Texas Matters

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Texas Matters: 'After The Flood' — Part 2 Jul 02, 2026

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It has been one year since the tragic flash flood on the upper Guadalupe River that took over 117 lives. Why were local officials caught off guard when the rains came and the flooding hit? The region is called "flash flood alley," and there is a long history of tragic floods on the river. We hear the second episode of the Texas Newsroom podcast, “After the Flood.”

Texas Matters: 'After the Flood' tells the story of the deadly 2025 Hill Country floods Jun 26, 2026

Show notes

The Texas Newsroom and FRONTLINE (PBS) are collaborating on a new five-part podcast series, After the Flood, an intimate and deeply reported look at the catastrophic Central Texas flooding that killed more than 130 people over the Fourth of July weekend in 2025.

Texas Matters: TX Ag Commissioner Sid Miller blasts screwworm response and why Texas isn't producing more oil Jun 13, 2026

Show notes

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says the screwworm will continue to spread unless officials adopt a more aggressive response. Also, energy economist Ed Hirs says Texas oil producers are not significantly increasing production despite higher oil prices.

Texas Matters: Canadian mother says Dilley ICE detention center is a 'prison,' not a family facility Jun 05, 2026

Show notes

The ICE detention center in Dilley, Texas, is again at the center of a national fight over the detention of migrant families and children. But for Tania Warner, the controversy is not abstract. It is something she says she lived through with her 7-year-old daughter.

James Talarico and the race for U.S. Senate May 29, 2026

Show notes

This week on Texas Matters we hear from the Democratic nominee for Senate — James Talarico. We also hear from Scott Braddock about the race between Talarico and Republican Ken Paxton.

Texas Matters: SB4 is blocked, and West Texas border wall moves forward May 15, 2026

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This week on Texas Matters: Sections of SB4 are blocked — which would have allowed local police to arrest suspected illegal border crossers. And Despite outcry in West Texas the efforts to build the border wall in Big Bend Country continues.

Texas Matters: Pass The Biscuits, Pappy - Part Two May 12, 2026

Show notes

“Pass the Politics Pappy” explores the remarkable political rise of W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, a flour salesman who used his popular radio show and catchy slogans to rocket into becoming Texas Governor and then U.S. Senator in the late 1930s and 1940s. Part 2 of the series focuses on O'Daniel's time as governor and delivered very little on his grand promises. Ultimately O’Daniel’s story serves as a cautionary tale of media-driven political populism.

Texas Matters: Watering down FEMA, abortion pill access, Texas prisons' compassionate release and questions about Texas ocean desal May 10, 2026

Show notes

This week on Texas Matters: How the Trump administration is watering down FEMA. The prison system's compassionate release program is called a "failure." The threat to mail access to the abortion pill. And Texas is preparing to go all in on ocean desal.

Texas Matters: Sharia law rhetoric, abortion care fallout, and a contested death row case Apr 18, 2026

Show notes

This week on Texas Matters: Why “Sharia law” has become a flashpoint in Texas politics. How the state’s abortion ban is tied to new scrutiny after three doctors were disciplined. And why a Texas death row case still hinges on hypnosis, despite the practice being banned in criminal investigations in the state.

Texas Matters: A populist history of Texas Apr 10, 2026

Show notes

This week on Texas Matters — The story of Texas that we typically hear is one with a conservative bias.But there are parts of Texas history that reflect a more progressive vein of the state’s identity. Stories of the fence cutters, the great cowboy strike and the struggle against the power of big business. The new book "The Myth of Red Texas: Cowboys, Populism, and Class War in the Radical South" challenges the common view of Texas history.

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