Progress Texas Podcasts

South Carolina was officially approved to lead the 2028 presidential primary calendar on Saturday at the DNC 2026 Summer Meeting in Austin. All of Texas seems in uproar over the border construction in the Big Bend region - except for Governor Greg Abbott. The Texas Supreme Court will allow Galveston County Republicans to redraw their local election maps, even though their primaries have already ha...

Serving as mayor of Austin from 2015 to 2023, Progress Texas co-founder Steve Adler indeed sat on a very hot seat - during which he navigated the fastest-growing city in the nation through the beginning of the Trump era, the COVID-19 pandemic, Winter Storm Uri, the George Floyd moment, and lots more. Mayor Adler joins us to talk about that time, and how it reflects upon our current moment, as he p...

Civitech Present: A Live Podcast With Democratic State Leaders We captured a live conversation yesterday at beloved Antone's in downtown Austin as the Democratic National Committee sweats through its 2026 DNC Summer Meeting - stand by for a great talk on how today’s technology can be harnessed to expand voter participation for 2026 and beyond, with Civitech CEO Jeremy Smith, South Carolina Dem...

The 5th Circuit Court Of Appeals has restored SB 1 - the 2021 Texas law that establishes strict registration requirements for mail-in voting registration, and other voting obstacles. The NAACP's Legal Defense Fund and other voting rights and disability advocates are condemning the decision. Meanwhile data about Texas' new private school voucher program - where it can be deciphered through...

On this week's In Progress roundtable, we gather two of our foremost authorities on Far West Texas - former Progress Texas staffer and Alpine City Councilman Reagan Stone, and Dallas attorney and prominent Big Bend defender Bill Holston - for a deep dive on what's happening with the steamrolling of unnecessary and destructive border wall and surveillance construction in one of the most pri...

Ken Paxton's campaign has missed a deadline to accept one of three proposed debates ahead of the midterm election against Democratic nominee James Talarico. Paxton has also been found to have accepted six-figure campaign donations from data center executives and PAC's related to a pending legal opinion from his office related to Hood County. And a popular Fort Worth progressive podcaster just scor...

Here comes a special live pod from San Antonio last night and the launch rally for Latinas for Gina Hinojosa - a brand new campaign initiative to help elect the first Latina governor in Texas state history, led by the Latino Victory Fund Texas PAC. Great time at the Woodlawn Theater, which we learned is the biggest comedy club in all these United States! In this podcast, the five primary speakers:...

Heavy bulldozers are now tearing through ecologically and historically-sensitive parts of Big Bend National Park to build unnecessary border infrastructure, while the opposition of Texans of both parties goes ignored by Donald Trump. And a source of Ken Paxton's mysterious wealth may have been revealed - a cell tower built on the property of a hospital where Paxton was serving as a board member wh...

Over 1 million Texans are on the Texas "suspense list" - meaning, the state is uncertain of their registration details, and they're at risk of being kicked off the voter rolls. Republicans are preparing an unusually hostile legislative agenda aimed at Texas Muslims. And Ken Paxton's tax proposals will benefit only about 10% of taxpayers and exacerbate both inflation and interest...

What kind of leader do you want representing your communities? What are your top issues as a voter? These are just some of the questions that members of the Texas Legislative Progressive Caucus (TLPC) are asking all around the state on their “People’s Hearings” this summer - they're ready to listen in, take those ideas back to our Legislature, and put progressive policies to work. State Reps J...

A new poll done by ReconMR and Texas A&M's Bush School shows strong Democratic performance with James Talarico and Vikki Goodwin up on their GOP opponents and Gina Hinojosa trailing Governor Greg Abbott by a single point. Republican hubris and failure to acknowledge the economic pain of everyday Americans is seen as their potential undoing this fall. Latinos in Harris County - as much or m...

DFW has been the chaotic center of this week’s news, and today’s top story is no exception: with conservative-driven culture wars crusading in our county governments. We report on the rise in Islamophobia across county governments, and as touted by top leaders in the Republican Party. Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Fort Worth Report: https://fortworthreport.org/2026/08...

