The NPR Politics Podcast Weekly Roundup: February 19th
Feb 19, 2021
This week, Danielle Kurtzleben, an NPR political reporter and expert on political discourse, takes a deep dive into Texas's power outages. She explains the complexities of their energy grid and the political finger-pointing amidst the crisis. The discussion then shifts to cancel culture, tracing its origins and examining its role in modern politics. Kurtzleben reveals how this term has evolved into a political weapon, igniting passionate debates about accountability and freedom of expression across the spectrum.
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Life in Texas During the Power Crisis
- Texans face dire conditions with power and water outages amidst freezing temperatures.
- Millions lack clean drinking water, while others have no running water, with no clear end in sight.
Texas Power Grid Failure
- Texas's power grid, isolated to avoid federal regulations, struggled with increased demand and decreased supply due to extreme cold.
- The state's lack of winterization for power plants and pipelines further exacerbated the crisis.
Renewables and Texas Blackouts
- While renewable energy sources were affected by the freeze, failures occurred across all forms of energy generation.
- Blaming the crisis solely on renewables is inaccurate, as natural gas, the primary power source, also underperformed.