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Texas Standard: April 21, 2017

Police shootings caught on smartphones grab the headlines…but what about other deaths in custody? The results of a new investigation today on the Texas Standard.

The State of Texas wants its drugs back. The FDA says: not gonna happen. A looming showdown over a deadly cocktail.

State law that says kids need to ‘click it’ en route to school—so why are the buckles missing on most Texas school buses? We’ve got the backstory, fasten your seatbelts.

An American auto factory seized in oil-rich Venezuela. For Texas companies there: get out now, or does it pay to stay?

Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more.

Texas Standard: April 20, 2017

Texas is number 1- for reports of improper teacher student relationships- and the numbers continue to rise. Why and what can be done today on the Texas Standard.

An alternative to the much debated senate bathroom bill does not require people to use the bathroom that matches the gender on their birth certificate. We’ll hear why that’s not a “fix’ for many bathroom bill opponents.

A power plant that diverts carbon before it gets into the air. Sounds great–but how’s that working out?

We love our smartphones and such, but is there such a thing as too much tech?

And the only Spanish speaking mosque in the US…and what it says about America’s most diverse city. You bet it’s in Texas.

Texas Standard: April 19, 2017

An upset or not so much? As political pundits argue over the the significance of Georgia’s special election, is there fallout closer to home? The story today on the Texas Standard.

The president calls for tightening H1B visas: how that might affect the state with the most H1B applicants outside California- you know the one.

Federal law prohibits employers from engaging in age discrimination against people 40 and older. But does it protect older job applicants? A Houston Chronicle columnist says it shouldn’t- and boomers need to get out of the way. We’ll hear the reasoning.

Plus, if you wait in line to testify at the capitol, is it first come first to speak? Or something else?

Texas Standard: April 10, 2017

In an arm wrestling match between Dan Patrick and Joe Strauss who wins? Wanna bet 218 billion on it? What looks like a power shift. From bathroom choice to school choice, a string of defeats for high profile bills raises a question at the capitol: who’s really in charge here? R.G. Ratcliffe of Texas Monthly with an assessment. Plus reports of crime down, way down in parts of Houston. So why does the police chief in the nation’s most diverse city say that’s bad news? Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: March 30, 2017

A whole new rodeo: Texas Ag commissioner Sid Miller strikes an economic agreement with a group of west bank settlements? We’ll explore. Also: a billionaire, a brash talker, and a would be president? Skip Hollandsworth of Texas Monthly on the prospects of a Cuban revolution. And how to pay for public schools: in a session dominated by what proponents call school choice, fresh fault lines emerge over the bottom line for eduction. Also, an invader arrives in Texas and experts say it’s killing our bats. Those stories and lots more today on the national news show of Texas, The Texas Standard:

Privacy

Understanding what we want to make public and what we want to keep private might seem like an easy choice, however as Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss in this episode of Two Guys on Your Head, when it comes to life on-line our brains aren’t quite equip to navigate the complexity of this issue.

Texas Standard: February 24, 2017

What does the Trump administration really have in store for the next 4 years? Don’t say nobody warned ya. The story today on the Texas Standard.

Social media and text messages suspected behind skyrocketing numbers of inappropriate stident teacher relationships in Texas. What to do? The Texas legislature now stepping in.

Also: a rare conversation with the judge who’s likely to be at the center of a forthcoming wave of lawsuits over a southern wall. NPR’s John Burnett joins us with his one on one.

Texas leads the nation in windpower, but it’s been so successful they’re having to give away power…what if they could store it? What could be a breakthrough.

Texas Standard: February 17, 2017

An undocumented woman seeking protection from domestic violence arrested in an El Paso courtroom–the shape of things to come? That’s today on the Standard.

The pushback on sanctuary cities inspires a throwback strategy: the return of sanctuary churches. We’ll meet a pastor who’s behind an effort in Texas–one that could lead to his own arrest.

Also, an army burn center sees action on the home front: how a San Antonio military team is saving civilians

And what do Neiman Marcus, Radio Shack and Chuck E Cheese have in common? We’ll explore some of the top brands in Texas and count down the 5 most iconic.

