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September 29, 2023

Why homeschooling is on the rise across the ideological spectrum

By: David Brown

Sean Theriault of UT-Austin with a look at why government shutdowns have become so common, and what needs to happen to avoid another come Sunday.

The summer of 2023 was the second hottest on record in Texas. But for renters, air conditioning isn’t legally required — at least not everywhere in the state.

Over the past couple of years, there’s been a shift in the way that many Texans school their kids, with more folks opting for homeschooling – for reasons that span the political spectrum, or lie completely outside it.

Writer Andrew Leland on losing his vision and the struggle to understand the changes, as told in his new memoir, “The Country of the Blind.”


Episodes

December 23, 2025

Our favorite stories from the Texas Standard and Texas Newsroom 

How will you remember 2025? This hour we’re listening back to some of our favorite stories of the year from reporters with the Texas Standard and Texas Newsroom.  Remember the author of “Holes,” who made a sharp turn in 2025? Or when it was blazing hot outside and the swimming pool became too irresistible to say no to? What about the rise and rise […]

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December 22, 2025

The best of the Texas Standard and Texas Newsroom in 2025 

This holiday season, we’ve been listening back to some of the most compelling reporting by our in-house journalists here at the Texas Standard, as well as a team of public media reporters statewide known as The Texas Newsroom.   From an effort to help more adults complete a high school education, to a mystery Bible in Boerne, to the long-awaited launch of a […]

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December 19, 2025

Dallas’ Longhorn Ballroom marks 75 years

Politicians can raise a lot of money running for election. But what happens to it when the campaign trail ends? Elected officials in Texas have a loophole to help them spend the money they raise on campaigns after they retire. How many concert venues have made it 75 years? We’ll take a tour of Dallas’ […]

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December 18, 2025

Tejano music mourns two foundational figures

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says a Wisconsin-based electronic health records company has a monopoly over the industry. We’ll have more on the AG’s fight against Epic.Remembering a couple of major figures in the Tejano music world who we lost this past weekend: Manny Guerra and Abraham Quintanilla.Plus, counties are getting new equipment to warn […]

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December 17, 2025

Protecting monarch butterflies on Texas highways

He’s been an elected Democrat for over 50 years, but now local party officials in Houston are refusing to endorse Mayor John Whitmire. Unwinding the political drama, today on the Texas Standard.Texas’ new bathroom law effects schools and government-owned buildings, but one reporter found enforcement depends on exactly where you go.Texans Michael and Susan Dell […]

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December 16, 2025

Texas collects data on trans residents through state IDs

Texas does not allow people change their gender on driver’s licenses. Those who still try are now being tracked.How the Trump administration is reorganizing the Army to reflect a new focus on Latin America.Professors caution students about relying on AI, but some universities are doing just that to review course content.And a new memoir by […]

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December 15, 2025

Tiny Texas town’s library could be adult education template

Houston, Fort Worth… Now three more Texas school districts are expected to be taken over by state education officials. Where, why and what comes next?The son of Texas A&M’s campus rabbi is among those critically injured in the mass shooting at Bondi Beach near Sydney, Australia.Mexican citizens who routinely cross into the U.S. at Texas’ […]

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December 13, 2025

Texas Extra: The challenges and opportunities ahead for the Austin-San Antonio ‘Megaregion’ 

Austin and San Antonio have long been home to some of the fastest-growing cities in the U.S. Together, they are becoming what the authors of a new book are calling a “Megaregion.”

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