Federal appeals court abortion ruling
Senate Bill 8 includes the most restrictive rules in the country, effectively banning abortions as early as six weeks of pregnancy and making no exception for rape or incest.
House passes trans youth sports bill
The Texas House last night passed a measure that would force trans Texas youth to play on public school sports teams that align with their sex assigned at birth. The bill is a priority for both Gov. Greg Abbott and Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick. And the Texas Standard’s Jill Ament reports this time, House Democrats couldn’t stop it.
For NASA, the agency whose most important work happens in space, climate change on Earth is more than just another area of scientific study. It’s an existential threat. Two-thirds of NASA’s assets lie within sixteen feet of sea level. That includes the Kennedy Space Center in Florida – and of course, Houston’s Johnson Space Center. Last week, the space agency unveiled a climate change action plan. Ramin Skibba has been covering the NASA climate plan for Wired Magazine.
Hispanic heritage month story #6: Joe Belden
Today, public opinion polls seem to be everywhere… all the time. But one of the early pollsters started off in the late 1930s on the campus of UT-Austin. He would go on to make major waves in newspaper design. His name was Joe Belden. He was born to Mexican parents in Eagle Pass. From the Voces Oral History Center, Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez has his story.
Racist history of the Texas State Fair
Millions of visitors from all walks of life flock to Dallas each year for the State Fair of Texas — eager to take a ride on the Texas Star Ferris wheel, eat a Fletcher’s corny dog, and walk through the auto show. But the fair, which ends its season this weekend, hasn’t always been so welcoming. It was segregated for decades and Black communities that surrounded Fair Park were leveled to build parking lots. Bekah Morr of KERA spoke with a Dallasite who remembers this racial tension.
Guerra on starring in ‘Madres’ on Amazon Prime
We’re about half way through the month of October, the perfect time of year to watch something scary. One such movie has premiered on Amazon prime –its produced by Blumhouse, a company known for the scary and unsettling. It’s called ‘Madres’ and focuses on a Mexican American couple in the 70s hired to manage a farm. It stars Texas Rio Grande Valley native Ariana Guerra.
We always end the week with a poem from the Typewriter Rodeo. Request a topic for a poem anytime by reaching out!
Joining us for a look back at the week in Texas politics, we’re joined by James Barragán, political reporter for The Texas Tribune.
All this and the Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.
