With oil and gas revenues rolling in and the state’s savings account hitting record highs, Texas lawmakers get set to make a record withdrawal. Though the formal name for the fund makes no mention of rainy days, several days of rain back in 2017 will finally hit the Rainy Day Fund rather hard. We’ll hear where the money’s going. Also, If Joaquin Castro moves forward with plans to challenge John Cornyn for his senate seat, who’s in line to try to fill Castro’s shoes? We’ll play musical chairs. Plus why Google wants to play with you, and why it could be a real game changer. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
University of Texas
Texas Standard: March 20, 2019
How much does Texas stand to lose if president Trump’s emergency declaration holds? The Pentagon does the numbers. Projects at Fort Bliss, Fort Hood and Joint Base San Antonio all on the chopping block if money is diverted to a border wall. We’ll have details. Also, what could be the next hot ticket for career builders: as the Texas University launches a masters degree in dementia studies. And when it comes to fortune 500 companies, does a texas city really hold the top spot in the nation? A Politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 18, 2019
Wallace Hall fought a bitter battle with the University of Texas alleging corrupt admissions policies. Considering new revelations, was he right all along? We’ll have a conversation with the former University of Texas regent about a college admissions process once dubbed affirmative action for the advantaged. Also, when it comes to performance based pay for teachers, do some teachers have a built in advantage over others? And a ruling in a case that could hold gunmakers liable in the wake of mass shootings. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 27, 2019
Texas has a savings account soon to reach 15 Billion dollars. When it comes to spending it, there’s a surplus of ideas, and a deficit of agreement. We’ll take a look at what this adds up to. Also, a long cool dip into the Texas rainy day fund, or should we leave it untouched? We’ll consider the options. And a degree in Video Games? The University of Texas isn’t playing around. We’ll hear about the new frontier in higher education. Plus preserving an important part of Texas history: the freedom colonies. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 19, 2019
Two dead and five police officers wounded after a botched drug bust. Now the police chief in the state’s biggest city wants to end no knock raids, we’ll have the latest. Also, drug money and corruption rampant in Mexico, but also bad on this side of the border. We’ll talk to a reporter from the New York Times about how drug money’s greasing the wheels in the Rio Grande Valley. And a struggling elementary school in Odessa and a calculated risk to keep it from getting closed down. Plus The University of Texas tries to recend a PhD and a Texas judge says not so fast. We’ll get schooled on the matter. All those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 5, 2018
Zero hour in one of the most contentious confirmation battles in American history as the Senate moves on the Kavanaugh nomination. Plus, one school official calls it the thermonuclear option: mass closing of schools under consideration in Dallas. Also, communication breakdown: a quarter century after the dot-com revolution, rural Texas is still waiting for reliable internet. And with the Red River showdown set for Saturday, we remember a game of gridiron chicanery the Longhorns might sooner forget. Plus, the week in Texas politics and a whole lot more… today on the Texas Standard.
Texas Standard: September 17, 2018
Less than a month do go before the deadline for registering to vote in the midterms, do you know if you’re registered? We’ll have a Texas primer. Also, a border patrol officer has been arrested and charged with the murders of 4 women. The victims all worked as prostitutes. We’ll tell you what authorities are saying. And with Florence and before that Harvey, the greatest threat: flooding. Has our current hurricane rating system left us twisting in the wind? Plus Texas beat USC this weekend, but once upon a time, USC pushed Texas across the line to desegregate the gridiron. We’ll hear how and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Dr. Leonard N. Moore, PhD. (Ep. 36, 2018)
In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. discusses the importance of diversifying education with Dr. Leonard N. Moore, PhD., Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement and professor of History at the University of Texas at Austin.
John S. Chase (Ep. 34, 2018)
In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. presents a 1998 interview with the late John S. Chase, about his experiences as a pioneering architecture student at the University of Texas and the first licensed African American architect in the state of Texas.
Texas Standard: May 10, 2018
Even before the Democrats have their runoff, a new ad campaign from Governor Abbott suggests he already knows the outcome, we’ll have the latest. Also- the two Democrats in the gubernatorial runoff set a time date and place for their one and only debate, although it won’t be televised. How that might hint at what’s happening behind the scenes. And behind the scenes to win freedom for Americans. Ambassador Ryan Crocker of Texas A&M on what you didn’t see with today’s hostage release. Plus the technology that doing for a night at the movie theatre what Uber did for taxis, we’ll take a look. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 23, 2018
The state’s political maps: will they need to be re-drawn? The stakes are high in a case to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, we’ll have the latest. Also in Texas there’s a lot of love for Southwest. But today, lots of frustrated travelers as the Dallas based airline grounds nearly a hundred planes for engine inspections. We’ll hear what inspectors are looking for. And the nation’s biggest psychiatric ward also happens to be a county jail. How did the criminal justice system become the biggest provider of services to the mentally ill? We’ll explore. And a new wave of National Guard troops arrive at the border. How’s this playing out down in the Valley? We’ll take you there. Those stories and so much more on today’s Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 28, 2018
A controversial change already facing a legal challenge: how might Texas be affected by a new citizenship question in the next US census? We’ll explore. Also, five months after a massacre in Sutherland Springs, church officials announce new plans to rebuild, we’ll hear the latest. And what if you could compare the earnings potential of one college degree against another? Despite a federal ban on collecting such data, Texas’ flagship university is doing the numbers, we’ll explore the implications. And it was James Dean’s final film, and a larger than life commentary on Texas as a microcosm of America. The editor of Kirkus Review calls a new book the definitive account of the movie ‘Giant’. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 26, 2018
More than a billion dollars green lighted for a physical barrier on the Texas border. The start of the new wall or something else? We’ll take a closer look. Also, after traveling the world in support of the Trump administration and fighting with his boss, what’s Rex Tillerson’s next move? Why Tillerson may be on the short list to head up the state’s flagship universities. And is west Texas literally losing ground? What’s behind a certain sinking feeling. Also the student anti-gun marches across the lone star state, and the pushback too. Plus, notes for the president’s big meeting with North Korea from a Texas scholar. Those stores and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 23, 2017
Today marks the start of early voting across Texas, but for what? Never fear, we’ll have real world explanations of what’s up for grabs at the polls. Grab a pencil and a small piece of paper and play along as we decide how we’re gonna cast our ballots in the constitutional contests now officially underway. Also, Texas may be one of the top states for executions, but it also leads in exonerations. The price the state is paying for wrongful convictions. And the most powerful super computer at any university in the US is in Texas is about to become one of the nation’s fastest too. So why are they planning for its replacement already? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard :
Texas Standard: August 22, 2017
Change in plans: the president does a 180 on Afghanistan. When will the US leave? We’ll explore why the commander in chief says that’s the wrong question. Also, the navy takes a knee after another ship in the pacific fleet collides with a commercial vessel. 10 navy crew members missing. Who’s on lookout and what’s going wrong? Plus popping the cork on a controversy between grape growers and their cotton pickin’ neighbors: are pesticides killing Texas wineries? And as kids go back to school, will there be enough teachers? That depends: you live in the city or the country? Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: June 19, 2017
What looks like the first major storm of the hurricane season building up off the coast of the lone star state. We’ll have an eye on the sky. Also as professional storm watchers keep an eye on the gulf, a coastal Texas city struggles with keeping its head about water during normal downpours. In need of a hero, Galveston turns to the sand sucker. Plus, artificial caps on kids getting special education services. An investigative story sparked outrage and calls for reform, but how’s that goin? And after years as the top settlement state for refugee families, barriers often remain. How volunteers are trying to remove language as one of them. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
12th & Chicon: Austin’s Affordability Crisis
Dr. Eric Tang is an associate professor at the Institute for Urban Policy Research and Analysis at UT-Austin. After analyzing that data a few years back, Tang wanted to look more closely at why African-Americans were leaving Austin – specifically, East Austin. KUT’s Jennifer Stayton spoke to Tang about this new research for our On My Block series.
Marching Band
With UT’s first home game and the first week of NFL games this weekend, football season will soon be in full swing. But there are other heroes of the field, writes Kari Anne Roy.
Sports Leadership and Innovation, with Daron Roberts (Ep. 35, 2015)
A discussion of sports leadership and transition strategy with Daron Roberts, former NFL coach, university lecturer and founding director of the Center for Sports Leadership & Innovation at the University of Texas.
Mechele Dickerson (Ep. 25, 2015)
John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with Mechele Dickerson, bankruptcy law and consumer debt expert and author of “Homeownership and America’s Financial Underclass: Flawed Premises, Broken Promises, New Prescriptions.” Dr. Dickerson teaches at the University of Texas