The order is out: articles of impeachment are being drafted. Texas A&M Constitutional Scholar Lyn Rambo explains to us what this means. Also, we’ll explore how exactly immigrant detention centers provide a cost savings to the federal government. And why aren’t more democratic presidential campaigns safe-guarding their emails? Our tech expert explains. Plus Fort Worth...

The system that’s normally entangled in scandal has a couple of highlights to report. We’ll talk about Texas foster care. Also, what happens when the University Interscholastic League tweaks its guidelines? We look at three major implications. And what Texas is willing to do when it comes to vaping and e-cigarettes, we’ll tell you more....

The Texas General Land Office has a question for many towns and cities: after Harvey, how would you spend 4 billion dollars? The mayor of Rockport weighs in today on the Texas Standard. Also, the eyes of many Texans on the impeachment drama on Capitol Hill. Not all Texas lawmakers singing the same tune on...

Deadline for getting on the ballot in Texas comes and goes. We’ll take a look at what the list of candidates may or may not tell us about an evolution in Texas politics. Also, years ago alarm bells sounded over a high rate of maternal mortality in Texas. Then the data was found to be...

The house moves closer to impeachment, but any closer to the removal of the commander in chief? We’ll do a breakdown of the next steps in the process. As members of the house prepare to vote on the removal of a president, they also hand him a political victory on trade. One that will have...

Blocked at the border: a judge in El Paso puts the brakes again on part of the president’s border wall project, although parts of the wall are still going up. We’ll have more on the latest legal challenge to the president’s effort to fulfill his campaign promise of a border wall from the Gulf to...

Houston’s police chief blames the boyfriend loophole for the on duty death of an officer. What is the boyfriend loophole? We’ll explore. Plus, the president appears to be hours away from impeachment: where are other presidents getting impeached? Why many western democracies don’t have it. Also, what could be the next boom industry in Texas:...

A behind the scenes drama involving a Texas senator could have major implications for the U.S. and Iran. What’s happening and why it matters, today on the Texas Standard. Student athletes getting kicked out of college following complaints of sexual assault but getting to start over at other schools. A new report about a “sexual...

A vote to impeach the President of the United States. As the hour approaches, the Texas delegation comes to terms with an historic vote. The latest coming up on the Texas Standard. How are Texas representatives voting on impeachment? The latest from Benjamin Wermund of the Houston Chronicle. Also the NBA tries to score big...

A major victory against the US Army Corps of Engineers by home and business owners hard hit by Hurricane Harvey. How, and what happens next- today on the Texas Standard. Another lawsuit, this time coming in the aftermath of tropical storm Imelda raises questions about how the Houston region is grappling with climate change. We’ll...

The impeachment of a president- for the third time in history. Where did Texas’ lawmakers come down? The lowdown on how it all went down today on the Texas Standard. In November a bond proposition failed in Midland. But wait, there’s more: suddenly a box of votes turns up and what do you know- it...

The president promises 400 miles of border wall within the next year. But something’s in the way: miles and miles of private property. More today on the Texas Standard. What were the takeaways for Texas in last night’s democratic presidential debate? And what might it mean for Texas’ lone remaining contender in that race? also,...

He calls it powered by people, but there’s one ex presidential contender clearly powering the group to prominence. What it could mean for Texas in 2020. Also, law enforcement warning that there’s a certain type of trafficking on the rise in the borderlands and its causing cacti to disappear. And why 2020 could turn into...

It’s beginning to look a lot like 2019 all over again? On this Christmas eve, we’re telling some of our favorite stories from the year that was. From the Texas Capitol City, this hour we’ll be criss crossing the state. From deep west Texas, to the Rio Grande Valley, up and east to the Piney...

From what was once the furthest frontier of the west, a mission to the furthest frontier of humankind. From Texas to the moon on this special edition of the Texas Standard. On July 20th 1969, the world held its breath as astronauts from the United States did something nearly unimaginable. But the pathway to the...

The most powerful factor in the Texas economy? Energy. This hour, we’ll explore how changes out west are affecting the entire landscape of the Lone Star State. They used to call it the fracking boom. New technologies that made it possible to extract more oil and gas from the ground. Texas’ Permian Basin has become...

