sports

Texas Standard: February 5, 2018

Botched executions: that’s the claim from the attorneys of the latest man put to death in Texas. We’ll examine the details. Also it’s incredibly delicate work: manufacturing and maintaining the country’s nuclear weapons. Why a new contract could be putting that work at an Amarillo plant at risk. And Mexico’s state owned petroleum company is mired in challenges. We’ll look at why and how it’s affecting the country’s relationship with the US. Plus, in Houston an effort to preserve a bit of Latino history, and a new book preserves the history of Big Spring. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 25, 2018

The mayor of Plano joins a boycott of a meeting with president Trump. The mayor of McKinney says that was a mistake, we’ll have the latest. Also, governor Abbott appeals to the Trump administration to get money to fund the state’s healthy Texas women’s program. But why was it being withheld in the first place? we’ll get the backstory. Plus, hoop dreams: the national basketball association calls on congress to legalize betting on pro basketball nationwide, and the league would like a piece of the action, too. Smart move or could it hurt the game? And the bandaid that kept the government going: are continuing resolutions the solution or the problem? All those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 2, 2018

2018 means a slew of new laws are going into effect. Are there any that effect you? We’ll have the details. Also, remember the failing blowout preventer from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? A proposed rollback in regulations targets drilling in places like the Gulf of Mexico. Plus: a dispute between Texas and New Mexico over water from the Rio Grande is going to country’s highest court. We’ll have the details. And a Texas high school won back to back to back state championships in 2017. But the school’s story of winning intertwines with a story of loss, we’ll have the details. And the why US may need to change its strategy to combat drug cartels on the other side of the border. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Custom License Plates

Putting a personalized license plate on your car could be about you, or it could be about a team you love, or maybe one you hate. They’re also a win for the state treasury.

Texas Standard: December 11, 2017

Should Texas child protective services be forced to recruit more foster care families? A federal case nears a climax, we’ll have the latest. Also, a south Texas lawmaker calls for hearings on Russian meddling in Mexico’s elections? US Congressman Henry Cuellar tells us why he’s concerned, and why Texans should take note. Plus, net neutrality reconsidered: as the FCC approaches what could be a landmark vote, we’ll explore the practical implications of the proposed change. And retired teachers leaving a state health care system in droves, and agents stand down for an emotional family reunion at the border near el paso. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Football and Brain Injury

It can be said that ignorance is bliss, and when it came to football that was the case for our own Dr. Bob Duke. A lifelong football fan, Duke was thrown into a dilemma by a recent study done by researchers at Boston University that revealed that, “chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive, degenerative brain disease found in people with a history of repeated head trauma, may be more common among football players than previously thought.”

Knowing this, the question then became, how can a man who has dedicated his life to studying and teaching about the brain support a spectacle that is so damaging to the brain?

On this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke discuss what it means for Bob to be a fan of football knowing what we now know.

Texas Standard: June 22, 2017

The US senate lays out a vision to repeal the affordable care act. The upshot: a major revision to a half-century old safety net. We’ll explore what it means for Texans. Plus, though it was promised as a top to bottom rework of the House plan to repeal and replace Obamacare, the senate version is very similar, we’ll take a closer look. And should north Korea be on the US list of state sponsors of terrorism? We’ll talk with the Texas congressman leading a push to turn up the heat on Pyongyang. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 28, 2017

A sudden reversal from the department of justice: Texas didn’t intended to discriminate with Voter ID. Why the 180 and why does it matter? We’ll explore. Also: as immigration detention centers in Texas fill with new arrivals, a lawsuit against a private company running many of those centers: the allegation? Forced labor. The case could involve tens of thousands of current and former detainees. Also, a new technique to eradicate invasive species being tested for the first time on mammals: the effect, daughterless offspring. What could go wrong? We’re just getting started, it’s Texas Standard time:

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: November 8, 2016

After long lines for early voting how goes it on Election day? We’ll check in with reporter. Plus there are some election stories unfolding today you won’t be seeing in mainstream media coverage. Coming up, the promises made to politicians decades ago over election day reporting…and how that affects what we’re learning about the results and why. Also, doctors? Vets? The milkman? Who makes house calls anymore? To an increasing extent in Texas the answer is teachers. Plus top stories of 2016 anyone? We’ll explore the news that got lost in the noise of an unusually ugly campaign season. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas College Mascots

Many Texans will tell you everything about their alma mater in a matter of seconds, whether you asked about it or not – right down to the mascot and stadium seating situation. That was the inspiration for Typewriter Rodeo’s Sean Petrie as he wrote this week’s poem.

Texas Standard: March 22, 2016

A primary day in the US- a bloody day in Belgium, one some see as an attack on Europe …but what does it mean for us? We’ll explore. Also a white mob nearly burns down a city -the year 1943, the place, east Texas…a forgotten chapter of history which resonates today. A surge in citizenship applications in Texas…we’ll hear what’s behind that. Plus the push to get students to foot more of the bill for college sports… All that and much more today on the national news show of Texas, Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 12, 2016

What if you planned a sex expo and the city turned off the lights? The ties that might bind Dallas…constitutionally speaking… Order in the court, and by order I mean where’s that suit, son? A Houston judge and the tirade that has the Justice Department steaming. Also The doctor, the druggist, and the Texas law that’s supposed to stop kickbacks between the two. How big a problem is it, really? And the larger than life Texas politician Texans may have forgotten too soon…and why that might be a bad thing for good government. Those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: January 20, 2016

The Attorney General takes a gamble and decides to shut down fantasy sports betting. Will Texas play along? Also, what’s it like planning a presidential debate and how much does a party like that cost? The female horse riders turning heads at the Fort Worth Stock show and America’s other original sin: how enslaving native Americans helped prop up the African slave trade. Those stories and lots more on todays Texas Standard:

Winter Sports in Texas

Texans love their sports, even when it gets cold outside. But “winter sports” in the Lone Star State don’t exactly look like they do in other places. That was the inspiration for Typewriter Rodeo’s Jodi Egerton as she wrote this week’s poem.

Rewarding Mediocrity

The ups and downs of rewards that praise participation in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke.