A serious candidate is running for Texas governor as a democrat, and chances are you know his name. Coming up, our conversation with Beto O’Rourke about his plan to challenge Greg Abbott in 2022. Also, as president Biden signs a bill for bridges roads and broadband, how Texas’ biggest city plans to move the money around…if they get it. Plus after setting new records for skyrocketing prices, has the Texas real estate bubble burst? Yes, but there’s more. Also teaching black history to white people. A Texas professor and author with decades of firsthand experience. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Vaccine
Texas Standard: November 12, 2021
Roads, bridges, electric charging stations… in all some 35 billion dollars earmarked for Texas in the infrastructure bill. So what comes next? San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg joins us. Also, a new law aimed at preventing deaths due to drug overdose has a policy expert warning about the fine print. Plus the week in Texas politics and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 10, 2021
Executions in Texas have halted while courts resolve whether Texas prisoners can have a spiritual advisor touch them as they’re being put to death. We’ll have the latest on the arguments in D.C. Plus, what went wrong at AstroWorld? A crowd safety expert gives us his thoughts on avoiding future catastrophes. And a steel house on the staked plains. It could be yours, for the right price. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 9, 2021
More lawsuits pour in as officials continue to investigate how a concert crowd turned deadly, we’ll have the latest. Also, Texas is worse off now than a year ago. At least that’s one takeaway from the latest University of Texas / Texas Tribune Poll… We’ll have a look deeper into the data. Also a celebration of Jewish religion and culture on screen, even as the community has faced recent attacks. The mission of the Austin Jewish Film Festival. Plus we’ll explore a new book that highlights some underrepresented voices in the historic record on civil rights. And a tiny Texas town adjusts to unprecedented growth and explores how it might maintain what’s made it unique. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 8, 2021
The Biden Administration vaccine mandates put on hold by the 5th circuit. What comes next in the fight against COVID-19? Steven Vladeck of UT Law breaks apart the significance and impact of the decision blocking federal vaccine mandates and what comes next. Also SPR, OPEC, COP26 and RBOB… decoding efforts to deal with climate change and the effect on energy markets. And an historic reopening today at the border. Plus an investigative report reveals poison in the air in parts of Texas at dangerous levels…levels not usually captured by official data. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 5, 2021
The deadline for the federal vaccine mandate for large employers looms. We’ll look at what it means for Texas companies and workers. Other stories we’re tracking: as shipping containers pile up on the west coast, can Texas ports deliver the goods? Also: protecting older Texans from abuse, neglect and exploitation: prosecuting those crimes. Plus Georgia O’Keefe’s other talent: photography. A new exhibit in Texas showcases some of her photos for the first time. And a new book offers an intimate look at the lives of Braceros during their time as guest workers in the U.S. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 4, 2021
Kids between 5 and 11 in Texas begin getting vaccinated for COVID-19, and reports indicate demand for vaccination is high. The first shots to young children in Texas and among the first in the nation have been administered at a hospital in Houston. We’ll hear from the COVID-19 Task Force Co-Chair at Texas Children’s Hospital. Also, the Texas gulf coast getting swallowed up? A new investigative report shows direct effects of climate change. And you’ve heard of CPS, Chld Protective Services, but what about APS? The Standard’s Joy Diaz with more on a lesser known safety net for adults. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 3, 2021
Eight constitutional amendments, all 8 approved by voters. And local ballot measures, too. Any way to tease out political change in Texas? We’ll explore. Other stories we’re tracking: wind turbines set to join oil rigs in along the Texas coast? We’ll have more on big plans for renewable power generation in the Gulf of Mexico. Also more people, less water. How North Texas is planning for the future and why some residents are not going with the flow. And Texas has been home to many icons, including some iconic words. Commentator W.F. Strong on a certain noun with Texas ties that’s gone global. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 28, 2021
Hundreds of kids in Texas’ Child Protective system sleeping on office floors. Will a new panel find a way to fix the problem? We’ll explore. Other stories we’re tracking: an effort by a state lawmaker and candidate for Attorney General to inventory books about race and sexuality in Texas schools. And Texas jails pushed to the brink by the pandemic. Also, an effort to build a better house with a 3D printer, Texas could be home to the biggest development of its kind. And a seasonal ritual comes to Williamson county, a firsthand view from its inaugural fair and rodeo. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 27, 2021
The new congressional maps for Texas, not the final word on redistricting as they face a fresh legal challenge with considerable muscle. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we are tracking: the FDA green lights COVID-19 vaccinations for kids 5 to 11. Any questions? Lots of them. A Texas pediatrician and virus expert takes them on. Also investigators trying to tackle acts of anti-semitism in Austin and San Antonio. And an experimental approach to long term poverty alleviation in Fort Worth. Plus the magic of radio turned up a few notches: the psychics who once haunted the airwaves along the Texas border. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 25, 2021