Oh, when a number tells a story and leads to an investigation. The Texas Education Agency says some numbers are not adding up, we’ll explore. Plus: “Red State Blues”. Sounds like a song but it’s a thorough analysis on how red are red state policies. And we’ll be talking to the directors of “Confession Killer”...

It’s time to take a look at what Texas’ political parties are planning for the year 2020. A sneak peek to their strategies today on the Standard. With heavy hearts we bring you the latest on the shooting at a house of worship in White Settlement, Texas. What if what was once a symbol of...

Immigration, elections, new laws, challenges to natural resources. What were the top stories in Texas during 2019? That’s our focus for this hour. On this New Years Eve, we’re refocusing the rear view mirror on the year that was. We’ll hear from Victoria DeFrancesco Soto of the LBJ School at UT-Austin, Brandon Rottinghaus of the...

Can a saved person be lost?

Some people want to be Christians but they believe the wrong source. Part 1 of 2

Who do the women and the beasts in Daniel and Revelation represent? Part 1 of 2

Who do the women and the beasts in Daniel and Revelation represent? Part 2 of 2

In this edition of The Secret Ingredient we talk with Daniel Moshenberg about the wide-ranging impact of  food on prisoners in the US prison industrial complex. Dr. Moshenberg has worked with women in community-based organizations and social movements which are majority women but are not (yet) identified as women’s organizations or movements. That work has...

“When it comes to breastfeeding the ideal of choice verses the illusion of choice are two very different things,” argues Kimberly Seals Allers when talking about her new book, “The Big Let Down: How Medicine, Big Business and Feminism Undermine Breastfeeding.” In this edition of The Secret Ingredient Allers makes the distinction between choices and...

Cotton. Not quite a food item, but a plant nonetheless with a rather complicated history and an enduring relevance in our lives. Today, a typical day cannot pass without using this pillowy crop that rules our commodified lives. In this edition of the Secret Ingredient with Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy: Sven Beckert,...

“Strawberries is kind of the quintessence of industrial agriculture in California. It’s the fifth highest value crop in the state. It also got the most heavy pesticide regime, by far, of any other crop in the state. And it kind of captures so much of the dynamics of what’s going on in California.“-Julie Guthman In...

“The climate crisis is an emergency, it is a crisis and so we need to make major, major changes in our agriculture system.” Ben Lilliston is the Director of Climate Change and Rural strategies at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. He spoke with The Secret Ingredient team–Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy,...

Novelist, screenwriter, critic and slam poet C. Robert Cargill sits down with host Owen Egerton at SXSW 2016 to talk about coming up in Austin, the history of scary movies, and advising on the set of Dr. Strange.

This Song — Mojo Nixon, Kat Edmonson, Aaron Behrens Welcome to the first ever “This Song” podcast! This week we have three amazing artists! Mojo Nixon:  The rock musician, DJ, lover of Elvis and natural born iconoclast talks about why “Sweet Soul Music” by Arthur Conley is the song that still makes him feel like […]

In  this episode of “This Song” we hear Brian Beattie talk about a song that blew him away and made a shelf in his brain, Kathy McCarty talks about a song that opened her up to the possibility that songwriting wasn’t just for people from the olden times, and Ray Benson explores a song that […]

This week guest interviewer Bill Childs, host of Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child,  sits down with John Flansburgh and John Linnell from They Might Be Giants to hear about the impact of the Batman theme and a evolving charm of a song from a record inspired by the Pogo cartoon. Along the way they also chat about kid record […]

Benjamin Booker explains how songs by Nigerian artist William Oneaybor and the Caribbean band The Beginning of the End are all helping him shape the sound of the music he's writing now. Then Laura Patiño of Holiday Mountain describes how a song by M.I.A. helped her find her power as a woman and her voice as a musician.

Delbert McClinton tells the story of the first time he heard Big Joe Turner's "Honey Hush" wafting out of a window. From that moment on, he was driven to give everything he had to the blues. And Carrie Rodriguez tells the story of the first time she heard Bill Frisell and explains how it opened her up to the idea that traditional music need not be played in a traditional way.

