Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.
A report from Eagle Pass after a weekend of immigration protest
The Texas border town of Eagle Pass became the center of the national fight over border security this weekend. Militia members and a convoy of vocal Trump supporters rolled in, while Gov. Greg Abbott and 13 Republican governors flew into the border city.
Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies was there, too. He joins the Standard with the latest.
How colleges are approaching Texas’ new anti-DEI laws
Students and faculty at public universities across Texas are grappling with the effects of a new state law banning Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or DEI, offices.
Texas Public Radio’s Camille Phillips attended a symposium on academic freedom Friday that was designed to help them learn how to navigate the impact.
Dan Patrick rallies investors for Texas electric grid
State officials and the world’s largest investment firm will meet in Texas this week to talk about the state’s electric grid.
KUT’s Mose Buchele reports on other issues that’ll likely arise.
Elon Musk claims Neuralink implanted a chip in someone’s brain. What now?
Elon Musk claims a human has received one of his Neuralink implants in their brain: a chip and electrodes that would ideally allow someone to control a phone or a computer with their thoughts.
Eran Klein, a neuro-ethicist at the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington, joins the Standard to discuss the ramifications.
A forecast for Texas’ oil and gas industry
In 2023, Texas oil and gas industry companies paid a record-breaking $26 billion in state and local taxes and state royalties. Texas Oil and Gas Association president Todd Staples says that kind of performance might not continue, warning that new federal policies could “undermine progress” in the industry.
What can we expect from the energy sector in 2024? Matt Smith, Kpler lead oil analyst, joins the Standard with more.
Celebrating Black History Month at Austin’s Eastside Kings blues fest
February is Black History Month. All month, our partner stations KUT and KUTX are featuring Black artists, events and venues that have helped shape the Austin music scene.
Miles Bloxson has more on the city’s Eastside Kings Blues Festival.
You won’t want to duck this El Paso exhibit
You may not think about ducks all that often. But history has shown that ducks have waddled alongside humanity since time immemorial, shaping and being shaped by our ever-changing world.
A new exhibit at the University of Texas at El Paso celebrates the adaptability of ducks and serves as a call to action for ensuring their survival. Professor Philip Lavretsky joins the show with more.
What PolitiFact has learned over 1,000 Trump fact-checks
PolitiFact recently hit a milestone: the organization just published their 1,000th fact-check of former president and now Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
What’s been learned in that time? Louis Jacobson, a senior correspondent at PolitiFact, joins us now to tell us more.
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.