Two cases challenging Texas’ near total ban on abortions get put on the fast track by the U.S. Supreme Court. What happens next? Not since Bush v Gore has the U.S. Supreme Court moved with such speed as has in two challenges to Texas’s new abortion law, known as SB8. But for now, it remains in force in Texas. We’ll hear what the SCOTUS move means for the future of abortion in Texas and the rest of the nation. Also a plan to link Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio by Amtrak. One with friends in very high places, including 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And the art of ladders and border barriers. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 14, 2021
It is a legislative season that at times has seemed like it might never end. Today Bob Garrett of the Dallas Morning News and Taylor Goldenstein of the Houston Chronicle get us up to speed on what the lege has left to finish, and what’s been done up to this point. Also the launch of a lawsuit over public beach closures near the SpaceX facility. And a military plane crash brings home the dangers of housing developments near bases, quite literally. Those stories and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 12, 2021
No Texan may be compelled to get vaccinated against COVID-19, so says the Governor in a sweeping new order. We’ll have more on the Texas governor’s executive order on vaccinations, a direct challenge to President Biden’s push for employer mandates. Also, how random are Texas jury pools? Investigators are looking into the process in Brazoria country where its alleged that potential jurors were vetted by geography and race. Plus population growth brings new homes to the Hill Country, and something considerably less bucolic, too: new quarries and environmental concerns. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 11, 2021
The 5th circuit court of appeals lifts a lower court stay on Texas new abortion law. What comes next? Doctors who performed abortions in the state during a court-ordered stay on the new Texas abortion law could be subject to lawsuits. We’ll have the latest. Also could the Woodlands become Texas’ newest city? Why the developer opposes an upcoming vote to incorporate. And what this coming winter spells for energy demand in Texas. We’ll hear a forecast. Plus, pregnancy during a pandemic: new insights from a Texas study. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 8, 2021
A bill to prohibit transgender public school athletes from playing on sports teams that align with their gender identity moves closer to passage in the house, we’ll have details. Other stories were tracking on this Friday, the deadliest month yet for COVID-19 among workers at Texas prisons. Lauren McGaughey of the Dallas Morning News tells us why. And the connection between Dallas based AT&T and a controversial cable news channel that promotes false election claims and covid conspiracy theories. Plus veteran journalist Carlos Sanchez asks is Texas ready for a Latina governor? Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 7, 2021
A federal judge blocks Texas’ near total abortion ban, for now. The state has appealed, leaving abortion providers and patients in limbo. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: Governor Greg Abbott is joined at the border by 9 other republican governors, backed by an array of military vehicles and accusing the President of causing what Abbott called a humanitarian crisis at the border. We’ll talk with USA Today’s John Moritz, who was there. Also remembering a Latino civil rights champion who fought segregation in Texas schools. And how Texas music is transforming a remote ghost town. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 5, 2021
Two Black members of congress give testimony at the state capitol. At stake: political maps that would break up communities of color. We’ll have the latest on the fight over representation and redistricting in Texas. Also, it started as a petition to force the hiring of more police officers. Now, why a local proposition could have echoes and reverberations statewide. And an estimated 40% of Texas nursing home workers are unvaccinated. How a change in the law may create a shortage of nursing home workers, and the help that facilities are asking for from the state. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 4, 2021
Demands for the ousting of a non-partisan county elections official for failing to be sufficiently Republican? Donald Trump took Hood County by 81%, but local Republicans want the election official there fired. We’ll hear why some think this could be a microcosm of Texas politics at the moment. Also with so much growth among Latinos in Texas according to the last census, where are they in the new redistricting maps? And recent viral images of border agents rounding up black migrants on horseback and the reverberations of racial violence in Texas. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 1, 2021
Redistricting in a new era: there was a time when Texas lawmakers had to clear new political maps with the federal government. We’ll look at the redistricting process in Texas without the full force of the voting rights act. Plus, concocting a crisis. We’ll learn more about how media and law enforcement shape perception and policy along the border. And Explosions in the Sky play the Big Bend so to speak. A soundtrack for far west Texas. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 30, 2021
In 2018, he came within fewer than 5 points of picking off Dan Patrick in the race for Lt. Governor. Today, he talks about giving it another go. Our conversation with Democrat Mike Collier, and how he hopes to distinguish himself as a candidate following yesterday’s big announcement from another democratic contender for Texas’ number two post. Also, the politics of geography: what Texas’ tilt to the cities means for redistricting in vast parts of rural west Texas. And how abortion providers in neighboring states are dealing with a rush of patients from Texas. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard: