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Texas Tribune Brief

808 episodes - English - Latest episode: 7 months ago - ★★★★★ - 103 ratings

Get the latest news on Texas politics and policy from The Texas Tribune now on Amazon Alexa. With reporters based in Austin, Washington, D.C., and on the U.S.–Mexico border, we are your go-to source for news on statewide issues.

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Episodes

The Brief is going on hiatus

August 25, 2023 16:56 - 50 seconds - 1.14 MB

The Texas Tribune put this podcast on hiatus in August 2023 due to staffing changes in the newsroom. If you want to follow the latest news on Texas politics and policy, check out our daily email newsletter, which is also called The Brief. You can sign up at texastribune.org/newsletters

U.S. Justice Department argues for removal of Texas’ floating border barrier in federal court

August 23, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.61 MB

In a court hearing over the barrier near Eagle Pass, the U.S. Justice Department argued it was installed without proper authorization, while lawyers for the state said it notified the feds first. Sad to announce that this will be the last episode of the Texas Tribune Audio Brief. Thank you to the dedicated Audio Brief podcast listeners and the numerous followers who have enjoyed and supported the Audio Brief. I am truly sorry and thank each and every one of you for gracing me your trust and ...

Can Ken Paxton be forced to testify at his impeachment trial?

August 22, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.51 MB

Lawyers for the suspended attorney general argue that compelled testimony would violate Paxton’s rights, but House impeachment managers disagree. The issue may be settled in the trial’s opening hours.

Former judge declines to serve as Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s adviser for Ken Paxton impeachment trial

August 21, 2023 10:00 - 3 minutes - 4.62 MB

A day after Patrick announced the appointment, Marc Brown declined it, citing a campaign contribution he made to Paxton’s GOP primary opponent in 2021.

New allegations against Ken Paxton raise stakes for early decisions in impeachment trial

August 18, 2023 10:00 - 6 minutes - 8.83 MB

Before 30 senators take on their role as impeachment trial jurors, they face a series of momentous votes on whether to dismiss the charges as requested by the suspended attorney general The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

New accusations: Ken Paxton used burner phone, secret email account, fake Uber name to hide ties to Nate Paul

August 17, 2023 10:00 - 5 minutes - 7.02 MB

After Paxton’s lawyers sought to dismiss articles of impeachment as unsubstantiated, House managers responded by accusing the suspended attorney general of going to great lengths to cover up his relationship to the Austin real estate investor. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Medical experts assert transgender health care for youth is safe as LGBTQ+ Texans sue over new prohibition

August 16, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.73 MB

Texas families and health care providers sued the state over Senate Bill 14, which restricts transgender youth from accessing gender-affirming care. The groups are requesting an injunction from a state district court judge before the law goes into effect on Sept. 1. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Gov. Greg Abbott declares wildfire disaster for three-fourths of Texas

August 15, 2023 10:00 - 5 minutes - 6.96 MB

Amid ongoing wildfires, the governor’s disaster declaration for three-fourths of the state’s counties allows local governments to access state resources to fight fires. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

U.S. Department of Education reaffirms Baylor’s religious exemption in response to sexual harassment complaints

August 14, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.32 MB

The university had asked the federal agency to dismiss sexual-harassment complaints by LGBTQ+ students, arguing that the claims infringed on the school’s religious tenets. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

A prison guard says she was forced to stay at her post during labor pains. Texas is fighting compensation for her stillbirth.

August 11, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.59 MB

The seven-months-pregnant officer reported contraction-like pains at work, but she wasn’t allowed to leave for hours. Soon after, her baby was delivered stillborn. But the anti-abortion state is fighting her lawsuit, in part by saying her fetus didn’t clearly have rights. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Texans do not need a license to carry, but some gun owners still want one

August 10, 2023 10:00 - 5 minutes - 8.12 MB

Since the permitless carry law passed in 2021, Texans have not needed a license to carry a gun. But gun instructors and some gun owners still see the benefits in taking the classes necessary to obtain a license. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Democrats Colin Allred, Roland Gutierrez draw distinctions on key issues as they target Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024

August 09, 2023 10:00 - 5 minutes - 7.03 MB

Heading into the Democratic primary, the U.S. House member and state senator answer questions on guns, the border, abortion and other parts of their platforms. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Ken Paxton legal team works to invalidate every article of impeachment before trial

August 08, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.74 MB

If successful, the flurry of legal filings would halt the suspended attorney general’s September impeachment trial before it truly begins in the Texas Senate. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Texas AG appeals judge’s order that allows women with complicated pregnancies to get abortions

August 07, 2023 10:00 - 3 minutes - 4.88 MB

State District Court Judge issued a temporary exemption to Texas’ abortion ban. Hours later, the attorney general’s office filed an appeal, which blocked the order. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

LGBTQ+ Texans & advocates sue to block new law that could criminalize some drag shows

