Hello Houston – The Commuter Cut (May 20, 2026)

Hello Houston – The Commuter Cut (June 8, 2026)

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Ernie and guest host Houston Public Media reporter Michael Adkison [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/author/michael-adkison/] talk with the Houston People’s Budget Campaign’s Alice Liu and Felix Kapoor, who discuss the organization’s amendment proposals for Mayor Whitmire’s city budget plan.   Then, we hear from former U.S. ambassador Chase Untermeyer [https://www.untermeyer.com/resume/], who, along with Nicholas Sawicki, executive director of the Houston Public Library Foundation, joins us to discuss his new role as Diplomat-in-Residence at Houston Public Library [https://houstonlibrary.org/home], the first role of its kind at any public library in the entire country.

Hello Houston – The Commuter Cut (June 5, 2026)

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Ernie and guest host Tessa Barerra [https://www.instagram.com/tess1tess2/?hl=en] talk with Heidi Russell [https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/heidi-russell], Director of the Center for Health Policy at Rice University's Baker Institute, who discusses how healthcare policy has changed during President Trump’s second term in office.  Also, we hear from legendary Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett [https://www.lylelovett.com/], who joins us to talk about his concert tonight [https://houstonsymphony.org/performance/lyle-lovett-with-the-houston-symphony/] in which he’ll be performing with the Houston Symphony, as well as his family life, and some of the many musicians he’s worked with throughout his career.

Hello Houston – The Commuter Cut (June 4, 2026)

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Ernie and guest host Tessa Barerra [https://www.instagram.com/tess1tess2/?hl=en] talk with the Baker Institute for Public Policy's John Diamond [https://www.bakerinstitute.org/expert/john-w-diamond], who breaks down how the conflict with Iran is affecting the U.S. economy. Next, we learn about the New World Screwworm and the threat they pose to the U.S. cattle industry with Bain Wilson, the Rancher Education and Outreach Manager at Ranchbot Monitoring Solutions. Plus, Angie Orth [https://angieaway.com/about-angie/], host of the Traveling with AAA podcast, joins us to give us some tips for the summer travel season and how we can avoid making common travel mistakes.

Hello Houston – The Commuter Cut (June 3, 2026)

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Ernie and guest host Katharine Shilcutt [https://profiles.rice.edu/staff/katharine-shilcutt] talk with Dr. Libby Cohen [https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/team/libby-cohen-ph-d/], Executive Director of the non-profit Raise Your Hand Texas [https://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/], who discusses the state of public-school funding in Texas and the state's school voucher program. Then, we hear from Bradley Michalakis, the Head of Dramaturgy at Alley Theatre [https://www.alleytheatre.org/], who breaks down all the shows that will be in the arts organization’s upcoming 2026 – 27 season, which is also their 80th season. Also, Tammi Wallace, President and CEO of the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce [https://www.houstonlgbtchamber.com/] and Avery Belyeu, CEO of The Montrose Center [https://montrosecenter.org/], join us to both give us their thoughts on the meaning of Pride Month and how much progress has been achieved by the LGBTQIA+ community.

Hello Houston – The Commuter Cut (June 2, 2026)

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Ernie and guest host Katharine Shilcutt [https://profiles.rice.edu/staff/katharine-shilcutt] talk with State Rep. Dr. Suleman Lalani [https://house.texas.gov/members/4285], who discusses why he believes there’s a rise in Islamophobia among Texas politicians and what impact this has on communities across the state. Then, we hear from Rebuilding Together Houston [https://rebuildingtogetherhouston.org/] CEO Christine Holland, who tells us all about the area non-profit and its mission of providing free home repair to homeowners in need across Houston. Plus, we learn about Boomtown Brass Band [https://www.boomtownbrassband.com/], Houston’s only traditional jazz group, with its bassist and tubist Thomas Helton, who explains how they're keeping the rich traditions of jazz alive through their music.