Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025:
Developers build thousands of homes in Houston floodplains
Since Hurricane Harvey, major homebuilders have constructed entire neighborhoods in areas at high risk of flooding. A Houston Chronicle investigation found that five companies alone built more than 700 homes each in official flood zones over the past eight years.
The Houston Chronicle’s Caroline Ghisolfi and Yilun Chen join Texas Standard with the story.
Freddy Fender’s border-crossing sound
Baldemar Huerta, better known as Freddy Fender, rose from humble South Texas roots to fame with hits that blended country, rock and ranchera music. His life and legacy remain a cornerstone of Hispanic heritage in Texas and beyond.
Amberlyn Negron of the Voces Oral History Center at UT-Austin reports.
Loopholes allow sports betting to slip into Texas
Strict Texas gambling laws prohibit sports betting, but new online platforms are blurring the line. Prediction markets and daily fantasy sports sites have ramped up advertising during football season, effectively allowing Texans to put money on games.
Texas Tribune reporter Ayden Runnels joins the Standard with more.
Food banks stretched thin by rising demand
Across Texas, food banks are reporting steep increases in demand as families struggle with higher costs and stagnant wages. Rising need has put added pressure on already limited resources, forcing charities to adapt and find new ways to meet demand.
Celia Cole, CEO of Feeding Texas, joins the Standard with what’s at stake.
Matthew McConaughey returns with ‘Poems & Prayers’
Matthew McConaughey, Oscar-winning actor and UT Austin’s minister of culture, is publishing a new book. “Poems & Prayers” collects personal writings and reflections that expand on the themes of his best-selling memoir “Greenlights.”
McConaughey joins the Standard with a preview.
Questions grow over Robert Roberson execution
Texas is again attempting to execute Robert Roberson, convicted in the 2002 death of his two-year-old daughter. Roberson, who has autism, was sentenced under the shaken baby syndrome theory, but medical experts now point to evidence she may have died from illness instead.
Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies reports on efforts to save Roberson’s life.
