Texas Matters

This is part two of a five-part series broadcasting on Texas Standard and Texas Public Radio. The series tells the strange story of W. Lee O'Daniel, who...

This is part two of a five-part series broadcasting on Texas Standard and Texas Public Radio. The series tells the strange story of W. Lee O'Daniel, who in 1938 went from being a flour salesman on the radio to Governor of Texas and then U.S. Senator. O'Daniel is considered one of the most amazing politicians in Texas history who accomplished virtually nothing. Texas Politics has always been known for its cast of interesting characters and certainly W. Lee “Pass the Biscuits Pappy” O’Daniel has

This is part one of a five-part series broadcasting on Texas Standard. The series tells the strange story of W. Lee O'Daniel who in 1938 went from...

This is part one of a five-part series broadcasting on Texas Standard. The series tells the strange story of W. Lee O'Daniel who in 1938 went from being a flour salesman on the radio to Governor of Texas and then U.S. Senator. O'Daniel is considered one of the most amazing politicians in Texas history who accomplished virtually nothing. In the 1930s every weekday at 12:30 in the afternoon there was one radio program that dominated the airwaves across Texas. W. Lee “Pass The Biscuits Pappy” O

Driving down a Texas highway, you could be sharing the road with an 18-wheeler carrying a load of high level nuclear waste. That’s one of the scenarios...

Driving down a Texas highway, you could be sharing the road with an 18-wheeler carrying a load of high level nuclear waste. That’s one of the scenarios if the West Texas nuclear waste site is permitted to store the nation’s high level nuclear waste. Waste Control Specialists, which operates a low-level nuclear waste dump in Andrews County, announced that it has applied for the license to build and maintain a temporary storage site for the spent fuel. The group hopes to start construction by

The notion of a “serial killer” hadn’t been thought up yet in 1885. But that year in Austin, there was one on the loose. It’s one of the greatest...

The notion of a “serial killer” hadn’t been thought up yet in 1885. But that year in Austin, there was one on the loose. It’s one of the greatest unsolved mass murders in Texas history – and except for enthusiasts of the bizarre – it's been all but forgotten. Texas Monthly editor and writer Skip Hollandsworth spent ten years investigating the story – and he writes about it in his book “The Midnight Assassin: Panic, Scandal and the Hunt for America’s First Serial Killer.”

Texas has taken a hard line against immigrants who are in the state illegally. Under the direction of Governor Greg Abbott, the state sued the Obama...

Texas has taken a hard line against immigrants who are in the state illegally. Under the direction of Governor Greg Abbott, the state sued the Obama administration over the president’s executive action to overhaul immigration policy so that it would shield some from deportation and allow them to work legally in the nation. The case was heard earlier in April by the U.S. Supreme Court. Texas State Solicitor General Scott Keller argued to the 8 justices that it’s critical that the rule of law

Last summer, Texas Matters brought you the story of David Sanor, a professor of English and linguistics at Our Lady of the Lake University who was battling an aggressive form of ALS. David had taken on the task of building a voice bank. He recorded thousands of phrases and sentences in anticipation of losing the use of his hands and arms, his legs, and eventually, his voice. We are sad to report that David passed away on March 12, 2016.

It took just 62 days for Wilbert Lee O'Daniel to go from being a hillbilly flour salesman on the radio to the most powerful politician in Texas. While O'Daniel never achieved any major historic accomplishments while in office, he was fantastically talented at generating controversies and winning elections.

Wilbert Lee O‘Daniel was a two term Governor of Texas and a U.S. Senator. But before, during and after that, he was a flour salesman on the radio with a hillbilly band. O‘Daniel ran for Governor as a successful businessman who was sick and tired of professional politicians and fed up with corporate media. The political establishment thought O ‘Daniel was a joke until he beat them – and changed politics in Texas. Many people are familiar with a portrayal of Pappy O'Daniel played by actor Charles

Texas is known for being an energy producing state, but while many still associate the state with oil and natural gas, others are catching up with the...

Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is just one of the reasons why Texas has an infant mortality rate that’s among the worst for industrialized nations. Other...