Texas Standard
928 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 179 ratingsCoverage of politics, lifestyle, environment, technology, innovation and money matters from a uniquely Texas perspective.
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Episodes
Texas Standard: August 12, 2022
August 12, 2022 16:09 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBIt’s exceptionally dry across Texas, but the little rain parts of the state have been experiencing in recent days could be a game changer. Farmers are reporting widespread crop losses, and both the supply and quality of the water is on the decline. We’ll speak with the Texas State climatologist on how climate change factors […]
Texas Standard: August 11, 2022
August 11, 2022 16:14 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBMultiple sources tell The Texas Tribune Governor Greg Abbott is exerting unprecedented control over who will lead the state’s power grid. Locked in a potentially tight reelection race and facing criticism over the grid’s 2021 collapse, we hear how the governor has put a stranglehold on the search for the operator’s CEO search. Plus the […]
Texas Standard: August 10, 2022
August 10, 2022 16:14 - 51 minutes - 70.5 MBThere’s more fallout from the FBI’s raid at the home of former president Donald Trump. What are Texas republicans saying? We’ll explore. Plus having a baby in west Texas is getting more dangerous. We’ll take a look at maternal care west of the Pecos. All that plus our weekly fact check, the latest headlines, and […]
Texas Standard: August 9, 2022
August 09, 2022 16:15 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBImmigration enforcement is a federal function, but Texas authorities have been transporting migrants for months. Now, the ACLU wants the federal government to look into it. We’ll have the latest. Also the city of Houston recently collected more than 800 firearms as part of a gun buyback program. But will that make the city any […]
Texas Standard: August 8, 2022
August 08, 2022 16:33 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBCongress is on the cusp of passing climate legislation that has major implications for the Lone Star State. The multi-billion dollar package does quite a lot of things, but focuses on measures that will slow global warming. We’ll have the details today. Plus Houston’s food scene bows to no one. Why one new writer in […]
Texas Standard: August 5, 2022
August 05, 2022 16:19 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBMonkeypox declared a public health emergency nationwide. We’ll talk with the state epidemiologist about what Texans need to know. Other stories we’re covering: after the Dobbs decision, more than 100 military installations in states where abortion is now banned. What this means for service members seeking abortion care. And as temps hover in the triple […]
Texas Standard: August 4, 2022
August 04, 2022 16:35 - 51 minutes - 70.6 MBOn the witness stand, Alex Jones admits the Sandy Hook shooting was 100% real as a defamation trial against him goes to the jury. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: a big win for supporters of abortion rights in Kansas sends up red flags for republicans and boosts hopes for democrats. Clues about […]
Texas Standard: August 3, 2022
August 03, 2022 16:47 - 51 minutes - 70.7 MBThe city and people of El paso paying tribute to the 23 lives lost in a racially motivated mass shooting three years ago today. As El Pasoans come together to honor and remember victims of the August 3rd 2019 mass shooting, the accused shooter remains in jail and has yet to go to trial. Julian […]
Texas Standard: August 2, 2022
August 02, 2022 16:12 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MB7 years in prison: a Texan gets the longest sentence handed down so far in the prosecution of January 6th riots at the capitol. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: a once in a decade rewrite of the state’s public school curriculum gets underway amid debates over how race and LGBTQ issues are […]
Texas Standard: August 1, 2022
August 01, 2022 16:51 - 51 minutes - 70 MBWater crisis. That’s the label communities on the border are giving the current conditions as reservoirs are drying up. But it’s not just on the border that water is a concern. We’ll talk with an expert about the current state of groundwater across Texas and the long-term forecast. Plus a shot in the arm for […]
Texas Standard: July 29, 2022
July 29, 2022 16:36 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBAn offer for a prisoner exchange with Russia to secure the return of Texan and basketball star Brittney Griner. Prisoner swaps are usually negotiated in secret before a deal is reached, but the announcement of what the U.S. calls a substantial offer to secure Griner’s release has raised hopes, and some eyebrows as well. Former […]
Texas Standard: July 28, 2022
July 28, 2022 16:17 - 50 minutes - 69.8 MB18 billion in pandemic aid for Texas schools, a huge amount of money. So why has less than a third been spent? We’ll explore. Also with back to school just around the corner, many districts struggling to find and retain teachers. Will promises of a four day workweek do the trick? We’ll hear what educators […]
Texas Standard: July 27, 2022
