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December 26, 2016

Texas Standard: December 26, 2016

By: David Brown

What were the top stories of 2016? This hour, we’re revisiting the people and events making news across the lone star state. Plus in 2014 people called it the surge. This year, as the numbers of Central American families crossing the border broke new records, what was being done to keep them from coming in illegally? We’ll take a look. Plus what used to be a US monopoly, we’ll revisit the national helium reserve as it runs out of gas. And a cure for what plagues central Texas? We’ll meet the man who sends in the hawks. And playing possum – the backstory of a legendary musician…all that and much more today on the Standard:


Episodes

February 18, 2026

Exploring Texas’ deepest underwater cave system

Wildfire risk is so high in the Texas Panhandle that an energy company preemptively cut off power to avoid lines blowing down and starting to spark. We’ll take a closer look at the situation.Early voting is underway across Texas. We sent reporters to polls across the state to hear from voters who made it out […]

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February 17, 2026

W.F. Strong on Robert Duvall’s Texas legacy and ‘Lonesome Dove’

Early voting is underway in Texas for the primaries. We’ll go over what you need to know before casting a ballot on today’s show.With Paxton out, a look at the candidates who want to be the next attorney general in Texas.How Houston’s Johnson Space Center will play a critical role in the Artemis II mission […]

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February 16, 2026

The Texans in the Epstein files

Can Sylvia Garcia, Houston’s only Latina U.S. representative, hang on to her seat? We may know sooner than some realize.If you were waiting for this fall for the start of election season, wait no more. Early voting in the state’s primaries is set to begin tomorrow. A closer look at a race with huge implications […]

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February 13, 2026

New exhibit peels back mystique surrounding Daniel Johnston

Major changes at one of the state’s flagship universities, with UT Austin consolidating seven departments focused on ethnic and gender studies into two new ones.Five years since Winter Storm Uri and a massive blackout that led to investigations and a rethink of how the state manages the power grid. What’s changed? A look back.The Standard’s […]

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February 12, 2026

How an AI data center is driving a housing crisis in Abilene

What really happened that led to a sudden and largely unprecedented shutdown of the airspace and the airport in El Paso? We’ll dive in on today’s Texas Standard.With just days to go before early voting begins in the Texas primaries, Blaise Gainey of The Texas Newsroom gets us up to speed on the Democratic race […]

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February 11, 2026

Probe raises concerns over pregnant migrant girls held in Texas

The FAA reopened airspace around El Paso as abruptly as it shut it down. We’ll dig into what we know about the strange and unprecedented actions.A months-long investigation from The Texas Newsroom and The California Newsroom finds pregnant migrant girls are being held at a South Texas shelter that’s been flagged as medically inadequate. Why […]

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February 10, 2026

Untangling legal questions in the age of AI photo manipulation

One of the most closely watched political contests in this midterm election year is happening in Texas, and a new poll offers some surprises.The race for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by John Cornyn has recently been characterized as tightening up, but a new poll suggests Republican Ken Paxton and Democrat Jasmine Crockett are […]

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February 9, 2026

Walking Dallas, one mile at a time

Redistricting wars may sound like esoteric politics, but a race in Houston shows how high the stakes are for some Texas communities. We’ll look at how a lesser-known political contest in Houston’s 29th district illustrates the impact of the redistricting fight on some Texas communities.It may sound like a social media trend, but it’s a […]

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