August 04, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 8.46 MB

State officials backing Senate Bill 12 have said they want to protect children from seeing sexually explicit performances. But a new legal challenge says the law is so broad and vague that it criminalizes constitutionally protected expression. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick defends move to ask Texas A&M to ‘look into’ professor accused of criticizing him

August 03, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 8.76 MB

The professor allegedly criticized Patrick during a lecture and was temporarily suspended after the lieutenant governor contacted Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp. The case has raised questions about political interference in the university’s academic affairs. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Amid scorching heat, Texas state parks can be a refuge — or a danger

August 02, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 8.16 MB

More than a million people visited Texas’ 89 state parks in June. But in spots without bodies of water, park officials are warning people to not overdo it as triple-digit temperatures persist. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Suspended Texas AG Ken Paxton’s lawyers seek to dismiss all but one of the 20 impeachment articles

August 01, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 8.44 MB

Paxton’s legal team says removing him from office would “override the will of the people.” His attorneys have also requested that any evidence of alleged misconduct that predates his current term be excluded from his Senate impeachment trial. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Billions in property tax cuts need Texas voters’ approval

July 31, 2023 11:00 - 7 minutes - 10.3 MB

Legislation passed this month would raise the state’s homestead exemption to $100,000, lower school districts’ tax rates and put an appraisal cap on residential and commercial properties, among other measures. But voters must first approve a constitutional amendment. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

U.S. House Republicans from Texas target federal funding unless Homeland Security chief is removed

July 28, 2023 10:00 - 5 minutes - 8.15 MB

Escalating their fight over Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ handling of immigration at the southern border, far-right representatives say they will oppose any appropriations for his agency. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Facing sex discrimination claims, Texas begins jailing migrant women under border crackdown

July 27, 2023 10:00 - 5 minutes - 6.94 MB

Operation Lone Star originally targeted single men suspected of crossing the border illegally in mass trespassing arrests, but some claimed that not arresting women violated equal protection laws. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Gov. Greg Abbott signs $18 billion tax cut package for Texas property owners

July 26, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.5 MB

At a time when the state has some of the nation’s highest property taxes, the initiative was a cornerstone of his 2022 reelection campaign. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

U.S. sues Texas after Gov. Greg Abbott refuses to remove floating border barrier

July 25, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 5.97 MB

The U.S. Department of Justice made good on its warning last week that it would sue Texas unless the state agreed to remove the barrier in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Race was a factor in Black professor’s failed hiring, Texas A&M department head says

July 24, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes - 6.81 MB

Hart Blanton, the head of the university’s department of communications and journalism, also said then-President M. Katherine Banks interfered with the recruitment of journalist Kathleen McElroy. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Hundreds of thousands of Texans bumped off of Medicaid face lots of confusion and stress

July 21, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 8.58 MB

About 500,000 people have been removed from the rolls since continuous Medicaid coverage ended in April. Those helping low-income people with medical care say many don’t realize they’ve lost coverage yet. We have a favor to ask: would you go to texastribune.org/briefsurvey to take a five-minute listener survey? This is the best way for Texas Tribune journalists to know what works and what doesn’t for our podcasts. We appreciate your feedback.

In tearful testimony against Texas’ abortion ban, three women describe medical care delayed

July 20, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 6.91 MB

The women, believed to be the first to testify about an abortion ban’s impact on their pregnancy since 1973, are seeking to clarify when a medical emergency justifies an abortion. We have a favor to ask: would you go to texastribune.org/briefsurvey to take a five-minute listener survey? This is the best way for Texas Tribune journalists to know what works and what doesn’t for our podcasts. We appreciate your feedback.

State investigating claim that DPS troopers were told to push migrants back into the Rio Grande and deny them water

July 19, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 9.37 MB

The Office of the Inspector General is investigating the claims, which include pushing small children and women with nursing babies back into the river and turning away a 4-year-old girl, who later passed out on the riverbank from the heat. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Acting as Ken Paxton impeachment judge, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issues gag order

July 18, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 9.5 MB

“Prejudicial and inflammatory statements” from both sides have jeopardized the ability of senators to offer fair and impartial justice, Patrick says. Violators can be found in contempt, jailed and fined. The Texas Tribune Audio Brief would like to hear from you! Please click here to take our audience survey. It’s the best way to get to know our listeners.

Doctors treating trans kids are leaving Texas, exacerbating adolescent care crisis

July 17, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 9.16 MB

Texas doctors fear a new era of government intrusion into medicine as lawmakers ban transition care for kids following prohibitions on abortion.

Lawsuit seeks to block new Texas law banning gender transition-related care for kids

July 14, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 7.53 MB

The families who are suing argue the new law, which goes into effect Sept. 1, violates their parental rights by stopping them from providing medical care for their children and discriminates against transgender teens.

Property tax cuts moving quickly as Texas Senate passes key parts of the long-awaited deal

July 13, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 8.11 MB

The legislative package could make its way to Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk before the week’s end. Voters must then approve the plan via a constitutional election in November for it to take effect in the 2023 tax year.