July 27, 2022 16:40 - 50 minutes - 69.7 MBThe Governor’s race may be the marquee event but if Texas democrats are hoping for change, how’s it looking down ballot? Veteran political columnist Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News sizes up the slate for democrats as we fast approach the 100 day mark before midterms. Also a drop in childhood vaccinations in Texas […]
Texas Standard: July 26, 2022
July 26, 2022 16:17 - 51 minutes - 70.1 MBThe House Committee Report on the school shooting in Uvalde and what may be conspicuous omissions. Jim Henson of the Texas Politics Projects says a closer inspection of the House report on Uvalde may be revealing about the intersection between the investigation and politics as usual. We’ll hear more. Also what’s behind a low-key review […]
Texas Standard: July 25, 2022
July 25, 2022 17:12 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBAn immigration decision from the supreme court with a big impact on Texas…though it might not be the last word on the matter. We’ll have more on the decision. Also, how extreme heat is affecting migrants trying to get around border checkpoints on foot and what’s being done for their safety. And why gas prices […]
Texas Standard: July 22, 2022
July 22, 2022 16:14 - 50 minutes - 69.8 MBAfter the recent Supreme Court ruling proponents of abortion rights and same sex marriage protections are turning to Congress. But is there enough support? We’ll take a look. Also Texas teens across the board are dealing with increased mental health challenges since the start of the pandemic. But for trans teens finding the right mental […]
Texas Standard: July 21, 2022
July 21, 2022 16:16 - 50 minutes - 69.8 MBThousands of acres across Texas ablaze as firefighters struggle to save lives and property amid record breaking heat and drought conditions. We’ll have the latest. Other stories were covering, a new study finds a generation of Texas kids affected by pandemic lockdowns and social isolation. What experts are saying about the mental health impact on […]
Texas Standard: July 20, 2022
July 20, 2022 16:08 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBBeto O’Rourke setting fundraising records and narrowing the gap in the polls. Does this portend a political turnaround in Texas? A pulse check on the Texas Governor’s race, as the democratic challenger appears to build momentum in his race against republican incumbent Governor Greg Abbott. Also as monkeypox spreads in Texas, how a shortage of […]
Texas Standard: July 19, 2022
July 19, 2022 16:31 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBOutrage and demands for action as Uvalde’s school board meets with members of the community to hear concerns about school safety. Camille Phillips of Texas Public radio was at last nights school board meeting in Uvalde, we’ll hear details. Also the Texas Newsrooms Sergio Martínez-Beltrán talks with former Texas supreme Court justice Eva Guzman, one […]
Texas Standard: July 18, 2022
July 18, 2022 16:46 - 50 minutes - 46.5 MBSystemic failures and poor decision-making cited in a damning report on the Uvalde school shooting. More on the Texas House committee’s 77 page report released this weekend. Also, Texas Democrats gather in Dallas; what’s the game plan for November? And more on record-setting heat expected all week in the Lone Star State. These stories and […]
Texas Standard: July 15, 2022
July 15, 2022 17:31 - 51 minutes - 46.7 MBThe state of Texas is suing the Biden administration over abortion guidance to hospitals. The federal rules instruct emergency room doctors to provide abortion services in emergency conditions. Texas’ own law provides exceptions for the health of the pregnant patient. So why is the state suing? Also, the state terminating its guardianship over scores of […]
Texas Standard: July 14, 2022
July 14, 2022 16:21 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBAfter confusing accounts over law enforcements response to the school shooting in Uvalde, the surveillance camera footage appears to offer clarity, but there’s been pushback over its publication.Tony Plohetski of the Austin American Statesman and KVUE joins us with more. And a new poll shows democratic challengers in the top 3 statewide races in Texas […]
Texas Standard: July 13, 2022
July 13, 2022 16:47 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBAt the hearings on the January 6th insurrection, the spotlight turns to the some potentially key figures from Texas. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: an 85 billion dollar ten year transportation plan for Texas. What it includes and what it leaves out as the state tries to deal with a growing population. […]
Texas Standard: July 12, 2022
July 12, 2022 16:50 - 50 minutes - 69.7 MBDemands for transparency in the investigation of the mass shooting in Uvalde. The focus: hallway surveillance footage. We’ll have the latest. Also why a big fight may be brewing between Austin and Washington over new air pollution regulations in West Texas. And military annual fitness checks getting swapped out for Fitbits? Plus an immigration lawyer […]
Texas Standard: July 11, 2022
July 11, 2022 16:26 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBHow hot is it? Hot enough for ERCOT to ask the state to dial back its power use at temperatures climb back into the triple digits. We’ll have the latest. Also a recent pipe burst in Odessa left the city’s hundred thousand plus residents without water for days. Now comes a warning for lots of […]
