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Texas Matters
Fridays at 12:30 p.m. & Sundays at 9:30 p.m.
Hosted by David Martin Davies

Texas is a big state with a growing, diverse population and as the population grows, the issues and challenges facing its residents multiply. Texas Matters is a statewide news program that spends half an hour each week looking at the issues and culture of Texas.

Ways To Subscribe
Support for Texas Matters comes from Texas Mutual Workers' Compensation Insurance.
Latest Episodes
  • Texas Matters: The Kerr County flash flood hearing and redistricting
    After the July 4 flash flood that turned the Upper Guadalupe River into a disaster area and killed over 130 people, Texas lawmakers came to Kerrville to get answers about what went wrong. But this hearing also fits into the effort to suddenly redistrict Texas to give the Republican Party five more congressional seats after the midterms.
  • Robert Roberson on Texas death row talking to Texas Public Radio
    Texas Matters: Robert Roberson's new date with the executioner
    His attorneys have filed an emergency motion to stay the October 16 execution, arguing that the Court of Criminal Appeals must first resolve his innocence claims.
  • A.I. image
    Texas Matters: The battlelines in GOP redistricting
    Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered lawmakers back to Austin for a special session. They will take on issues like funding for flooding, THC regulation and cutting property taxes but also for a controversial snap redistricting plan.
  • Texas Matters: After the flood —The search for answers
    Over one hundred dead and many more missing— the July 4th flash flood is the deadliest weather disaster in modern Texas history. But did this catastrophe have to happen? It’s called "flash flood alley," but could any steps have been taken to protect the lives of locals and visitors?
  • Texas Matters: Psychedelics and The Texas Trip
    In a special Texas Public Radio podcast series medical reporter Bonnie Petrie and reporter Robin Berghaus explore how Texas is, somewhat ironically, leading the way in the therapeutic application of psychedelics.
  • Terry Virts at the International Space Station
    Texas Matters: Terry Virts jumps into race for U.S. Senate
    The upcoming race for the Texas U.S. Senate seat is shaping up to be one of the nation's more interesting contests. Incumbent Republican Sen. John Cornyn is being eclipsed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the GOP nomination. Former NASA Astronaut Terry Virts is running for the Democratic nomination while other Dems ready their own campaign launches.
  • Texas Matters: How a GOP congressional redistricting could backfire
    Today on Texas Matters—How Texas could see a reshuffle of congressional maps to keep Republican Control of Congress. When is a Hood not a Hood? When President Trump puts names of Confederate figures back on military bases. And why you could see tomato prices jump at the grocery store.
  • Ray Benson and Asleep at The Wheel
    Texas Matters: 50 years of Ray Benson wide awake at the wheel
    This week on Texas Matters—50 years of Asleep at the Wheel. How did Ray Benson become the carrier of the flame for Western Swing? For half a century, Asleep at the Wheel made it on the rocky road that is the music biz.
  • Texas Matters: Why Conan The Barbarian is a Texan
    He dreamed up Conan the Barbarian from his lonely town of Cross Plains, Texas. But where did Robert E. Howard find his inspiration for the sword-and- sorcery, weird tales that still resonate today? Howard dipped his pen in the inkwell of Texas history, tall tales and the boom and bust of the oil fields. How Conan is really a Texan.
  • Lt. Gov Dan Patrick holds up a package of THC gummy worms
    Texas Matters: Banning THC; Commanding the Ten Commandments; Billions for water
    Kiss your gummies goodbye. Texas is on the verge of a total ban on hemp-derived THC. Lawsuits are coming after the GOP commanded putting the ten commandments in all classrooms. And lawmakers promised they would do something about water scarcity in Texas. Did they deliver?