaries from WF Strong. He says he has a goal beyond entertainment.
Inside the international friendly match between El Paso Locomotive FC and Juárez FC
Looking back at the week in politics with The Texas Tribune, from Gov. Greg Abbott calling for college students to be disciplined over anti-Semitic speech to a Texas congressman under investigation by the House ethics committee.
Red flags have been raised over group homes for Texans with intellectual disabilities.
For the first time last week, El Paso Locomotive FC and Juárez FC faced off in front of a sold-out crowd. Texas Standard intern Alan Tiscareno shares more from the international friendly match.
And: Texas music legend Alejandro Escovedo ties together a lifetime of songs in his new album.
House Speaker Dade Phelan has drawn an opponent
The Justice Department has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, alleging that the maker of the iPhone violated antitrust law by maintaining an illegal monopoly in the smartphone market. We’ll hear more from Jason Snell, one of the nation’s top Apple watchers.
House Speaker Dade Phelan faces another challenge: not just re-election in his home district, but now a rival for his leadership position from state Rep. Tom Oliverson.
An update on the Standard’s Music Madness bracket, and how you can make your picks for the Elite Eight.
Plus: The week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
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.
A small Texas town is holding a big Leap Year celebration
One person has died in the Smokehouse Creek Fire in the Panhandle, which is now the largest wildfire in state history at an estimated 1,075,000 acres. We’ll get the latest update on the blaze.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are making simultaneous trips to the Texas-Mexico border today, a few days before Super Tuesday.
There are traditions associated with Leap Day in different cultures – and as it turns out, Texas has some of its own. The Standard’s Sarah Asch dives in.
And: There is a high-stakes global hunt for new places to mine lithium, and some investors have tabbed East Texas as one of the element’s potential hot spots.
A younger generation is taking over the Texas oil fields
For the first time in centuries, an American-built – and more specifically, Texas-built – spacecraft has touched down on the moon.
Multiple law enforcement officers who responded to the 2022 Uvalde school shooting have been ordered to appear before a grand jury investigating the failed police response.
The folks calling the shots in the Texas oil industry seem to be getting younger. What does this change mean for the industry?
A giant among advocates for people with disabilities in Texas steps down after a quarter century. We’ll talk with Dennis Borel of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities about the challenges ahead.
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.
Remembering renowned ventriloquist Ignacio ‘Nacho’ Estrada
Ready? Or not? As primaries fast approach, an effort to prepare young Texas voters to cast their very first ballots.
A federal complaint filed over Texans being wrongfully kicked off Medicaid rolls.
The latest on a challenge to Texas’ new law prohibiting social media companies from censoring political speech online.
A new TV series on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X inspired by the groundbreaking work of a Texas professor. We’ll talk with him.
Also, the Standard’s Kristen Cabrera on the death of a beloved entertainer: San Antonio-based ventriloquist Ignacio “Nacho” Estrada.
A national lab didn’t detect disease in Texas deer, but the state had already euthanized them
Missing mail and massive delays in postal delivery in the Houston area are sparking action from U.S. Rep. Al Green. We’ll hear what he plans to do about it.
A controversial law allowing Texas police to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally takes effect soon – but some rural sheriffs in the Big Bend region say they’re not eager to enforce it.
And: An entire herd of white-tailed deer at the Kerr Wildlife Management Area was euthanized amid concerns about the spread of a contagious disease. But the affected deer may not have had the disease after all, according to new test results.
Standoff between Texas and the feds continues over Rio Grande access
Tensions between Texas and the federal government intensify over Border Patrol access.
On the day after the release of the findings of a federal investigation into the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, what we’re learning and what it could mean for accountability.
With the intensification of winter weather this week, how advocates for people experiencing homelessness are trying to shelter and care for Texans left out in the cold.
A sneak peek at the Super Bowl prospects for the Houston Texans, facing a big playoff challenge this weekend.
And we’ll have the week in politics with Matthew Watkins of the Texas Tribune.
Food safety & tree protection tips as Texas awaits an arctic blast
Most parts of Texas are preparing for a big freeze as an arctic front moves in. We’ll have the latest on what to expect, plus how to prepare your trees to survive a Texas winter and tips on food and food safety in case the power goes out.
The U.S., U.K. and other allies have launched retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen; some fear it could expand global tensions and widen the conflict ongoing in Gaza. A UT expert on global studies weighs in.
Plus: The week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
What’s ahead for space exploration in 2024
The federal government takes legal action to stop Texas from implementing a new state law aimed at arresting migrants who come into the state illegally. Julián Aguilar of The Texas Newsroom has more.
A new plan to use AI to help explore the effect of burn pits on veterans.
Why 2024 could be the launch pad for a new chapter in space exploration.
How the armadillo, a dormant dog-sized mammal considered a pest by many, won the affection of many a Texan.
Plus: The week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
How ‘The Iron Claw’ filmmakers achieved authenticity inside the ring
Amid a shortage of ADHD medication, concerns grow about adulterated formulations at pharmacies in Mexico.
As Houston is about to get a new mayor, a look back at the tenure of the term-limited incumbent, Sylvester Turner.
Making history at the Capitol: The Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán talks to the two women who are the first to hold the top law enforcement offices in the House of Representatives.
A new film about a wrestling dynasty built by a Texas family – and why “The Iron Claw” is winning over critics who couldn’t care less about wrestling.
Plus, the week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
Is it Friday yet?
This Typewriter Rodeo poem for the Texas Standard gives three perspectives on one nearly universal question — is it Friday yet?
Ode to NPR!
Texas Standard’s Typewriter Rodeo operates by request — this poem came from a suggestion by a listener identified as @earthweaver, who asked for some verses celebrating NPR.
Exploring the difficulties of rural reproductive care in West Texas
Texas leads the nation in executions again, and Harris County sentences more people to die than any other county in the U.S. A new report examines dozens of death penalty cases there.
A new podcast from Marfa Public Radio looks at the challenge of accessing reproductive care in the Big Bend region.
The season started out with great expectations, but now the San Antonio Spurs have lost a record 18 games in a row. What’s gone wrong, and can it be fixed?
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune’s Ayan Mittra.
Little Free Libraries
You can find Little Free Libraries in front yards, parks, and near community buildings. There are few rules and much to be discovered. That was the inspiration of this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Tired of the same Christmas carols? This Texas composer has some rearrangements
A Texas judge grants a Dallas-area woman her request for an abortion, despite the state’s strict ban. It is thought to be one of the first attempts to seek a court-approved abortion since the U.S Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe vs. Wade. Olivia Aldridge of KUT in Austin shares more.
Aid for Ukraine and Israel is blocked for now over border security concerns, and Texas’ two U.S. senators were very much a part of that process. A Texas Tech political science professor breaks it down.
As Texas cities try to rein in traffic, San Antonio revives a plan to be more bicycle-friendly.
And: North Texas-based music writer and conductor Taylor Davis is discovering something new in the Christmas carols we’ve heard for decades on end.