Texas Standard: July 8, 2022
July 08, 2022 16:10 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBThe Texas Department of Juvenile Justice says it won’t accept new offenders in state facilities because of a staffing shortage. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: the reversal of Roe and what it could mean for the midterms in Texas. Also red States, blue states, and a new report on the economic differential […]
Texas Standard: July 7, 2022
July 07, 2022 16:07 - 50 minutes - 70 MBA new report finds police missed multiple opportunities to stop the Uvalde mass shooter before he entered the school building. The report from the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, at Texas State University says at one point police had the gunman in their sights outside the school in Uvalde, but did not act. […]
Texas Standard: July 6, 2022
July 06, 2022 16:21 - 50 minutes - 70 MBTexans trying to stay cool this summer could get pretty steamed once they see their power bills. What’s behind rising electricity costs? We’ll take a look. Other stories we’re tracking: the defense department offering assistance to military families wanting to leave states with laws seen as anti LGBTQ, but many face barriers. Carson Frame of […]
Texas Standard: July 5, 2022
July 05, 2022 16:08 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBAbortion and gun Violence. How issues in focus for the nation could carry a lot of weight in Texas come November. We’ll take a close-up look at the implications. Also, LGBTQ Texans and their families leaving the Lone Star State? KERA’s Bret Jaspers has more. Plus the push for more changes to Texas voting rules. […]
Texas Standard: July 4, 2022
July 04, 2022 16:00 - 49 minutes - 68.5 MBThe Texas Supreme Court says Texas can enforce its 1925 abortion ban. We’ll have a closer look at the implications of the decision. Also, with many Texans traveling by car for the holiday, lots of folks feeling the pinch of gas prices firsthand. An update from our go to energy expert Matt Smith. And we […]
Texas Standard: July 1, 2022
July 01, 2022 16:10 - 50 minutes - 70 MBWhat the Supreme Court ruling in an environmental case filed by West Virginia means for Texas and the world at large. Its a decision seen as severely hampering the Biden Administrations efforts to curb climate change. We’ll take a closer look. Also a pair of first amendment rulings on religious freedom and what they add […]
Texas Standard: June 30, 2022
June 30, 2022 16:15 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBA Supreme Court decision in a closely watched case involving Texas and the so-called return to Mexico policy. We’ll look at the implications. Other stories we’re tracking: after the deaths of more than 50 migrants in a human smuggling operation, Governor Abbott adds border checkpoints as critics pan his move as political. We’ll hear more. […]
Texas Standard: June 29, 2022
June 29, 2022 16:13 - 51 minutes - 70.4 MBAs the investigation continues in a migrant smuggling tragedy, border officials in El Paso sound an alarm over migrant deaths due to water. Coming up: a Texas pre-Roe abortion ban blocked by a Harris county judge. We’ll have the latest. Plus a conversation with the eldest daughter of Norma McCorvey, the Texan better known as […]
Texas Standard: June 28, 2022
June 28, 2022 16:33 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBAn horrific discovery outside of San Antonio where investigators describe one of the deadliest human smuggling incidents in years. The bodies of at least 50 people, all suspected migrants, found in and around an unair-conditioned abandoned tractor trailer truck. We’ll have the latest. Also the continued repercussions of the Dobbs decision. How the fall of […]
Texas Standard: June 27, 2022
June 27, 2022 16:52 - 51 minutes - 46.8 MBDid the Dobbs decision revive longstanding but dormant Pre-Roe anti-abortion laws on the books in Texas? Also, the impact of the SCOTUS opinion on the state’s sex education, the disproportionate impact of anti-abortion laws on disabled persons, and the specter of other rights being toppled raised by the Thomas concurrence. Those stories and more today […]
Texas Standard: June 24, 2022
June 24, 2022 17:26 - 50 minutes - 46.6 MBRoe vs. Wade has been overturned. A closer look at the impact of the 6-3 decision on abortion announced by the US supreme court. It is one of the most profound and significant changes to US constitutional law in recent memory. A discussion of the court’s rationale, what the Dobbs decision means as a practical […]
Texas Standard: June 23, 2022
June 23, 2022 16:16 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBThe head of the Uvalde school police force put on administrative leave amid growing questions about law enforcement’s response. Investigative reporter Tony Plohetski with the latest on a back and forth over what actually happened in those long minutes before police stormed the school shooter in Uvalde. Also as Capitol Hill takes up a bipartisan […]
Texas Standard: June 22, 2022
