Explore every episode of the podcast Texas Matters

This week on Texas Matters — The story of Texas that we typically hear is one with a conservative bias.But there are parts of Texas history that reflect a more progressive vein of the state’s identity. Stories of the fence cutters, the great cowboy strike and the struggle against the power of big business. The new book "The Myth of Red Texas: Cowboys, Populism, and Class War in the Radical South" challenges the common view of Texas history.

This week on "Texas Matters," the life and writing of Larry McMurtry and how he refined the myths of being a Texan. David Streitfeld has written a biography of Texas writer Larry McMurtry — “Western Star: The Life and Legends of Larry McMurtry.”

This week on Texas Matters — forgotten songs from Texas prisons. Heartfelt tracks written, performed, and recorded by incarcerated men. The resurrected recordings from the '60s, ’70s, and ’80s tell us about crime and punishment, rehabilitation, and the humanity of the men locked inside.

Millions of Texans tell pollsters religion is very important in their lives. Every Sunday hundreds of megachurches fill up and celebrate their faith – which also shapes their politics. The result , elections are won and lost based on performances of righteousness. The State Board of Education bends the nation’s textbooks to a conservative Lone Star gospel, and laws are passed based on Christian values. How did Texas become “one state under God"?

Today on Texas Matters: The old Spanish missions of San Antonio — 300 years of history, community memory and meaning. Joel Daniel Kitchens is the author of “San Antonio and Its Missions: Three Centuries of History, Memory and Heritage.”

In October 1964, as the South simmered under the tensions following the signing of the Civil Rights Act three months earlier, First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, began a whistle-stop tour of the South. She shattered the expectations of a presidential spouse with speeches, diplomacy, and palpable compassion as she encouraged the South to leave Jim Crow behind.

Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican state leaders are targeting CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Abbott has signed a proclamation calling CAIR a “terrorist organization.” Edward Ahmed Mitchell, National Deputy Director of CAIR, says these are baseless conspiracy theories created for politics.

Today on Texas Matters — A first-of-its-kind survey shows how Texans experience violence. And how changes at the post office can impact the coming election.

Today on Texas Matters: The State of Texas v. Adrian Gonzales. The former Uvalde School District police officer on trial.

The Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and intelligence Campus — near Amarillo — plans to use nuclear power for the biggest data center ever. And how in 1910 the classic western movie was born in San Antonio.

“Pass the Politics Pappy” explores the remarkable political rise of W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, a flour salesman who used his popular radio show and catchy slogans to rocket into becoming Texas Governor and then U.S. Senator in the late 1930s and 1940s. Part 2 of the series focuses on O'Daniel's time as governor and delivered very little on his grand promises. Ultimately O’Daniel’s story serves as a cautionary tale of media-driven political populism.

W. Lee “Pappy” O’Daniel was a flour salesman turned broadcaster who mastered early mass media to build a political machine. As host of a hugely popular radio show featuring his Hillbilly Boys band, he blended homespun entertainment with relentless self-promotion. He converted his audience into votes, winning the Texas governorship in 1938 and later a U.S. Senate seat. O’Daniel’s radio fame let him bypass party elites and critics, turning airtime into personal power and profit.

Texas lost a flatlander troubadour — songwriter Joe Ely.The Amarillo native established himself as a songwriter’s songwriter and a musician’s musician, who sidestepped mainstream popularity but nevertheless attracted a devoted fanbase and legions of famous admirers. We take a look back to an interview from 2020 with the great Joe Ely.

As a growing number of people are caught in the affordability crisis, they are turning to selling their blood plasma to make ends meet. That plasma is used to make many lifesaving medications but are the donors being fairly compensated? We take a look at how the international blood plasma economy works and why Texas is the leading source for plasma.

For over 30 years Skip Hollandsworth has been a master storyteller at "Texas Monthly." He’s been investigating and telling the stories of Texas true crime with a keen eye for detail and a way of getting people to spill the tea. We hear from Skip about his new book “She Kills: The Murderous Socialite, the Cross-Dressing Bank Robber, and Other True Crime Tales."

This week on Texas Matters: How did FEMA actually perform after the July 4th Hill Country flood? Texas Rangers continue to search for flood victims. And investigating how pregnant women in labor are ignored while in jail.

This week on "Texas Matters": Governor Greg Abbott announces he's running for a fourth term with a five-point plan to eliminate school property taxes. But what does that mean for funding Texas Public schools? And how the federal banning of hemp derived THC is being felt across the state.

This week on Texas Matters—Texans struggle with SNAP disruption. Also, we learn about how Texas is one of the worst states for porch pirates. What are homeowner rights when confronting a package thief?

This week on Texas Matters: The demands of massive AI data centers are growing every day.ERCOT projects the state’s grid will need to double in the next five years to meet the demands of AI.AI also uses a lot of water. It’s projected AI will consume nearly 7% of the state’s water supply by the year 2030, a significant drain on a state already dealing with water scarcity.

West Texas is a reliably hard-red political stronghold. In the last presidential election, the region voted about 80% for Donald Trump. West Texas is the reddest place in the country, according to Jeff Roche, author of "The Conservative Frontier." He says cowboy conservatism is rooted in the dusty landscape. But how well does that political philosophy serve the communities of West Texas?