This week we take a look at how the Texas Republican Party, in a full panic over the prospects of the end of 30 years of dominance, will be unlikely to go gentle into that good night. We've already seen aggressive redistricting and drastic attempts to limit voting access. Still in the bag of tricks: direct polling location intimidation by federal troops, legal shenanigans and more. We're j...

Election and education updates today, starting with the top-ballot candidates running for John Cornyn’s Senate Seat, with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and State Rep. James Talarico each releasing their own economic agenda. Meanwhile, two updates on public and higher education: regarding a voucher program report and new lawsuit against Texas A&M. Stories we're following this morning at...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Fort Worth Report: https://fortworthreport.org/2026/08/04/tarrant-county-commissioners-delay-vote-on-polling-sites-for-november-election/ Lone Star Left: https://www.lonestarleft.com/p/ohare-caves-under-pressure-tables Rep. Vikki Goodwin: https://www.instagram.com/p/DboHhIdKD-n/ Marfa Public Radio: https://www.marfapublicradio.org/news/20...

A three-for-one today, as we feature the speeches and Q&A sessions captured last week at the UnidosUS 2026 Annual Conference in Austin! UnidosUS is the largest nonpartisan Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, advancing social, economic, and political opportunities for Latinos, and we were proud to be invited to cover. In this pod, Unidos President and CEO, Jane...

The Republican-dominated Tarrant County Commissioner's Court will vote today on a proposal to eliminate almost half of the county's Election Day polling locations, with a focus on Black, Brown and student-concentrated areas. Governor Greg Abbott has called a halt to data center developments for an audit, but has taken no steps to change the loose regulations he has himself signed off on. B...

As of Friday, Texas Republicans have reclassified a range of popular hemp-derived THC products like Delta-8 as Schedule I substances - possession of them is now a felony. Driven by millions in campaign contributions, the wholesale alcohol lobby has persuaded Republican leaders to eliminate hemp competition and protect their state-sanctioned distribution monopoly. Listeners can fight back by bypass...

On the heels of a Democrat-associated poll favoring James Talarico in his run for Senate against Ken Paxton, a poll sanctioned by Fox News also puts the Democrat in the lead. Senator John Cornyn maintains his defiance of Donald Trump and reminds the president that the midterms are coming. And Texas Tech defies open records requests for information about the renaming of their football stadium after...

When one considers that the doctrine of the separation of church and state, interpreted from the U.S. Constitution, protects both the right to freely worship AND the right not to have the religious beliefs of others incorporated into law - one might also consider that it might be a bad move for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to have declared war upon it. We discuss with Progress Texas Board Member and Secul...

Despite reports from social media influencers, as of this morning, the Ken Paxton campaign has still not accepted times or terms for a debate with James Talarico. Texas has joined 11 other Republican-controlled states in a SCOTUS appeal for them to allow Donald Trump to place harsh new limits on mail-in voting. John Cornyn has helped stymie the confirmation of Todd Blanche, Trump's choice for...

New polling has Democrat James Talarico ahead of Republican Ken Paxton in the race for the U.S. Senate by five percentage points, and shows Talarico performing well among independent and moderate voters. Renewable energy has been pulling Texas' fat out of the fire this summer - but will that continue under the strain of hundreds of data centers? Governor Abbott is under building pressure to ca...

A strange moment indeed in Texas, as our top two elected officials - Governor Greg Abbott and Lt. Governor Dan Patrick - have both openly declared war on the U.S. Constitution: Patrick in his assault on the separation of church and state, and Abbott in his zealous quest against birthright citizenship via "birth tourism" - a harmless, statistically insignificant non-issue. Texas Tribune:...

The Texas Water Development Board doesn't have enough information about data center demand to include it in our resource projections, and they seem okay with that. A new college admissions test that emphasizes ideology over academics is approved for Texas' public universities. South Texas appears primed for a seismic shift away from Trump and the GOP, while Democratic nominee Bobby Pulido&...

Governor Greg Abbott has pivoted his campaign rhetoric to a call for limits on data centers - but he fails to use the power he has right now to do anything to slow their explosive spread. Meanwhile, Ken Paxton is desperately fundraising outside the state as James Talarico out-raises him 3 to 1 at home - Paxton is apparently doing all he can to avoid a live debate. KXAN Austin: https://www.kxan.com...