Texas Standard

April 25, 2023

NASA mission sounds like a reality show, but it’s gathering data for a Mars journey

One of the state’s biggest counties is looking for a new top election official amid friction over the difficulty of running non-partisan elections. With early voting underway in races statewide, why the resignation of the top elections official in Tarrant County has special resonance. A closer look at claims of Republican voter suppression in Harris […]

Listen

April 24, 2023

What’s next in the legal fight over abortion drug mifepristone?

A decision from the Supreme Court on the availability of an abortion pill, and why it’s likely not the last word on the matter. What is the significance of the Supreme Court’s move regarding mifepristone? Constitutional law scholar Steven Vladek of UT Law joins us. Also, a Texas bill to restrict real estate purchases by […]

Listen

April 21, 2023

An Earth Day appreciation for the Texas Hill Country

What’s behind a bill that would remove Texans from voter rolls if they miss two federal elections? We’ll hear from a UT Law voting rights expert on what’s behind the push for a law that proponents say is designed to clean up messy voting registration lists, and what opponents see as voter suppression. After five […]

Listen

April 20, 2023

Astronaut Christina Koch on NASA’s upcoming Artemis 2 mission

Tensions are growing in Austin over the use of DPS officers to augment local police. Facing resistance to a plan similar to school vouchers, an alteration getting attention at the state Capitol is focused on students with disabilities. Talia Richman of the Dallas Morning News Education Lab has more. NASA’s plans to return to the […]

Listen

April 19, 2023

How two Uvalde survivors are rebuilding their lives

Almost a year after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, two injured fourth graders are still trying to recover. Edgar Sandoval of the New York Times talks with us about his profile of two children injured in the shooting – and the months since. Yesterday’s half-hour grounding of Southwest Airlines departures was […]

Listen

April 18, 2023

Expanded telehealth is coming to an end

A Texas couple chose midwife care over a hospital, and now their baby is in foster care. Why this story is sounding alarm bells for many across the state. Changes are coming to telehealth with the end of a federal pandemic order – and some patients will have to return to in-person medical care. A […]

Listen

April 17, 2023

TxDOT wants to bury a highway. The Dallas City Council wants to get rid of it.

Tenure is on the agenda in the Texas Senate this week, as lawmakers weigh a bill that would end the practice for the new faculty at public colleges and universities. The Texas Department of Transportation wants to bury Interstate 345, a 1.4-mile stretch of highway that connects Dallas to its Deep Ellum neighborhood. But the […]

Listen

April 14, 2023

What’s in San Antonio’s ‘justice charter’?

Yes and no signs proliferate in San Antonio over Prop A. What’s behind the city’s so-called justice charter? In Kyle, a corrections officer indicted in the shooting death of a person awaiting trial, and a family’s struggle to find answers. Taking the STAAR tests online. Should there still be a paper option? A push for […]

Listen