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September 27, 2024

A special broadcast live from the State Fair of Texas

By: David Brown

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.


Episodes

July 7, 2025

The latest on catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country

Rescue and recovery efforts continue following devastating Guadalupe River flooding that has killed at least 75 people. More than two dozen campers and counselors died at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, and 10 campers remain missing. Flash flood warnings are in effect for many parts of Texas, and officials fear that the waterlogged […]

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July 4, 2025

Rap to the Ranch: The Ballad of Mason ‘Bric’ LaDue –  A Texas Standard Special Rebroadcast

Mason LaDue raises cattle on family land in Central Texas. But before he was a rancher, he was mostly on the road, managing tours for artists like Curren$y and Wiz Khalifa.His journey from the Dallas hip-hop circuit to the homestead is the focus of today’s special program, Rap to the Ranch: The Ballad of Mason […]

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July 3, 2025

Adult education programs feel the squeeze as federal funds remain on hold

Federal education funding is put on hold, leaving administrators scrambling to evaluate what programs may be affected and what comes next – not just for young students, but Texans in adult education programs as well.What could rural schools teach the rest of us about how to better get along? New research by the George W. […]

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July 2, 2025

Elon Musk’s lobbying machine finds wins in Texas

Elon Musk may be on the outs in D.C., but closer to home, his political influence appears to be on the rise: The state’s richest billionaire scored some quiet but rather significant victories in the last legislative session.Legislative support for wind and solar may be on the wane, but Texas lawmakers appear to be warming […]

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July 1, 2025

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 […]

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June 30, 2025

Texans help build Giant Magellan Telescope

The U.S. Supreme Court recently upheld the Texas law that requires age verification for porn sites. We’ll take a close look at the law.As the U.S. and China negotiate a new trade agreement, farmers cope with the uncertainty.Plus, how some of the best and brightest in Texas collaborated to build the Giant Magellan Telescope.Also, fresh […]

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June 27, 2025

SCOTUS rules against nationwide injunctions

In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rules against nationwide injunctions, likely to be read as a major victory for the Trump administration. UT constitutional law professor Tara Grove helps us parse out today’s big news from the high court.Texas underwater? After boom times in real estate, many Texas homeowners are upside down on […]

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June 26, 2025

Sugar Land acquires historic district tied to city’s roots in the sugar industry

A new Texas law requires posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. We’ll look at the looming legal battle.Where do Texans stand on how well state legislators are doing their jobs? What about how well the president is doing his job? A new poll by the Texas Politics Project offers a look.The Mexican flag, […]

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