Plus the week in politics with the TexasTribune and more…

12th & Chicon: Honoring Austin Blacks in Baseball

The Black Senators, Austin’s black baseball team in the first part of the 20th century, played at Downs Field in East Austin. The field is now home to the Huston-Tillotson University Rams. Houston artist Reginald Adams and members of the East Austin senior center are commemorating the players by crafting murals.

Texas Standard: September 26, 2016

With a key moment in American politics hours away- why what voters see in the debate might not be what the press sees. The story today on the Texas Standard.

After refusing to endorse the Republican nominee at the convention Ted Cruz jumps on to the Trump train. But does Cruz think Trump’s fit to be president? That’s another question. We’ll hear how he answered it.

Also, we’ve heard about drowning in student debt, what does that mean in real life? A case study from North Texas…

And Rhett Miller of the Old 97’s offers a humble alternative to the Texas state song. Lawmakers are you listening? All those stories and much more.

Texas Standard: August 18, 2016

The Aleppo boy in the ambulance – could a haunting photo mark a tipping point in what’s been called a forever war? The case today on the Texas Standard.

The feds are phasing out private prisons. How did we get there in the first place? Would you believe Texas led the way?

Also the dwindling population at the nation’s biggest military base raises new opportunities- for civilian homehunters looking for the ultimate in gated communities.

Mental health behind the badge: how the stuff they don’t tell you at the academy can hurt, and what’s being done to help.

It started with a game between New York and San Francisco. This weekend, Texas hosts the world series of gay softball.

Plus the week in politics, and much more to share— the Texas Standard is back on the air.

May 21, 2015

State lawmakers say no. The city of Denton says so? When it comes to fracking we may be looking at a battle of the bans. Food fights, spitballs, water balloons- no problem…water guns? Stop right there partner. The Scouts ban on water gun fights prompts a range of reaction. We’ll explore. And Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor with some choice tips for this Memorial day. Those stories and the rest of the news from around the republic, on todays Texas Standard:

May 20, 2015

What if some of the Waco 174 are not outlaws after all… A legal blowback from innocent bikers? When officers in riot gear jumped a man in an El Paso cell…he claimed he couldn’t breathe. Half an hour later he was dead. Natural causes? We’ll explore. The American dream -meet generation millennial…we’ll try to square rising home prices with the market of the young and Texan. Remember the film Minority Report? The billboards that could sense who you were and morph the messaging? We’ll talk to the head of a Dallas company that’s making it real.

May 19, 2015

One million dollar bond for the 170 plus rounded up after the biker shootout… including riders for Christ and Veterans groups? What justifies solitary confinement for 9 year olds? Outrage over how a school in New Braunfels deals with misbehaving kids. Also the 16 year old who graduates from Texas A&m this week…next on her aganda a PHD. And a new national miniseries on the origins of Texas goes beyond the usual Alamo legend…we’ll talk with the author of Texas Rising today on the Texas Standard:

May 18, 2015

Cossacks versus Banditos…a turf war among bikers erupts into a shootout leaving 9 dead, 18 injured and countless questions. Education in Texas typically gets low marks-so why are four of the top ten schools in Texas?
Selling a home in a tony part of Houston for 150 dollars. What’s the catch? We’ll talk about it and much more on todays Texas Standard:

May 15, 2015

400 fish killed at the Texas State Aquarium. Now comes the lawsuit and a nationwide warning about mislabeled chemicals. The West Texas doctor ostracized for blowing the whistle on the cost of health care. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:

May 13, 2015

May 12, 2015

May 11, 2015

In the wake of the attack at Garland, a sharp turn in the so-called war on terror with a warning to local governments. Plus, when a parent seeks mental health care for a troubled teen, should that parent get sanctioned for neglect? A quirk in Texas law some are trying to reverse. And we’ll hear about a Texas company trying fix multicultural branding. Those stories and much more on this episode of the Texas Standard.