Texas Matters

Dec 06 2024 20 ep. 28 mins 336
Texas Matters Podcast artwork

Texas is a big state with a growing, diverse population and as the population grows, the issues and challenges facing its residents multiply. Texas Matters is a statewide news program that spends half an hour each week looking at the issues and culture of Texas.

  Government  News
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Texas Matters: Can Texas make THC illegal again?

Dec 06 2024 29 mins  
Ban all THC from Texas—that’s what Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants this coming legislative session.Patrick says since 2023, thousands of stores selling THC products popped up across the state, and many of these products are getting in the hands of children. But will a ban work?

Texas Matters: How the abortion ban hurts women's health

Nov 29 2024 29 mins  
Texas women are paying the price for the overturning of Roe v. Wade. More stories are coming to light of Texas women dying from treatable crisis pregnancies. Meanwhile the state’s Maternal Mortality task force announced it’s going to ignore maternal deaths for 2022 and 2023. And how OB-GYNs are fleeing the state due to fear of the state’s anti-abortion law.

Texas Matters: Gov. Richard Coke's dark legacy

Nov 22 2024 28 mins  
Richard Coke, the 15th governor of Texas, is a pivotal and controversial figure in post-Civil War Texas. Rosser Newton has written a book about his ancestor called “Richard Coke: Texan.”

Texas Matters: Stories about welcoming migrants

Nov 15 2024 28 mins  
Today on Texas Matters: Stories about helping asylum seekers from the Interfaith Welcome Coalition and their book "Traveling Mercies."And one Texas death row inmate—who could be innocent—is closer to being executed while another death row inmate, thought to be innocent, is a step closer to being freed.

Texas Matters: Trump's mass deportation plan

Nov 01 2024 28 mins  
Republican Donald Trump promises, if elected, on day one he’ll sign orders for his mass deportation plan. Anyone in the country who is not a U.S. Citizen could be targeted to be removed. The plan calls for millions of people to be deported using the Alien Enemies Act. And this has happened before. What can we learn about Trump’s deportation by looking at history?

Texas Matters: AG Paxton distorts record of Robert Roberson case

Oct 25 2024 28 mins  
This week on Texas Matters: Is Attorney General Ken Paxton perverting the facts about the death of baby Nikki and the looming execution of Robert Roberson? In a report to the public about the Roberson case, the AG Office made a number of untrue and debunked statements about the death of Nikki, Roberson and his trial. We get a response from Roberson’s attorney Gretchen Sween.

Texas Matters: Early Voting and How Texas is restricting access to birth control

Oct 18 2024 28 mins  
This week on Texas Matters: Early voting kicks off on Monday across the state. What to look out for and whom to call if your voting rights are violated.And since the fall of Roe, how has Texas restricted access to birth control?

Texas Matters: Despite evidence and calls for mercy, Robert Roberson is set to be executed

Oct 04 2024 28 mins  
Robert Roberson is due to be executed on October 17. The East Texas man was convicted of the shaken baby syndrome death of this two-year old daughter, Nikki. But shaken baby syndrome is now considered to be junk science, and evidence shows that Nikki died from a chronic illness. I spoke with Roberson on Texas death row to hear his story.

Texas Matters: Should Texas eliminate all property taxes?

Sep 27 2024 28 mins  
This week on Texas Matters. Governor Abbott has a plan to eliminate your property taxes. That could sound great but what would that look like? The state would have to take a chainsaw to schools and services. And the sales tax would hit 22%, by far the highest in the nation. Low income citizens would pay more, but it would be a boon— for big corporations.

Texas Matters: An election Jolt lawsuit for AG Ken Paxton

Sep 20 2024 28 mins  
Today on Texas Matters—The intersection of the Texas abortion ban and immigration enforcement means women in the border zone have no options. Also, the latest data on Texas maternal mortality shows a worsening crisis. And is Attorney General Ken Paxton using his office to try to suppress the vote to keep Texas from flipping blue?