Texas Matters

“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?

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?

Former Texas congressman Colin Allred gave up his seat in the House to run for Senate against Ted Cruz. He came up short— but he outperformed the Democratic ticket. He says he wants another shot and he’s running again for the Democratic nomination for Senate where he could face either incumbent John Cornyn or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Tejano Singer Bobby Pulido is using his voice in a new way. He’s running for Congress in the 15 District of Texas. And how the Tuba is Saving kids in the Rio Grande Valley.

This week on Texas Matters: How community organizers beat the city of Corpus Christi and Big industry to stop ocean desalination. And the CDC advisory panel on vaccines recommends restricting access to the MMRV vaccine. What would that have meant for the Texas measles outbreak?

Texas death row inmate Robert Roberson is set to die on October 16. There is mounting evidence that Roberson's daughter, Nikki Curtis, didn't die from shaken baby syndrome but from illness. And Texas could be on the verge of executing an innocent man.

Why Gov. Abbott ordered the Texas Legislature to “prohibit same day voter registration in Texas.” And the court challenge to the controversial congressional redistricting says it's an illegal racial gerrymander.

A federal judge has granted a temporary halt to a new Texas law that requires the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. He found that it was a violation of the freedom of religion—but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is promising to appeal. We hear from Rabbi Mara Nathan about why she joined the suit and how she feels about the future of religious freedom in Texas.

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.

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.

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.

Governor 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. President Trump wants five more Republican seats out of Texas. What does that mean for voting rights, democracy and unchecked powers of the president?

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?