Texas Matters

This week on "Texas Matters," we look at a major flaw in the way maternal mortality rates in Texas are tracked (00:25). Also, why are more women running for office in the state (7:53)? And, finally, we examine what's behind a new sex abuse scandal in the Texas juvenile justice system (17:39).

The song “Life in the West” became popular in the 1840s. The lyrics, written by American poet George Pope Morris, evoke the call of the fertile promised land and celebrates the freedom of living so close to nature. On this episode of Texas Matters, we'll discuss popular songs of the American West with Peabody-winning music scholar Michael Lasser .

There may not be snow in San Antonio but it's still Christmastime in Texas. Sharing your favorite childhood story of the holidays with your own children is a way to keep the spirit of Christmas strong. On this Texas Matters, we'll visit some Texas Christmas traditions and hear classic stories of the holidays with Texas storyteller John Henry Faulk and San Antonio writer Yvette Benavides.

The filing deadline has come and gone for Texas political candidates who are running in the 2018 mid-terms. On this episode of "Texas Matters," we'll look at the re-election bids of Gov. Greg Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz with KERA's Christopher Connelly (0:41); allegations of sexual harassment by Texas Congressman Blake Farenthold (1:49); the 2018 midterms with Harvey Kronberg, founding editor of the Quorum Report (3:00); the return of tourism along the Texas coast (16:46); and a commentary from

Hurricane Harvey isn't the first major storm to hit Texas and it won’t be the last. So what can we learn from looking at how past disasters were handled to do a better job of making sure that the vulnerable get the help they need? We spoke with Steve Kroll-Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and author of two books looking at Hurricane Katrina’s recovery, about this recovery, and then TPR contributor Yvette Benavides reflects on the holiday season on

How did the family name of a founding father of Texas become synonymous with an independent-minded person? Find out on this episode of "Texas Matters."

This week on Texas Matters: How a city's effort to criminalize homelessness can perpetuate the problem for people living on the streets (0:30). The mayor of Port Aransas testifies about how Hurricane Harvey left his city in ruins and how they need help (6:48). The Texas National Guard is scooping up cell phone calls and data without warrants or oversight (14:55). Guest commentator Yvette Benavides talks about the problem of sexual harassment in plain sight (23:04).

The San Antonio v. Rodriguez case challenged the use of local property taxes to fund school districts. But a 5-4 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 to uphold the funding structure has led to what many have called "discriminatory" and "fundamentally unfair." On this "Texas Matters," we look at how this decision might have created a system of separate and unequal schools that, some argue, while not directly based on race, creates disparities along racial lines.

Texas voters are being asked to go to the polls and decide on seven constitutional amendments. These propositions vary from offering a p roperty tax exemption (Prop 1) for partially-disabled veterans who received a donated home to allowing banks and credit unions (Prop 7) conduct host savings promotion raffles to promote savings by offering prizes. “Texas Matters” is zeroing in on Prop 2, which — in a nutshell — changes Texas home equity lending provisions.

The fantasy of Texas national independence has been stoked for decades but in recent years it has found an ally with Russia. An investigation into a popular pro-Texas secession Facebook page found that it was run by Russians.

On April 19, 2015, San Antonio police officers were called to the home of Noble and Jennifer Cooper to help deal with their adult son Norman. Norman was having some type of psychotic episode. He was highly excited, pacing back and forth without a shirt, shouting about Jesus and the gospel. Eleven minutes after police arrived Norman Cooper was hit with the first of nine stun gun charges. Cooper’s heart then stopped and emergency medical techs were unable to restart it. In the course of an hour,

"Folsom Prison Blues" is a country/rockabilly song that expresses the laments of a fictional inmate at Folsom Prison who wishes he could ride a nearby train away from his confinement and to San Antonio. Johnny Cash wrote the song in 1953 while stationed in Germany serving in the Air Force. Cash was inspired to pen the song after seeing the Hollywood drama film “Inside the Walls of Folsom Prison.” In 1954 Cash recorded the song at Sun Records, the Memphis legendary music studio owned and operated

Governor Greg Abbott estimates that the damage from Hurricane Harvey will total between $150 billion to $180 billion. Harvey will be more costly than epic Hurricanes Katrina or Sandy, which devastated New Orleans in 2005 and New York City in 2012. As global temperatures continue to rise, climate scientists have said this is what we should expect—more huge storms, with drastic impacts. Though scientists are still wrestling with some of the specifics of how climate change is impacting hurricanes,

The clock is ticking for Republican leaders in Washington D.C. to pass their latest ObamaCare repeal bill. There is a September 30th deadline to have a new law in place before the budget reconciliation. And the U.S. Senate is set for a possible vote next week on a bill sponsored by Republican Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Bill Cassidy of Louisiana. If passed and signed into law by President Trump the Graham Cassidy bill would create winners and losers among the 50 states. Each state

Texas is the home of the Pantex Facility in Amarillo, an important part of the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons complex.