M. Ward explores how John Fahey's record "The Yellow Princess" showed him that an artist could say everything he wanted using only one acoustic guitar. Then Dana Falconberry explains how the songs she learned while playing with Redding Hunter in the band "Peter and the Wolf" changed her approach to music.

Robert Delong explains how hearing "Stardust" on a a cassette taped version of Orson Wells "War of the Worlds" got him interested in harmony and songwriting. Then John Chao explains how inadequate record store categorization lead him to his hearing the album “Kiko” by Los Lobos and inspired some his best work.

Members of Brooklyn-based Sunflower Bean explore the music that inspires them -- from Brian Wilson and Devo to Beach Fossils and Tonstartssbanht -- while also talking about club scenes with a social conscience, what makes a perfect combination of art and commerce, and the attraction of listening to a musical genius’ decent into darkness.

El-P and Killer Mike from Run the Jewels start out talking about early influences (Prince's "Beautiful Ones" and Ice-T's "6 In The Morning”) and end up expressing their love and respect for Southern Rock, The Clash, Outlaw Country and early hip hop and rap. Then Sarah Castro and Matt Parmenter of the Austin-based Belcurve explain how Kathleen Edwards, PJ Harvey and Tom Waits helped them create their shared musical vocabulary.

Conor Oberst turns The Felice Brothers' "Jack at the Asylum" to help him make sense of his conflicted feelings about America.

Hear how a Ryan Adams' song, an Offspring record and a sped up version of Twisted Sisters' "Burn in Hell" led to the creation and the sound of The Strumbellas.

Natalie and Elliot from Wild Belle describe how how crucial the audience is to their music and how both witnessing a Radiohead show and playing their own show in Mexico heightened their awareness of this important notion.

It's This Song's 100th Episode!!!! Host Elizabeth McQueen gets interviewed by her 8 year old daughter Lisel about how Rebecca Sugar's "Here Comes a Thought" from Steven Universe expanded her idea of what songs can do. Then Lisel explains to Elizabeth how "Peace and Love on the Planet Earth," also from Steven Universe, blows her mind and is helping her process big ideas like, Peace, War, Death and Birth.

In this This Song rerun from 2016, you’ll hear Benjamin Booker in the time between his first self titled record  and his new album Witness.  The artists explains the profound influence William Onyeabor’s “Why Go to War” had on him, and why he’s  ready to weave politics into his work. Photo: Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon/KUTX Subscribe via the Podcasts […]

Composer and Conductor Benjamin Wallfisch has scored music for over 60 feature films including Hidden Figures and the remake of Steven King’s IT. He also collaborated with Hans Zimmer on the soundtrack for Blade Runner 2049.  Listen as he describes how hearing John William’s score for E.T.  as a young boy set him on the path of making music […]

Beth Ditto, former lead singer of the band Gossip, explains how Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddamn" helped her grapple with her complex feelings about her home state of Arkansas after she had left for Olympia Washington.

Lisa-Kaindé Diaz of Ibeyi explains how Nina Simone's version of "I Put a Spell on You" helped her understand what singing was really about and how music helped heal the relationship with her sister Naomi. Oh yeah, and what it was like to be a part of Beyonce's Lemonade!

Alex Scally from the dream pop duo Beach House explains how he learned to love a bad note in Bob Dylan’s “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” and how that experience showed him the beauty of imperfection and errors in music.   Subscribe via the Podcasts App, iTunes or Stitcher to get the new episodes […]

The new movie, BLAZE, about legendary singer and songwriter Blaze Foley, comes out on September 21st. Listen as Ethan Hawke and Ben Dickey describe why they love the music of Blaze Foley and what led them to make a movie about his life.

Shy Beast front woman Mariclaire Glaeser describes how the music of the Cardigans helped her navigate a difficult childhood, bond with her older brother and find her musical way.

Dana Falconberry talks about the profound impact being in the band "Peter and the Wolf" when she first moved to Austin. It's two Austin musicians, talking how Austin Music changed their lives. Enjoy!