

Texas Standard
Texas Standard
Coverage of politics, lifestyle, environment, technology, innovation and money matters from a uniquely Texas perspective.
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Apr 10, 2025 • 0sec
All eyes are on Texan Scottie Scheffler at the Masters
More than 500 student visas are revoked, many in Texas. What’s happened, why and what could come next.With Texas lawmakers considering bills affecting public schools, how some students are deciding to get involved themselves.Tech companies are teaming up with video game makers to develop new standards for accessibility.A golden age of Texas golf is shining bright in Augusta. Kevin Robbins talks about No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, the Texas showing at the Masters and his latest reporting for Texas Monthly.Also: As we continue to celebrate the Texas Standard’s 10th birthday, we’re sharing our top 10 Typewriter Rodeo poems.
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Apr 9, 2025 • 0sec
Living near oil and gas wells linked to childhood leukemia
Cases continue to rise in Texas’ ongoing measles outbreak. Experts say they know how to stop the spread. What’s preventing that?One priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick this legislative session is clawing back the state’s legalization of hemp-based products. Where that effort stands.You’ll need a REAL ID to travel by air starting May 7. How to make sure you do.New research out of Colorado finds that kids who live near oil and gas drilling sites face a higher risk of leukemia.New to streaming: “Time Passages,” a personal documentary about memory and loss that manages to also be hopeful.And: Texas euphemisms from commentator W.F. Strong.
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Apr 8, 2025 • 50min
A Texas company says it’s brought the dire wolf back from extinction
How shutting down the Department of Education will affect the rights of students with disabilities.Dallas-based company Colossal Biosciences says it’s successfully created three genetically engineered wolf pups resembling the long-extinct dire wolf.How the state makes it hard for journalists to track the deaths of abused and neglected children.Military veterans helped elect President Trump. Now many are protesting his administration’s deep government cuts.And: As state agencies implement return-to-office mandates, workers report cramped conditions, insufficient parking and more.
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Apr 7, 2025 • 0sec
Baylor bets big on E-sports with first-ever program director and coach
A second child has died of measles in Texas as cases continue to rise. How this latest outbreak compares with that of the ’90s.Baylor has just hired its first-ever E-sports director and coach: Adam Stanley of Brewton-Parker College, a small private college in Georgia and powerhouse in E-sports.Hosting the Final Four of the college men’s basketball championship has been a big boon to San Antonio. We’ll hear more as the Houston Cougars get set for their championship game against Florida tonight at the Alamodome.And: A homecoming for Texas actor and comedian Michael Yo as the Moontower Comedy Festival gets underway in Austin.
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Apr 5, 2025 • 0sec
Texas Extra: My KUTX
March was all about music for Texas Standard. We debuted our latest Texas Standard special – “Rap to the Ranch: The Ballad of Mason ‘Bric’ LaDue.” And we celebrated ten years of the show with a top 10 list of our favorite music interviews and stories from the past decade.
The first weekend in March, the music partner of our home station KUT actually let the Texas Standard team take a turn as guest DJs! Our playlist is very different from our top 10 list because these are *personal favorites in one way or another.
Please note, for podcast purposes, we couldn’t play the whole song – so you’ll just hear little teases. Here’s the playlist:
1. Asleep At The Wheel – “Bob Wills Is Still The King” (feat. Clint Black) [David Brown]
2. The Black Angels – “You On The Run” [Alexandra Hart]
3. Selena – “Tus Desprecios” [Raul Alonzo]
4. Freddy Fender – “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” [Kristen Cabrera]
5. Jess Williamson – “Chasing Spirits” [Leah Scarpelli]
6. David Halley – “Loose Diamond” [Shelly Brisbin]
7. Khruangbin – “The Infamous Bill” [Casey Cheek]
8. Scarface – “Good Girl Gone Bad” [Wells Dunbar]
9. Amanda Shires – “Mineral Wells” [Gabrielle Muñoz]
10. Margo Price – “Hands of Time” [Rhonda Fanning]
11. Black Pumas – “Colors” [Laura Rice]
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this work at supportthispodcast.org.
The full transcript of this episode of Texas Standard is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.The post Texas Extra: My KUTX appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Apr 4, 2025 • 49min
There’s no online registry for ranchers’ brands – but that could change
As China announces retaliatory tariffs against the U.S., the possible toll on Texas ranchers is generating lots of anxiety. A Texas A&M trade expert who’s worked on previous trade deals takes a closer look as the implications of extended trade wars loom large.Fatalities related to child abuse in Texas fall dramatically – but the numbers don’t tell the whole story.And: There are thousands of unique livestock brands in Texas, but no centralized database to keep track of them all. State lawmakers could soon change that.
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Apr 3, 2025 • 50min
Trump’s new tariffs could hit Texas businesses hard
One of Texas’ top economists weighs in on the impact of Trump’s tariffs, what looks like the end of a U.S.-led free trade era, and what it could add up to for Texas.It looks like John Cornyn may have a serious challenger for his seat in the Senate: Attorney General Ken Paxton.The latest AI trend has users generating images in the style of animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli works, sparking debates over copyright and artistic integrity.Our March Madness bracket for the best song about Texas comes right down to the wire. Your vote could decide it all.And: We’ll hear from Zell Miller III, Austin’s inaugural poet laureate.
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Apr 2, 2025 • 49min
‘Mistaco’ teaches kids how tacos can make everything better
Houston’s affordable housing project has winners and losers – and the winners are not the renters. Digging into a new investigation from the Houston Chronicle.Changes in funding for refugee resettlement programs have nonprofits scrambling to figure out how to continue to help.Matthew McConaughey and industry reps push for Texas lawmakers to beef up the state’s film incentive fund.Texas topped TCU in the women’s NCAA tournament to reach the Final Four. What to expect from the Longhorns.Plus: A new children’s book by Texan Eliza Kinkz explores how tacos can make everything better.
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Apr 1, 2025 • 50min
Deadly floods swamp South Texas, shatter records
Torrential rain in South Texas leads to dangerous flooding, trapping people in their homes. How the Rio Grande Valley is recovering.A new DEI directive led the Pentagon to purge certain historical figures from web pages. Why that decision has now been reversed.Some churches are looking to re-purpose buildings and land to help residents who need affordable housing.As measles cases surge in West Texas, some parents are giving children dangerous amounts of vitamin A, wrongly believing it can cure or prevent the disease.Plus: What are the best ways to protect the state’s dwindling water supply? From recycling to desalination.
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Mar 31, 2025 • 0sec
30 years after her death, Selena’s legacy only grows in Corpus Christi
A Texas House committee is set to debate school choice legislation this week, reviving a contentious issue that’s repeatedly stalled in the lower chamber.Since San Antonio’s annual César E. Chávez March for Justice began in 1997, musicians Los Inocentes have composed ballads telling his story.An investigation into child abuse deaths in Texas reveals a system that often left children in unsafe homes while closing cases too soon. Texas Public Radio’ Paul Flahive shares more about his new series, “When Home is the Danger.”And: The Standard’s Raul Alonzo returns to Corpus Christi to reflect on the impact of Selena, 30 years after the Tejano icon was killed.
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