Freezing temperatures and ice are in the forecast for much of Texas. We’ll go over what you need to know to feel prepared.
An investigation into jail deaths in Tarrant County finds a common denominator: A lieutenant who looked on.
Drone delivery could soon be coming to your front porch. We’ll cover the companies embracing the technology and the challenges it brings.
The new PBS documentary, “American Sons,” highlights the lives of Marines who served together in Afghanistan and how they remember their brother from San Antonio who was killed in action.
Texas author Sarah Bird shares her thoughts on news about President Trump’s push to acquire Greenland.
And a new facility hopes to inspire folks of all ages in Waco.
waco
Encore presentation: Dr Pepper, mammoths and more – all about Waco
As we continue our yearlong 10th birthday celebration, we’re sharing a special rebroadcast of our July show before a live studio audience at a place that’s been called the “Athens of Texas” – Waco, itself celebrating 25 years of public radio from our partners at KWBU.
We’ll be sampling some of the sights, sounds and tastes of this historic Central Texas city.
After all, when you’re the birthplace of Dr Pepper, home to a national monument marking an epic concentration of mammoths, and with a growing population and national profile, there’s a whole lotta Waco to explore.
A live broadcast from Waco
As we continue our yearlong 10th birthday celebration, today we’re broadcasting before a live studio audience at a place that’s been called the “Athens of Texas” – Waco, itself celebrating 25 years of public radio from our partners at KWBU.
We’ll be sampling some of the sights, sounds and tastes of this historic Central Texas city.
After all, when you’re the birthplace of Dr Pepper, home to a national monument marking an epic concentration of mammoths, and with a growing population and national profile, there’s a whole lotta Waco to explore.
Waco adult education program faces budget uncertainty under DOGE cuts
State lawmakers passed several bills affecting how Texans vote. What that means at the ballot box.
Among the allegations detailed in a lawsuit about conditions inside immigrant detention centers in Texas holding families: fighting for drinking water and children denied medical care.
Why an effort by a Las Vegas company to legalize gambling in the Lone Star State failed.
How cuts to federal funding will affect adult learning programs. The Standard’s Sarah Asch reports from Waco.
And: some good news for endangered sea turtles this nesting season on the Texas coast.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
State parks are expanding efforts to improve accessibility
As the school year winds down, Texas lawmakers cramming for their final days at their desks are focused on education – and what some had hoped would be an increase in state spending per student may be shifted to teacher pay raises.
Consumer Reports investigates a tip that sale prices at Kroger aren’t showing up at the checkout, with consumers taking the hit.
Texas Parks and Wildlife has rolled out motorized track wheelchairs to improve access at state parks.
Plus: A 15-minute film from Waco, “The Heart of Texas,” has already made a mark at festivals and is now headed to Cannes.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
State targets Allstate data collection practices
We’ll have the latest on a dramatic drop in thermometers statewide and what that could mean for large parts of Texas next week. Also: How some are hoping to protect people experiencing homelessness from the worst of the big freeze.
The incoming Trump administration has vowed to make immigration enforcement a top priority, possibly including mass workplace raids. What this could mean for Texas workers and businesses.
And: After suing General Motors in August over alleged illegal driver data sales, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has now filed a similar lawsuit against Allstate, accusing the insurer of tracking drivers without their knowledge.
Former Houston police chief speaks out about ouster
Today in Houston, one of the first speeches by the new presumptive Democratic nominee for president, though not formally a campaign speech. Vice President Kamala Harris delivering the keynote to the American Federation of Teachers meeting in Texas’ biggest city.
Also in Houston, a former police chief alleges he was pushed out to bury a department scandal.
With more frequent extreme weather, Texans are worried about keeping the lights on: Californians? Not so much. What we might learn from their experience.
And you’ve heard “Hooray for Hollywood,” but what about Waco? Lights, camera and all the action on today’s Texas Standard.
What Texans can expect this winter, weather-wise
Winter weather can be challenging for some Texans. Here’s how to prepare.
A lot of people say the best place to talk to kids about violence at home is at school. But there’s a law getting in the way of that here in Texas.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has a lot of power to issue permits across the state. So what do we make of two recent judicial decisions overruling some of those?
Waco is positioning itself to be the next big hub for competitive rowing.
And Texas Monthly has come out with its annual Bum Steer awards – who’s on the list and why.
How to catch a wave in Waco
The president of Texas A&M has resigned amid turmoil over the botched hiring of a journalism professor. We’ll have the latest.
Amid record heat, Texas prisoners struggle to cool down in facilities that lack air conditioning.
Harris County has sued the state over a new law that will eliminate its elections department – and, officials say, cause problems for voters.
Texas-raised filmmaker Taylor Sheridan is getting kudos for boosting the number of Native Americans on screen.
The Austin Outlaws, a women’s tackle football team, celebrate a historic season.
Some of the state’s best-known towns for surfing include Galveston, Corpus Christi, Port Aransas, South Padre Island and … Waco. Yes, Waco.
And taco expert Mando Rayo with top summer sipping tips.
What would property tax relief from the Legislature mean for Texas renters?
Winter storm and travel advisories across much of Texas with some forecast models indicating things could get worse. Victor Murphy of the National Weather Service with more on the icy situation that’s already led to many school closures and stranded motorists overnight.
Our closeup on property taxes continues as the Legislature sets its sights on cuts. The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldana has more on what this means for renters.
