Here are the stories Texas Standard for Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025.
How one West Texas town built its own broadband lifeline
Despite millions in state and federal aid, many rural Texans still lack reliable internet.
The Standard’s Shelly Brisbin shares how the community of Monahans took matters into its own hands.
These visually impaired students learn to make music as the Semi-Modulars synth band
Dan Butler joined the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Austin completely by happenstance – but when he did, he brought years of musical experience with him.
A few years in, as the school was searching for ideas for new courses, he had a revelation on how he could bring music into the mix.
Grue Jay is the best of two jays
For years, birdwatching in Texas has been a tale of two jays: blue in the east, and green further south. This year, researchers found a rare new species that lies somewhere in between – and they are calling it the Grue Jay.
A brand-new study from UT Austin’s College of Natural Sciences says the new bird may be the result of shifting weather patterns and climate change. Brian Stokes, a biologist at UT Austin who led this research, joins us with more.
Meet the book club that’s been reading the same book for more than a decade
In 1939, Irish author James Joyce published a book that defies comprehension: “Finnegans Wake,” which, in the world of literature, is notorious for its difficulty.
It’s a work that’s so dense and experimental, one reading group that started in Austin has been working on it for more than a decade – and they’re still not even close to done. Their founder sat down with the Texas Standard.
This group of abuelitas are dancing into their golden years
In San Antonio, Latina grandmothers ages 73 to 86 formed a folklorico dance group known as Las Abuelitas De Oro, a name inspired by the popular sitcom The Golden Girls. This Hispanic Heritage Month, they performed alongside an elementary school dance group.
TPR’s Ivanna Bass Caldera reports on Las Abuelitas De Oro.
Endangered sea turtles are nesting in record numbers along Texas coast
Kemps-Ridley sea turtles, the world’s most endangered species, have laid more nests this year than any time in recent history.
Dr. Donna Shaver of the National Seashore joins the show with what’s behind the increase and why it matters.
Austin’s progressive art studios center artists with disabilities
For decades, a quiet but growing movement has supported artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldana visits a progressive East Austin studio helping redefine what inclusion in the art world can look like.
