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June 17, 2024

Meet Emma, the AI assistant answering the phones at Amarillo City Hall

By: David Brown

Just in time for high summer, a surge in COVID cases? What officials are saying about a new subvariant.
It could be a very wet 72 hours of so for much of Southeast Texas and beyond as meteorologists focus on what could be the first big storm of hurricane season coming together in the Gulf of Mexico.
In Amarillo, phones at City Hall are answered by Emma – a first-of-its-kind virtual assistant powered by AI, built specifically for the city.
Why some analysts are pumping the brakes on predictions of a looming oil glut thanks to electric vehicles.
And: why some Texas Democrats say schools could be key to their success in November.


Episodes

September 28, 2024

Texas Extra: It’s Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in ‘America First’

UT-Austin historian H.W. Brands is known for taking a very personal approach to history. This is an extended interview about his latest book, America First: Roosevelt vs. Lindbergh in the Shadow of War.

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September 27, 2024

A special broadcast live from the State Fair of Texas

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 […]

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September 26, 2024

New exhibit showcases never-before-seen Freddy Fender artifacts

Schools and public libraries are often the focus of book bans. But what can we learn from a list of books prohibited in state prisons? We’re celebrating the contributions of Hispanic Texans, including one who credits a librarian for helping him rise to became a leader in academia. The infamous nuclear power plant at Three […]

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September 25, 2024

A North Texas city has paused all new development

Princeton, a Dallas suburb, has quadrupled in population since 2010. Recently, city leaders paused all new residential development to let infrastructure catch up. The latest in our series on the intersection of religion and politics: students from two schools in Abilene with a diversity of perspectives and a strong desire to bridge the political divide. […]

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September 24, 2024

Abilene Christian University gets green light for nuclear reactor research

In Texas’ 2024 elections, long shot candidates are facing uphill battles in heavily gerrymandered districts. Why these candidates are running. Why federal regulators are giving researchers the green light to build a nuclear reactor at Abilene Christian University. The state is paying more for mental health services. But private psychiatric hospitals say they’re not getting […]

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September 23, 2024

Researchers relocate coral to Texas coast in conservation project

The Matterhorn Express pipeline, a 580-mile project set to go online soon, will transport natural gas from a terminal in West Texas to Katy, near Houston. We’ll hear what it could add up to for Texas and for energy prices more broadly. A proposed liquified natural gas terminal in the Rio Grande Valley is stirring […]

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September 21, 2024

Texas Extra: Remembering DJ Steve Crosno

The El Paso radio and TV disc jockey made a lasting impact on the city’s music scene and contributed to the mixing of cultures that still makes far west Texas so special. This is an extended interview about an effort to document Crosno’s impact before his death in 2006.

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September 20, 2024

Proposed school curriculum with Bible stories nears vote

A possible government shutdown looming with an Oct. 1 deadline. With the backdrop of elections, how might this story unfold? UT-Austin political science professor Sean Theriault talks about a perennial issue of government funding and where its headed. Bible stories in the classroom? The Texas Education Agency is getting a lot of feedback and blowback […]

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