Real outrage over a fake sign: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week

An age limit on prediction markets: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly logo in blue and white [https://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/28061724/GBU-Banner.jpg] A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to a rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/topics/good-bad-ugly/] of it all. This week, our panel weighs in on these stories: * One of the nation’s top hurricane forecasters lowering its outlook [https://www.chron.com/news/article/houston-hurricane-summer-prediction-22337496.php] for storms during the Atlantic hurricane season * Texas lawmakers may try to curb prediction market use [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/health-science/2026/07/08/556508/texas-medical-association-tma-prediction-markets-age-limit-gambling-addiction/] among Texas minors Our panel of non-experts this week includes: * Vivian Ho [https://www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/vivian-ho/], health economist at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine * Joy Sewing [https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/joy-sewing/], news columnist with the Houston Chronicle * Mary Flood [https://www.androvett.com/people/mary-flood], legal consultant with Androvett Legal Media & Marketing Watch

Austin competing with Houston for an NHL team: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly logo in blue and white [https://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/28061724/GBU-Banner.jpg] A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to a rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/topics/good-bad-ugly/] of it all. This week, our panel weighs in on these stories: * The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's plans to build new facilities [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/events/houston-livestock-show-and-rodeo/2026/06/24/555376/houston-rodeo-new-arena-complex-nrg-park-harris-county/] * Houston finally having the inside track on an NHL expansion team -- unless it ends up in Austin [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/sports/2026/06/23/555336/hockey-houston-nhl-austin-texas-expansion/] * An AI-replication of actor Michael Caine’s voice being used to narrate an audiobook of The Odyssey [https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/michael-caine-ai-odyssey-audiobook-1236787620/#article-comments] Our panel of non-experts this week includes: * Joy Sewing [https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/joy-sewing/], news columnist with the Houston Chronicle * Charles Kuffner, who writes the political blog Off the Kuff [http://offthekuff.com/wp/] * David Branham [https://www.uhd.edu/faculty/branhamd.aspx], professor of political science at the University of Houston-Downtown Watch

A shuttle bus to Buc-ee’s during the World Cup: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly logo in blue and white [https://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/28061724/GBU-Banner.jpg] A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to a rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/topics/good-bad-ugly/] of it all. This week, our panel weighs in on these stories: * Texas joining the states investigating FIFA [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2026/06/09/554054/texas-ag-ken-paxton-opens-investigation-into-fifa-over-2026-world-cup-ticket-sales/] over its World Cup ticketing policies * A sign welcoming World Cup fans to Houston showing a Chilean flag [https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas-flag-chile-fifa-fan-fest-houston/285-a34a4120-2f41-4a43-8f5f-bcdaa9d058bd] instead of Texas * A shuttle bus to Buc-ee's [https://www.chron.com/texas/article/bucees-fort-worth-world-cup-22299859.php] being included in public transit for World Cup visitors in Dallas Our panel of non-experts this week includes: * Mustafa Tameez [https://www.outreachstrategists.com/team/#mustafa-tameez], media and public affairs consultant and the CEO of Outreach Strategists * Vivian Ho [https://www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/vivian-ho/], health economist at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine * Natalie Arceneaux [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nataliearceneaux/], president of Arceneaux International Consulting Watch

Texas may hit record energy demand: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly logo in blue and white [https://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/28061724/GBU-Banner.jpg] A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to a rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/topics/good-bad-ugly/] of it all. This week, our panel weighs in on these stories: * ERCOT predicts record energy demand [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/infrastructure/2026/06/03/553633/ercot-predicts-record-summer-energy-demand/] this summer * Houston highways may have influenced local cloud formations [%20https://spacecityweather.com/on-tuesday-morning-houstons-freeways-created-clouds-of-their-own/] * Hackers used Instagram's AI support to get access to other accounts [https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98rzr72dpyo] Our panel of non-experts this week includes: * Mary Flood [https://www.androvett.com/people/mary-flood], legal consultant with Androvett Legal Media & Marketing * Joy Sewing [https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/joy-sewing/], news columnist with the Houston Chronicle * Marco Roberts, chairman of the Texas Conservative Liberty Forum [https://www.facebook.com/TexasLibertyForum] Watch

FIFA World Cup ticket sales under investigation: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the week

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly logo in blue and white [https://cdn.hpm.io/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/28061724/GBU-Banner.jpg] A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to a rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/topics/good-bad-ugly/] of it all. This week, our panel weighs in on these stories: * FIFA coming under investigation [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/npr/2026/05/28/nx-s1-5836514/fifas-world-cup-ticket-sales-outraged-fans-now-they-are-under-investigation/] for how and when it sells tickets to World Cup matches -- and for how much * Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta buying Caesars Entertainment [https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/business/2026/05/28/553087/caesars-entertainment-fertitta-houston-company/] * A stationary replica of KITT from Knight Rider grounded in Illinois but somehow getting traffic tickets in New York [https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://apnews.com/article/knight-rider-car-speeding-ticket-new-york-24d37fa3e975363d8bcef5bbbb7bf089__;!!LkSTlj0I!G-b7GGNUXE6fPrZSbpzlRiAlowOYiYcEoPH7ANRGgZAoebmC81692BIK9scE9ST_ZlXtd4OirS_5MD_op8ym_CxOg0A$] Our panel of non-experts this week includes: * Vivian Ho [https://www.bakerinstitute.org/experts/vivian-ho/], health economist at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine * David Branham [https://www.uhd.edu/faculty/branhamd.aspx], professor of political science at the University of Houston-Downtown * Jack Young [https://kgmca.shorthandstories.com/jack-young/index.html], University of Houston theatre professor Watch