Here’s what’s coming up on Texas Standard for Friday, Oct. 9, 2020. Listen on your Texas public radio station, or ask your smart speaker to play Texas Standard.
Cornyn Vs. Hegar Debate Preview
New polling shows Democratic Senate candidate MJ Hegar is eight points behind longtime Republican incumbent Sen. John Cornyn. Could tonight’s debate change things? We’ll talk to Renée Cross, senior director of the Hobby School of Public Affairs at the University of Houston.
Houston Eviction Courts
The pandemic has put evictions on hold in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. In Houston, it’s a different story. Harris County courts have heard more than 2,800 eviction cases since a CDC national moratorium took effect last month. Houston Public Media’s Jen Rice tells us why the moratorium isn’t protecting everybody.
The Big Flip Part 4: How The Pandemic Makes It Hard To Predict Who Will Control The Texas House
For the first time in nearly 20 years, Democrats have a real shot at winning a majority in the Texas House of Representatives. KUT’s Ashley Lopez has been looking at what that could mean in a series called “The Big Flip.” There’s a lot of reasons why Democrats are hopeful about their chances this fall – but as Ashley tells us, predicting what will happen this election is harder than ever this year.
The Booming Texas Lottery
The pandemic has been a net negative for the U.S. economy as a whole – but here and there, businesses are booming. One apparent winner: scratch-off tickets. The San Antonio Express News reports sales of scratch-off tickets were up fourteen percent over the last fiscal year. And that helped the Texas Lottery, which helps fund schools and veteran services, have its biggest sales year ever. So what’s behind the big jump in people playing the odds? We’ll ask Devin Mills, assistant professor of community, family, and addiction sciences at Texas Tech University.
Voting While Living Abroad
Asa Cotterman is a Texan living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. This will be the first time he votes while living abroad. And he’s finding the experience a little hard to navigate while learning a new language in the middle of a global pandemic.
Nobel Prize Failures
All this week the Nobel Foundation has been announcing the 2020 prize winners for achievement in science and medicine. Many of the Nobel’s past winners seemingly made huge contributions to health care, but over the years it turns out many winners’ findings haven’t held up to modern standards. Austin-based doctor and historian Moira Dolan looks into this in her new book “Boneheads and Brainiacs: Heroes and Scoundrels of the Nobel Prize in Medicine.” She joins us today on the Standard.
Typewriter Rodeo: ‘New Life’
The Typewriter Rodeo airs each Friday here on the Standard – and it’s always available in podcast form.
The Week In Texas Politics
Early voting starts this Tuesday – can you believe it? And voters have a lot to consider this election. As we do at the end of each week, it’s time to check in with The Texas Tribune on the latest political headlines. Today, reporter Alex Samuels joins the Standard.
All this and Texas News Roundup, plus Social Media Editor Wells Dunbar with the talk of Texas.
