Here are the stories on Texas Standard for Friday, Jan. 31, 2025:
Abbott’s State of the State: What emergency items will make the cut?
Gov. Greg Abbott is set to deliver his State of the State address on Sunday, where he’ll announce a list of emergency items: bills legislators can fast-track this session. A school voucher program is expected to be on that list, but what else might make the cut?
Blaise Gainey, who covers state politics for The Texas Newsroom, joins us with more.
Flu surge shuts down schools in North Texas
A wave of flu cases is forcing several North Texas school districts to close campuses. Comanche ISD and Morgan ISD have shut down, and Godley ISD reported 650 out of 3,000 students out sick this week. With pharmacies running out of Tamiflu, how bad could this flu season get?
Dr. Julie Trivedi, an infectious disease expert at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, joins us.
How car donations help public radio
Each year, our home station KUT News receives over 400 donated vehicles – one of many ways public media organizations raise funds. But how exactly does a donated car translate into a revenue stream?
Texas Standard’s Sean Saldana followed one donation from driveway to dollars.
Beyoncé, Post Malone, Khruangbin among Texans up for Grammys this weekend
The 67th annual Grammy Awards take place Sunday, and once again, Texas is well-represented among the nominees. Taylor Wallace, host at KUTX, joins us with the rundown.
‘My Darling Vivian’ tells the story of Johnny Cash’s first wife
As Texas Standard gears up for its 10th birthday in 2025, we’re celebrating with Top 10 lists of our favorite segments. We’ll be revisiting our best film and TV interviews in February, and today we offer an honorable mention: “My Darling Vivian” is a documentary about Johnny Cash’s first wife, Vivian Liberto, a San Antonio native.
Filmmaker Matt Riddlehoover joined the Standard in 2020 to share why he wanted to tell Liberto’s story.
The gang delivers another custom poem. Reach out to Texas Standard with your topic suggestions!
The week in Texas politics
The Texas Tribune’s James Barragán joins the Standard with a recap of the week that was in Texas politics:
All this, plus the Texas Newsroom’s state roundup and Wells Dunbar with the Talk of Texas.