June 22, 2022 16:11 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBDid the on-scene Commander in Uvalde put the lives of police ahead of the lives of children? New pieces of the story emerge. On today’s show, State Senator Paul Bettencourt with reaction to yesterday’s Senate hearing on law enforcement’s response in Uvalde. Meanwhile a bipartisan group of 13 big city mayors in Texas calls on […]
Texas Standard: June 21, 2022
June 21, 2022 16:17 - 50 minutes - 69.8 MBAn excruciating inside look at what happened during a critical 70+ minutes inside Robb Elementary on that May 24th, 2022 in Uvalde. Though officials have been reluctant to release video evidence from the mass shooting in Uvalde, Terri Langford of the Texas Tribune has seen critical footage from inside the school. She shares with us […]
Texas Standard: June 20, 2022
June 20, 2022 16:15 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBA green light for COVID-19 vaccines for kids under 5. A Texas doctor on the importance at this stage of the pandemic fight, we’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: hispanics and COVID-19 vaccinations. What a new study tells us about vaccine hesitancy and health information. In other news, Texas republicans at their convention […]
Texas Standard: June 17, 2022
June 17, 2022 16:17 - 51 minutes - 70.2 MBIs there a big push for Governor Abbott at the Texas GOP Convention? Not exactly… Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom with the latest. Other stories we’re tracking, more warnings of record demand for electricity in coming days as Texas tries to beat the heat. While wind and solar getting credit for helping us avoid […]
Texas Standard: June 16, 2022
June 16, 2022 16:11 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBIn the wake of the Uvalde shooting, state lawmakers talking more money for mental health resources and for law enforcement, we’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: a widely expected reversal of Roe vs Wade. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom with a closer look at changes to Texas abortion laws over the last […]
Texas Standard: June 15, 2022
June 15, 2022 16:37 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBGovernor Abbott says he was livid, misled by falsehoods in the aftermath of the Uvalde school shooting. But where was he getting his information? What do the governor’s handwritten notes from his first press conference in Uvalde reveal about the source of misinformation over law enforcement’s response? We’ll have more. Also Texas’ so-called dead suspect […]
Texas Standard: June 14, 2022
June 14, 2022 16:13 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBA June heatwave across Texas testing the limits of our power grid and shattering records statewide. Any relief in sight? We’ll take a closer look. Other stories we’re tracking: with more Supreme Court opinions expected to be issued tomorrow, what a pre-Roe Texas might tells us about what could happen should the high court reverse […]
Texas Standard: June 13, 2022
June 13, 2022 17:08 - 50 minutes - 46.4 MBLess than democrats hoped for but more than they expected, that’s how a new bipartisan gun safety deal, led in part by Texas Senator John Cornyn, is being characterized by some. We’ll hear what’s in it and what isn’t. Also, the tight market for homes in Austin and elsewhere in Texas; would-be homebuyers might be […]
Texas Standard: June 10, 2022
June 10, 2022 16:27 - 50 minutes - 69.9 MBWhat new revelations from a nationally broadcast congressional hearing on the January 6th capitol insurrection. We’ll have more on the primetime hearings and their potential impact. Also, the effect of child abuse investigations of Texas families providing gender affirming care to their trans kids. Now three more families suing the state. Lauren McGaughy of the […]
Texas Standard: June 9, 2022
June 09, 2022 16:14 - 51 minutes - 70.1 MBIn the aftermath of the Uvalde shooting, wrenching testimony on Capitol Hill and questions about what comes next to protect school kids. We’ll have the latest. Also, what if anything Texas lawmakers might do to tighten gun regulations. And the fight for political control in South Texas this fall. But among democrats, fireworks and calls […]
Texas Standard: June 8, 2022
June 08, 2022 16:35 - 51 minutes - 70.1 MBAfter the school shooting at Sandy Hook more than a decade ago, Texas passed a plan to address school shootings. But why have so few districts opted in? Texas’ school marshal plan called for teachers to be armed to defend schools from mass shooters. Only 84 districts out of more than 1200 have gone that […]
Texas Standard: June 7, 2022
June 07, 2022 16:10 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBRecord setting heat on tap for much of Texas. Will there be enough electricity to meet demand? And what about the rest of the summer? Coming up, the latest on heat warnings across Texas, and what it portends for the rest of the summer amid anxieties about whether the electrical grid can stand the strain. […]
Texas Standard: June 6, 2022
June 06, 2022 16:19 - 51 minutes - 70.1 MBWhen it comes to curbing mass shootings some experts say in Texas, politics is the problem. Or is it? As a familiar pattern among politicians emerges in the aftermath of the mass shooting in Uvalde, the democratic nominee for Lt. Governor says there’s the prospect for serious change. Our conversation with Mike Collier. Also gas […]