Texas State Fair

A special broadcast live from the State Fair of Texas

Today we’re bringing you a special broadcast from the opening day of the State Fair of Texas in Dallas:

The fair’s storied history dates back to 1886. Karl Chiao, executive director of the Dallas Historical Society, shares more about its history, and the fair’s Karissa Condoianis talks about its future.

Big Tex is a cowboy icon – but did you know he started out as Santa Claus? The midway’s Rusty Fitzgerald shares the story of this Texas giant.

Bryan Berg, who holds four Guinness World Records for card stacking, joins us ahead of his performance at the fair.

Thousands of kids across Texas participate in the Youth Livestock Competitions at the fair. KERA’s Penelope Rivera reports on what drives their passion.

And: We’ll hear about running bumper cars and the family behind a 75-year-old food vendor.

New student data system has Texas school worried

Texas’ Supreme Court Justices weigh a misconduct case against a top aide to Attorney General Ken Paxton.

The state’s education agency updates how it gathers data on Texas 12 hundred plus school districts…but now many of those districts worried they’ll pay a steep price.

With wind a bigger part of the energy mix in Texas, concerns about what happens to those gargantuan wind blades once they wear out. A lab in Colorado may have a solution.

In time for elections, the debut of a satire challenging stereotypes and the Latino vote…

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

Why homeschooling is on the rise across the ideological spectrum

Sean Theriault of UT-Austin with a look at why government shutdowns have become so common, and what needs to happen to avoid another come Sunday.

The summer of 2023 was the second hottest on record in Texas. But for renters, air conditioning isn’t legally required — at least not everywhere in the state.

Over the past couple of years, there’s been a shift in the way that many Texans school their kids, with more folks opting for homeschooling – for reasons that span the political spectrum, or lie completely outside it.

Writer Andrew Leland on losing his vision and the struggle to understand the changes, as told in his new memoir, “The Country of the Blind.”

Texas Standard: July 8, 2020

As Texas reports 10,000 new COVID-19 cases, the state education agency announces guidelines for going back to school in the fall, we’ll have details. Also, with unemployment high, the special struggle to keep up with demand for food in remote parts of west Texas. And Texas Senator John Cornyn claims the last top to bottom criminal justice review was more than half a century ago. Is he right? A Politifact check. Also a new documentary on a flamboyant fortune teller who became a cultural icon for many in Texas and beyond. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: October 4, 2018

As senators get their first look at an FBI report, it’s a Texan at the center of the fight over the Kavanaugh Supreme Court Nomination. Plus, Ted Cruz is now on a top 10 endangered senators list, and a Texas congressional district that used to be a GOP easy win, now looking like more of a toss up. Also, it was a tough season for the flu last year. Now, a top Texas researcher says the flu vaccine this year may be marginally less effective. We’ll hear why officials say its important to give it a shot. And a surprise hit at the state fair is a return to its rural roots. Tips for your weekend getaway, and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: October 9, 2015

The chaos on capitol hill, a free for all for the house speakership, what are the stakes? In Texas, the battleground in 2016 looks an awful lot like the Latino vote. What does that mean for next weeks first democratic presidential debate? Also the multi-billion dollar Dell deal…swallowing up a server giant that might be the biggest tech merger ever. And to dream the impossible dream…aka doing the Texas state fair on the cheap. All of that and much more on the Texas Standard: