Texas Take

Texas Public Schools Under Fire

In this episode of Texas Take, Gov. Greg Abbott brushes off questions about the 170 public school campuses that have been shuttered or are on the way to closing since 2023. Plus, now that he has his voucher plan in place, what’s he doing to improve public schools? Host Jeremy Wallace examines that and other big issues facing Texas schools as students head back to class. Houston Chronicle politics reporter Isaac Yu explains the growing role of religion in classrooms, while Carrie Griffith, executive director of Our Schools Our Democracy, discusses declining enrollment, school closures and the impact of charter schools. Houston Chronicle reporter Lawrence Mower joins to break down the rollout of Texas’ new private school voucher program and what it could mean for public education. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Is Ken Paxton working hard enough to beat James Talarico?

On this episode of the Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace asks Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton about taking a European vacation as conservatives, like TV host Jesse Watters, blast him for not being more visible this summer. “Where’s Paxton?” the Fox News host said on Wednesday just before Paxton took the stage in Houston for his first big rally in Texas' largest city since winning the primary in May. Reporters Casey Murray and John Moritz join Wallace to break down how Paxton is trying to win over Republicans who supported Cornyn, while Democrat James Talarico dives into some of the most purple areas of the state. Plus, Democratic candidate for governor Gina Hinojosa stops by the show to warn Democrats that there is almost nothing stopping the GOP from eliminating more Black and Hispanic representatives from Congress and the Legislature if she doesn’t defeat Gov. Greg Abbott. Finally, while vacationing in Maine, Wallace stopped in Biddeford to see how the community is responding to an ICE shooting that happened just days after a similar incident in Houston’s East End. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Gunned Down in Houston: Fatal ICE Shooting

On this episode of Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace examines the fatal ICE shooting of an unarmed Houston construction contractor that has reignited debate over immigration enforcement, transparency and accountability in Texas. Jeremy speaks with U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia and Houston Chronicle reporter Julian Aguilar about the conflicting accounts of the shooting, the calls for an independent investigation, similarities to the shooting in Maine, and the broader political fallout. He also breaks down the renewed effort by Texas Republicans to ban THC products after Governor Greg Abbott’s vetoed their ban last year. Plus, a rare public campaign stop from Senate candidate Ken Paxton shows how he’s going to use a classic GOP line of attack in his battle against Democratic challenger James Talarico in one of the hottest races in the nation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

How Democrats’ Maine disaster impacts Talarico-Paxton race

On this episode of Texas Take, Jeremy Wallace is joined by Texas Politics Reporter Haajrah Gilani, Chief Politics Reporter John C. Moritz and reporter Isaac Yu to unpack a week of political reversals. They discuss why Texans are being pulled into the Graham Platner controversy in Maine, why Gov. Greg Abbott is handing the comptroller’s office to former rival Don Huffines, and how the Dallas RNC convention could shape Ken Paxton’s tightening race against James Talarico. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

James Talarico Becomes the Face of the Texas Democrats

This week on the Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace is joined by Austin American-Statesman’s John Moritz to break down the Texas Democratic convention in Corpus Christi and James Talarico’s big test as a potential new face of the party. The episode also features an exclusive interview with U.S. Sen. Cory Booker on Democratic tensions over Israel and Gaza, and U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro on ICE detentions across Texas. Finally, Wallace and Moritz dig into the fallout from ICE detaining a nun in McAllen and what it could mean for U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz’s South Texas reelection fight. And there’s no way to do a show partly from Corpus Christi without some Selena and Robert Earl Keen tunes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]