Limited regulations put responsibility of preventing on-the-job heat injuries on Texas workers

July 12, 2023 11:00 - 7 minutes - 10.1 MB

Drinking water frequently and resting in the shade are minimum safety measures for avoiding injury and death during triple-digit temperatures. But they are not applied to every job site.

State House and Senate strike deal on how to cut Texans’ property taxes

July 11, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 8.07 MB

The compromise would put more than $12 billion toward reducing the school property tax rate for homeowners and business properties, increase the homestead exemption, and create a pilot program to reduce taxes on certain residential and commercial properties. It’s expected to pass later this week.

State of Texas bars HOAs from discriminating against renters receiving federal housing aid

July 10, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 8.3 MB

State lawmakers passed the law after a North Texas homeowners’ association banned landlords from renting to Section 8 tenants. Most of the affected renters in that neighborhood were Black.

‘I want them to haunt you’: Man who killed 23 at El Paso Walmart hears from victims’ families

July 07, 2023 11:00 - 7 minutes - 9.76 MB

During the gunman’s sentencing, relatives of those killed nearly four years ago are telling him how he upended their lives.

1.4M Texans’ student debts won’t be canceled. But a new loan repayment plan could bring savings.

July 06, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 7.71 MB

After the U.S. Supreme Court ended President Joe Biden’s debt cancellation program, advocates for lowering student loan debt say the federal SAVE plan, an updated loan repayment program, could save Texans and other borrowers a lot of money in interest.

Suspended Texas AG Ken Paxton won’t testify at his impeachment trial, defense attorney says

July 05, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 6.93 MB

The Texas Senate could pressure Paxton to testify, but members of his defense team say they will fight such efforts.

Judge orders Texas Department of Public Safety to release records related to Uvalde shooting response

June 30, 2023 11:00 - 7 minutes - 10.1 MB

The state law enforcement agency has been withholding nearly all of its records on police’s botched response to Texas’ deadliest school shooting. DPS will have the chance to redact the documents before they are released.

With second special session underway, Texas lawmakers offer their initial pitches on property tax cuts

June 29, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 8.53 MB

An impasse among Texas’ top GOP legislators has dragged on for months. On Wednesday, the House and Senate each advanced their own plans in the hopes to move the conversation forward.

First special session ends with Texas lawmakers still deadlocked on property taxes

June 28, 2023 11:00 - 6 minutes - 8.49 MB

Gov. Greg Abbott quickly called lawmakers back to the Capitol for round two, hoping to break an impasse that has outlasted the regular session and one overtime period.

Republican Texas lawmakers rally around bill restricting transgender athletes from joining certain college sports teams

March 02, 2023 11:00 - 3 minutes - 5.27 MB

Seventy-seven Republicans signed on as co-authors to Rep. Valoree Swanson’s bill extending restrictions on transgender athletes to college sports. Gov. Greg Abbott has expressed support for the legislation, which is also a priority of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Lawmakers take first step to restoring felony penalty for illegal voting

March 02, 2023 02:19 - 3 minutes - 4.35 MB

Republican lawmakers — backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick — are working to reverse a change to state law they approved two years ago as part of a sweeping overhaul to Texas election law that included downgrading illegal voting to a misdemeanor.

DPS sent at least 3,000 driver’s licenses to organized crime group targeting Asian Texans

February 28, 2023 11:00 - 3 minutes - 4.36 MB

A Chinese crime operation bypassed the password clues of Texas.gov by using stolen identity information to fraudulently obtain replacement driver’s licenses.

Teachers in Texas need raises, more training and better working conditions to fix shortages, state task force finds

February 27, 2023 11:00 - 3 minutes - 4.61 MB

The yearlong review also recommends increasing the funds schools get per student, a measure already favored by lawmakers looking how to spend a historic state budget surplus.

Gov. Greg Abbott says most gun crimes involve illegally-owned weapons. That’s not true in mass shootings.

February 24, 2023 11:00 - 5 minutes - 7.58 MB

Most of the state’s 19 mass shootings over the past six decades were carried out by men who legally possessed firearms, an investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found.

University of Texas System pauses new diversity, equity and inclusion policies

February 23, 2023 11:00 - 3 minutes - 2.94 MB

The UT system leaders’ decision comes weeks after Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to stop considering diversity in hiring. Texas A&M University also recently changed its hiring practices.

Gov. Greg Abbott promises to be “heavily involved” in push for education savings accounts

February 22, 2023 11:00 - 3 minutes - 3.43 MB

In an interview with the Tribune, the governor also backed criminalizing some health care treatments for transgender kids and shrugged off the idea that he’s in a conservative policy rivalry with Ron DeSantis.

Republican accuses GOP of using immigration crisis for politics

February 21, 2023 11:00 - 3 minutes - 5.18 MB

U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales said in an interview with the Washington Examiner that his fellow Republicans benefit politically from a sustained border crisis. The attack indirectly alluded to U.S. Rep. Chip Roy’s contentious border security bill.