Millions of Texans are marking Labor Day across the Lone Star State. This hour, we’re looking at some of the ways our work is changing:
– Artificial intelligence leading to a rethink of so-called busy work.
– How high tech is affecting labor unionization.
– The gig economy, and the hidden dangers of breaking out on your own.
– There’s one job on a few cattle farms – and many sheep farms – that is increasingly being done by dogs: herding.
Plus much more on a special Labor Day edition of the Texas Standard.
Union
New survey reveals bipartisan concern over Texas housing affordability crisis
With Kamala Harris in the spotlight, there appears to be a major momentum shift in presidential politics. Is it moving the needle in Texas?
A new survey indicates that 90% of Texans believe housing costs are too high, with Democrats and Republicans in agreement.
Schools are struggling to grapple with a rise in vaping among students.
A conversation with Oscar nominated actor Colman Domingo on his new movie “Sing Sing.”
And: the week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
The growing union drive in tech
Extreme weather brings flooding and evacuations to an area near the Trinity River. We’ll find out how folks are coping with all that water.
Police remove protestors trying to set up camp on the UT Austin campus.
A new book takes a look at the Republic of Texas – an armed secession movement in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. It happened nearly 30 years ago. Could we see it again?
Also, as union membership grows across the Lone Star State, what does that mean for tech workers and why they face challenges unionizing?
Tracing the foodways of Black Seminoles
The Supreme Court finally has its own ethics code for justices following a series of scandals – including a Texas billionaire showering gifts on Justice Clarence Thomas. Will this new code of conduct make a difference?
Bison once ruled the Great Plains of North America before being hunted almost to extinction. We’ll hear about how Indigenous people in Texas are supporting their slow rebound.
For descendants of Black Seminoles – a group whose members included former slaves and the Seminole native people – finding foodways through Texas and Mexico takes care and intention.
And: Colleges can no longer use race as a determining factor in admissions, thanks to a Supreme Court decision earlier this year. What’s the upshot? It may surprise you.
The Texas Standard team wants to know what you think about the Texas Standard podcast! Take the Texas Standard Podcast survey
The real history behind Goatman’s Bridge is scarier than any ghost story
After almost seven weeks, striking autoworkers reach deals with the Big 3 automakers. Why Texas played a critical role.
Scientists recently got to see a collision of two stars in space – and its aftermath.
The president has released an executive order on artificial intelligence. How far does it go, and will it go far enough?
The tale of Goatman’s Bridge has a history that haunts Texas to its core. The Standard’s Sean Saldana takes us to Denton for the story.
And: What would Texas cryptids look like in real life? We visited an elementary school art class to get some ideas.
KUT Morning Newscast for September 12, 2023
Central Texas top stories for September 12, 2023. Ken Paxton trial focuses on alleged mistress. Austin EMS approves new contract. Austin spent over 30 million dollars on police overtime in the last year.
KUT Morning Newscast for September 11, 2023
Central Texas top stories for September 11, 2023. Ken Paxton trial begins week two. New contract for Austin Firefighters. Bastrop county opens first health department.
KUT Morning Newscast for August 9, 2023
Central Texas top stories for August 9, 2023. Parmer wildfire burns in Cedar Park. Travis County EMS union negotiations. Wildfires across Central Texas.
Why a brand-new mental health hospital is sitting empty
There is a critical shortage of mental health care professionals amid surging demand statewide, with almost 99% of Texas designated as a shortage area for mental health professionals.
With heightened demand for mental health treatment, you’d expect the Kerrville State Hospital – a new, $30 million state-owned inpatient mental health facility – to be full. Instead, it’s completely empty.
A professor at Texas Woman’s University says Chat GPT and other AI tools present an opportunity to teach and learn in new ways.
And the story of Herman Barnett, a Black veteran who desegregated a Texas medical school.
Texas Standard: November 03, 2022
With early voting numbers coming in lower than expected, leaders of both parties are looking for answers. Also a focus on one of the most consequential contests on the ballot when it comes to climate concerns, though with a name like The Railroad Commission, many may not realize it. And a new book documenting the challenges of undocumented motherhood. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 25, 2018
The Lt. Governor mocked after the Santa Fe shooting for claiming Texas schools have too many entrances and exits, but is he right? After the Sandy Hook school massacre, the old building was raised and a new more secure building built in its place. One of the experts involved says Texas schools should reconsider their architecture too. And another year another season of glitches for Texas’ standardized public school testing scheme. Now penalties for the company behind the tests, and a reprieve for many students who didn’t pass, we’ll take a look. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: August 21, 2017
As demonstrators and counter protestors take sides in cities, how’s the showdown over confederate monuments playing out in small town Texas? We’ll have the latest. Also after declaring a phase out at the federal level, the return of private lockups. Texas seems to be a magnet. And water bottles in national parks, making an official comeback? We’ll hear what’s behind it. And help wanted: an aging population sparks a booming business in stay at home home health care across the lone star state. Plus facts and fiction surrounding a certain solar event: slip on those safety specs and turn up the volume because it’s Texas Standard time:
Texas Standard: June 20, 2016
A case of friendly fire? More than 50 US diplomats sign a memo of dissent demanding a shift in Syria. Also teachers face police in a standoff on a highway. The result? 6 teachers killed in Oaxaca. We’ll hear what’s behind the protests. Plus an offer to the LGBT community in Houston takes an unexpected twist as hundreds sign up for gun classes. Also one of the most famous names in Texas retail —on the ropes? Plus—more than a dozen police officers on mandatory leave as a department investigates false reports of traffic stops. The officers blame a culture of quotas. All those stories and lots more today on the Texas Standard:
A Poem for Texas Independence Day
Monday, March 2 is Texas Independence Day – and the first day Texas Standard begins airing statewide! To celebrate, we asked Sean Petrie with Austin’s Typewriter Rodeo to pen a poem.