The Standard’s Shelly Brisbin on how advocates for Texans with disabilities are turning up the heat on lawmakers at the Capitol.
And 30 years after the Branch Davidian siege, we’re talking to Kevin Cook, author of the new book “Waco Rising.”
Texas Standard: October 23, 2020
News of the first FDA-approved COVID-19 treatment comes at a time when cases in Texas are starting to spike. We’ll explore the details and what’s next. And: Did you get a chance to watch the presidential debate last night? What are your thoughts? We’ll have a recap. Also: A new documentary about the life of Horton Foote who won an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of “To Kill a Mockingbird”. Plus: The week in Texas politics with our friends from The Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 3, 2019
Just two weeks after the petrochemical disaster in Deer Park, another chemical fire at a plant outside of Houston: this one deadly. We’ll have the latest. Plus: 9 dead, 20 injured, nearly 200 arrested and 4 years later, all cases dismissed yesterday without a single conviction. What happened after the Waco biker shootout? And what are the lessons? Plus, a warning about a quarter of Texas’ dams, we’ll take a look. And they call it the Rio Grande Valley, but where are the mountains? Our commentator W.F. Strong on an etymological mystery and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 28, 2018
People who’ve illegally immigrated to the United States with underage minors are being separated from their children. What’s happening to those kids? Over the weekend reports have spread that some 15 hundred kids seized by border agents are now lost, but is that story true? What’s happened to those kids? We’ll hear what’s behind the story. And states of emergency declared along the gulf coast, welcome to hurricane season 2018. And are others tracking your travels by tapping into your cellphone data? What one privacy expert says is a bigger scandal than Cambridge Analytica. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: May 7, 2018
Decision day on the horizon for the controversial arms deal with Iran. Could there be collateral damage? We’ll explore. Also, the party’s over for the NRA in Dallas. What was said, and left unsaid in the wake of the national convention. Plus: e-scooters scattered about the streets of a growing number of cities. There are benefits to be sure, but cities wrestle with whether they outweigh the costs. And hundreds arrested, no one yet convicted We’ll have an update on the Waco biker trials. Also big changes for hundreds of thousands of insured Texans who may be on the hook for 100 percent of ER charges. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: April 19, 2018
Too close to call? As long time experts scratch their heads, a new survey says Texas, you’re in for some fireworks in that Senate race. We’ll explore the battle of Ted and Beto. Also, who or what is the Queen of the Hill? Short answer: what may be a last chance for a deal to protect young immigrants from deportation. A Texas Republican Congressman among those pushing for an unusual parliamentary procedure to break the daca impasse. Also, the Waco Siege 25 years on. And the pilot hailed as a hero in Monday’s Southwest Airlines emergency landing, has made history before. We’ll hear how and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: February 21, 2018
Some momentum behind tightened accountability for firearm background checks. The top Texas Republican who now seems to be at least partially on board. Also, early voting is underway. The first choice those heading to the polls will have to make is which party’s primary to vote in. Why crossover voting isn’t all that common. Plus, Texas coastal cities still cleaning up from Hurricane Harvey are also looking ahead to mitigating the damage of the next storm. Why folks in Corpus Christi are concerned. And it’s been 25 years since the siege at a Branch Davidian complex outside of Waco. What law enforcement learned from that deadly encounter. Plus a profile of a man known as “the Galveston Giant.” Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 31, 2018
How was President Trump’s first State of the Union? You might not be surprised that it depends on who you ask. We’ll have a Texas perspective. Also the Texas Rangers are getting involved in an investigation into a US Gymnastics team facility outside of Huntsville, we’ll have the latest. And Houston consistently sits towards the top of lists of worst traffic cities in the US. A look at how Space City’s highways came about and how they re-shaped communities. Plus, what happens when local lawmakers disagree with a Texas mandate? We’ll explore. We’ll also head to Waco to visit a new Arts facility, and we’ll take the red pencil to a recent claim by a man hoping to be the state’s next governor. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: January 23, 2018
Why did President Trumps voter fraud commission ask for the names of all hispanic voters in Texas? The story not be what it seems, we’ll have details. Also wildfires shut down two interstates and force evacuations west of the metroplex. Welcome to wildfire season 2018: we’ll hear what the experts at Texas A&M are bracing for. And after marches over the weekend, women ask how to build on the momentum: one potential answer gaining momentum in a Texas high school classroom. Also 25 years after that siege outside of Waco, a perspective seldom heard: one from the inside. A survivors story. And the shift away from the war on terror: who are the revisionists? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 20, 2017
Until now, president Trump’s wall has been more of a symbol than anything else: now something far more concrete emerges at the border, we’ll have details. Also, cities across Texas racing to annex land before December 1st. What’s pushing the land rush, and the pushback from homeowners: it’s starting to get ugly. And sleepless over Seattle, anyone? The bids for Amazon’s second headquarters are in and some in Seattle say the losers in this contest could turn out to be the real winners, we’ll explore. And do you really need a car anymore? A Texas team does the math and shows why more Texans may want to reconsider. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: September 13, 2017
Those Texas political maps ruled as drafted with discriminatory intent? The supreme court says they’re staying for now, we’ll have the latest. Plus, something weird happening in Waco? A certain disorder in the court as the first trials get underway in the so-called twin peaks biker shootout story, we’ll explore. And in El Paso the demolition of historic buildings despite a court order. We’ll hear about why, and the protests over the changing character of a downtown. And if the business is fighting deadly pathogens, in Texas business is very good. We’ll hear why. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard: