Progress Texas Podcasts

Latest Episodes:

Daily Dispatch 3/24/26: Exploding Refineries, Wasted Natural Gas - Just Another Day In Texas Oil, and More Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

That explosion at a Valero oil refinery in Port Arthur comes just as much of the world's supply has been choked off by the bumbling of Donald Trump: https://x.com/jon_rosenthaltx/status/2036266795569459210?s=46

...Meanwhile, as natural gas shortages and price spikes are hitting Europe and Asia, West Texas oil companies are burning it off as a price-negative nuisance byproduct: https://fortune.com/2026/03/22/natural-gas-prices-negative-west-texas-permian-basin-burn-off-europe-asia-shortages-iran-war/

Corpus Christi residents see their lives turned upside down by water conservation measures, while the energy sector continues consuming water unabated: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/23/corpus-christi-water-crisis-residents-precautions/

We're reminded why supporting non-profit, independent media like Progress Texas as a coalition of eight Democratic state attorneys general attempt to block the Nexstar/Tegna merger, which would create a huge TV company piping content into 80% of American homes: https://prospect.org/2026/03/23/democratic-states-seek-to-block-massive-tv-station-merger-nexstar-tegna/

The number of families detained at the notorious Dilley ICE lockup has dropped dramatically: https://www.propublica.org/article/families-detained-at-dilley-plummets

...Part of that pressure came from San Antonio-based children's YouTuber Ms. Rachel: https://consequence.net/2026/03/ms-rachel-fighting-to-close-texas-ice-facility-thats-detaining-children/

The recent book The Myth Of Red Texas explores the real history of Texas which is peppered with populist progressivism - and the neglectful treatment of rural Texans by Donald Trump: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/bad-takes/bad-takes-the-gops-professed-love-of-rural-texans-is-all-hat-and-no-cattle/

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Special LIVE Pod - Harris County Democratic Party Convention, Part 1: The Interviews Mar 24, 2026

Show notes

We had a blast in Houston over the weekend as media partners of the Harris County Democratic Party Convention! Later this week, watch for a recording of all the speeches given in the convention hall - but we start with all of the interviews with lawmakers, thought leaders, candidates and more that we gathered over the course of the day! These are presented in the order we recorded them, between 9am and about 4pm on Saturday March 21.

00:40 - Ann Johnson, Houston State Representative, District 134

09:53 - Annise Parker, former Houston mayor and candidate for Harris County Judge

15:59 - Gene Wu, Houston State Representative for District 137 and Texas House Minority Leader

23:49 - Dr. Wil Jeudy, Secular Houston co-founder and Progress Texas board member

30:35 - Alejandra Salinas, Houston City Council Member At-Large

35:28 - Stephanie Bord, State House District 126 Democratic Nominee

40:52 - Tyler Smith, State House District 138 Democratic Nominee

45:54 - Josh Wallenstein, State House District 133 Democratic Nominee

49:28 - Sara McGee, State House District 132 Democratic Nominee

55:46 - Odus Evbagharu, State House District 135 Democratic Nominee

1:00:40 - Lauren Ashley Simmons, State Representative for District 146

1:07:11 - Lesley Briones, Harris County Commissioner, Precinct 4

1:10:24 - Beto O'Rourke, former U.S. Congressman and founder of Powered By People

1:19:20 - Marquette Greene-Scott, State House District 22 Democratic Nominee

1:26:39 - Melissa McDonough, U.S. Congressional District 38 Democratic Nominee

1:31:00 - Benjamin Flores, Texas Land Commissioner Democratic Nominee

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 3/23/26: ICE Agents Deployed To U.S. Airports, Including Houston - And More Mar 23, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

In an escalation against Democratically-led cities, the Trump administration is deploying ICE agents into those cities' airports - supposedly to help with long security lines, but really as a means to intimidate travelers: https://viewfromthewing.com/ice-is-showing-up-at-airport-checkpoints-your-rights-are-different-than-with-tsa/

...Meanwhile Dallas Congressman Marc Veasey is demanding clarity on whether or not an ICE prosecuter nailed for running a racist Twitter account is still on the job: https://www.texasobserver.org/congressman-veasey-ice-response-racist-x-account/

Vice President J.D. Vance is the reason traffic sucks worse than normal in Austin early this week - he's in for an RNC fundraiser being thrown by Palantir and University of Austin co-founder Joe Lonsdale: https://www.ft.com/content/43eb6903-0c8d-43f8-a0e6-8c8e81d1c8d2?syn-25a6b1a6=1

New polling shows Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate James Talarico with slight leads over both Senator John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton, both of whom are drowning in massive unfavorability numbers: https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/03/20/congress/texas-senate-talarico-cornyn-paxton-poll-00837336

...Donald Trump is noticing the threat James Talarico poses to GOP control and is off on ever more unhinged online attacks against him: https://www.chron.com/politics/article/trump-talarico-texas-senate-22090449.php

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In Progress: Celebrating Democracy At County Conventions, And Reckoning With Cesar Chavez Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

All of us at Progress Texas are looking forward to seeing a bunch of great friends and making a bunch of brand new ones this weekend at the Harris and Collin County Democratic Party conventions, in Houston and McKinney respectively. These events are open and FREE with registration to the public and can be considered a terrific gateway into higher levels of involvement at this critical time - we hope to see YOU there.

And, the news regarding Cesar Chavez's abuse of women is difficult to deal with - but it must be dealt with, and unlike those who would protect Donald Trump from his past as indicated in the Epstein files, we're proud to see progressives tackling the Chavez revelations head-on.

This episode will air on KPFT 90.1 FM in Houston at 10am this Friday morning, and again on KPFT's HD-2 channel at 11am on Sunday - learn more at https://kpft.org/.

Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 3/20/26: In Corpus Water Panic, Energy Sector Has Advantage Over Residents, and More Mar 20, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Energy producers around Corpus Christi already consume over half of the area's water - and as supplies dwindle, they're taking steps to greedily keep theirs flowing: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/20/texas-corpus-christi-water-shortage-oil-gas-refineries/

With another round of No Kings protests coming next weekend, progressive activists warily consider the Fort Worth "Antifa" verdict, which paves the way for more aggressive persecution of left-leaning protestors: https://www.texasobserver.org/prairieland-antifa-verdict-threatens-anti-trump-resistance/

The "Texas Drag Ban" is now in effect - and while it doesn't ban drag itself outright, it does provide a chilling of the form via over-compliance out of fear: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/texas-drag-ban-takes-effect-after-appeals-court-decision/

Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, whose incarceration at Dilley helped spotlight the terrible conditions inside that immigrant detention lockup, have been denied American asylum: https://www.chron.com/news/article/asylum-denied-liam-ramos-dilley-22085951.php

...Meanwhile video calls from kids inside the Dilley facility have been severely curtailed after their stories have gone viral: https://www.chron.com/news/article/dilley-ice-children-videos-22083880.php

...And also meanwhile, a wide range of Texas companies and cities are profiting handsomely from that misery: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/trump-deportation-texas-dilley-csi-gothams-21343570.php

...And also meanwhile, the adminstration of a mostly-Hispanic San Antonio high school thought it would be a good idea to invite a crew of uniformed Border Patrol agents on campus for a recent job fair: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/politics-and-elections/border-patrol-appearance-at-san-antonio-high-school-sparks-student-outrage/

This weekend sees county-level Democratic Party conventions across the state - "the most important political event you're ignoring": ⁠⁠⁠https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/the-most-important-political-event⁠⁠⁠

...Find your county convention, RSVP and submit resolution ideas here: ⁠⁠⁠https://texasdemocraticconvention.com/⁠⁠⁠

Progress Texas is the official media partner of the Harris County Democratic Convention this weekend! Come see us on Saturday to say hi, grab some merch, and take part in our day-long podcast recording session: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.harrisdemconvention.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Daily Dispatch 3/19/26: Unlike MAGA With Trump, Progressives Reckon With And Respond To Cesar Chavez Revelations, and More Mar 19, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Governor Greg Abbott achieves new heights of hypocrisy in his attempt to use sexual abuse revelations about Cesar Chavez to smear all progressives and unions, while continuing to turn a blind eye to Donald Trump's copious appearances in the Epstein files: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/18/cesar-chavez-day-texas-fallout-sexual-abuse-allegations/

Twisting logic to claim a victory from the chaos of the March 3 primary, Dallas County Republican Party Chair Allen West announces that his party will return to countywide voting for the May 26 runoff: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/county-gop-texas-will-switch-voting-rules-runoff-primary-day-chaos-rcna264075

...Republican attempts to undermine voter confidence failed spectacularly in the primary - notably there was bigger Democratic turnout than that for the GOP in four of the five newly-gerrymandered districts from Trump's mid-term redistricting scam: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/post-gop-gerrymandering-heres-what-voter-turnout-looked-like-in-the-texas-primaries/

...All of this is part of a broad, system-wide phase of incompetence, including the strange press for the SAVE America Act and Trump's failure pick between John Cornyn and Ken Paxton for endorsement: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5787536-tillis-frustrated-republican-strategy/

This weekend sees county-level Democratic Party conventions across the state - "the most important political event you're ignoring": ⁠⁠https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/the-most-important-political-event⁠⁠

...Find your county convention, RSVP and submit resolution ideas here: ⁠⁠https://texasdemocraticconvention.com/⁠⁠

Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Daily Dispatch 3/18/26: Surprise! Cruz Lies About The SAVE Act, And More Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

Arguing in favor of the SAVE America Act as Senate debate began yesterday, Ted Cruz repeated the standard GOP lie that Democrats are systematically encouraging undocumented people to vote in the U.S. - it's simply and demonstrably false: https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/ted-cruz-democrats-want-illegal-aliens-to-cast-votes/

The Republican primary runoff ballot is now set, as the deadline to drop out passed yesterday - with no Trump endorsement, both Senator John Cornyn and Ken Paxton will be on the May 26 ballot: https://www.fox26houston.com/news/trump-misses-deadline-nominate-texas-republican-nominee-us-senate

...Both are now "trying to drown each other in AI slop": https://www.chron.com/culture/article/cornyn-paxton-texas-senate-ai-22082110.php

Democratic congressional nominee and Tejano singer Bobby Pulido followed through with a promise to perform at several South Texas quinceañeras last weekend: https://www.expressnews.com/politics/article/bobby-pulido-first-quinceanera-invite-22081332.php

The South Texas home construction industry has been battered by thinned workforces and slowed sales as relentless ICE raids on their workers impact production: https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000010742128/trump-ice-raids-texas-economy-immigration.html

It's time to start making a plan to vote in the upcoming primary runoff: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/18/texas-primary-runoff-elections-2026/

This weekend sees county-level Democratic Party conventions across the state - "the most important political event you're ignoring": ⁠https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/the-most-important-political-event⁠

...Find your county convention, RSVP and submit resolution ideas here: ⁠https://texasdemocraticconvention.com/⁠

Find our web store and other ways to support our important work at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://progresstexas.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Happy Hour 269: YOUR County Convention Is THIS Weekend! Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

All across Texas this weekend - Friday March 20 thru Sunday March 21 - county-level conventions are being held by the Texas Democratic Party. It's a terrific (and free!) way to dive into progressive politics, and an especially fun way as a bright blue wave appears to be building across the Lone Star State. Joining us to talk about their individual events and all the reasons that YOU should attend YOUR county event are Mary Higbe, Vice Chair of the Collin County Democratic Party, and Jeff Hilton, Executive Director of the Harris County Democratic Convention - Progress Texas will be tabling, recording for our podcast, and slingin' awesome PT merch at BOTH the Harris and Collin events on Saturday March 21.

Learn more about the Collin County Democratic Convention at https://www.mobilize.us/collindemocrats/event/893043/.

Learn more about the Harris County Democratic Convention at https://www.harrisdemconvention.com/.

Thanks for listening and we hope to see you this weekend! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/.

Daily Dispatch 3/17/26: Trump Has Until 5pm Today To Endorse Corynyn Or Paxton, and More Mar 17, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

5pm today is the deadline for primary runoff candidates to remove their names from the May ballot, establishing a deadline of for either John Cornyn or Ken Paxton to drop on on the orders of Donald Trump: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/texas/article/trump-endorsement-texas-senate-runoff-22079256.php

...Cornyn attempted to soothe the irritation of Austin TSA workers yesterday with cold hamburgers: https://www.chron.com/news/article/tsa-cornyn-casar-austin-22079843.php

The water crisis in Corpus Christi appears worse than initially reported - actual shortages are weeks away, and total depletion is possible as soon as next year: https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17032026/corpus-christi-water-shortage/

This weekend sees county-level Democratic Party conventions across the state - "the most important political event you're ignoring": https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/the-most-important-political-event

...Find your county convention, RSVP and submit resolution ideas here: https://texasdemocraticconvention.com/

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Daily Dispatch 3/16/26: Mostly Guilty Verdicts In D/FW "Antifa" Trial, and More Mar 16, 2026

Show notes

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The trial of nine "Antifa" defendants in a federal trial held in Fort Worth were largely found guilty of charges against them on Friday, except for a charge of attempted murder, of which only one was convicted: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/us/antifa-protesters-terrorism.html

A marathon debate session is set in the U.S. Senate for discussion and an eventual floor vote on the SAVE America Act - legislation that Donald Trump has characterized as the Republicans' only hope to hold the House next year: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5783688-senate-floor-takeover-save-america-act/

...Former Senator Joe Manchin blasts Texas Senator John Cornyn for flip-flopping on the filibuster in order to pass it: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5780991-manchin-criticizes-cornyn-filibuster-change/

An Afghan man living in Richardson who worked on behalf of the U.S. military in Afghanisatn for years has died - less than 24 hours after being arrested by ICE: https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/06/texas-afghan-refugees-visa-asylum/

...Texas CAIR and others are calling for an independent and transparent investigation: https://8am.media/eng/cair-texas-demands-investigation-into-nazeer-paktiawals-death/

The Trump administration is clogging the federal court system with flimsy cases against migrants for trespassing on military property: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/03/16/immigration-military-trespassing-texas/

The NPR Politics Podcast took a deep dive on the Texas primary and its huge Democratic turnout numbers on Friday: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1mcvwcI5oZ6XJ6VDTezEvd?si=7b5168420ea24ac2

California Governor Gavin Newsom gave a talk at SXSW in Austin yesterday, during which he discussed a possible presidential run in 2028: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/gavin-newsom-hints-at-presidential-run-at-sxsw/

"Mr. Nobody Against Putin", a documentary using Russia as an example of authoritarian takeover, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary at last night's Oscars: https://www.theguardian.com/film/2026/mar/16/mr-nobody-against-putin-wins-the-best-documentary-oscar

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