Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: After being seized off a McAllen street on her way to Sunday mass last weekend, Sister Letty Ugboaja has been released by ICE: https://www.tpr.org/news/2026-06-29/south-texas-nun-released-after-being-detained-by-ice Those of us who visited Corpus Christi last weekend might be wondering what the real story is with the water crisis: in shor...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi ended up an exercise in unity, despite opening concerns about unity: https://www.kut.org/politics/2026-06-28/texas-democrats-convention-2026 ...Headliner Senator Bernie Sanders fired up the room, calling for Texas Democrats to spearhead transformation in a time of oppressive oligarchy: htt...

Pretty sure this is a new record-long podcast for Progress Texas, and we loved every minute of hosting over two dozen candidates and dedicated advocates during our second day on the expo floor of the Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi! :00 - Ron Nirenberg, Democratic nominee for Bexar County Judge: 6:11 - State Rep. Jon Rosenthal, Democratic nominee for Texas Railroad Commission 9:56 -...

Progress Texas hosted a whirlwind revolving door of interviews today from the expo hall of the 2026 Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi! Settle in for short and super fun conversations with: :00 - Bobby Pulido, Democratic Congressional Nominee, CD 15 7:49 - Lesley Briones, Harris County Commissioner 15:50 - Letitia Plummer, Democratic Nominee for Harris County Judge 22:49 - State Senator...

The team is in Corpus Christi for the 2026 Texas Democratic Convention, and we roll in with high hopes for a terrific event. With the Gulf Coast wind at their sails, Texas Democrats still have a difficult course to navigate - it's going to take brains, and heart, and guts, and unity to get it done. Progress Texas is very proud to be the official media partner of the Texas Democratic Convention...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The Progress Texas crew is headed for the coast as the official media partner of the 2026 Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi: https://www.kut.org/politics/2026-06-25/texas-democrats-statewide-optimism-november ...With a once-in-decades opportunity for statewide Democratic wins, maximum mobilization and a strong unified front ar...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: New polling reveals a virtual tie between James Talarico and Ken Paxton, more typical leads for other statewide Republican candidates - but a strong lean towards the Democrats among independents: https://www.star-telegram.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article316233304.html Huge, multi-decade sentences have resulted in the tr...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The initial draft version of the Texas Democratic Party platform - to be debated and modified during this week's convention in Corpus Christi - covers a broad variety of topic areas, providing a launchpad for what promises to be a spirited session. The final version, as of the conclusion of the session, should be posted here: https://...

All of us at Progress Texas are packing gear for this week's Texas Democratic Convention in Corpus Christi, which is promising to be a terrific time amidst a highly encouraging year for progressive folks across Texas! And we're proud to welcome back Chair Kendall Scudder for a quick preview of what to expect. Progress Texas is the official media partner of the convention this year - stay t...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is calling on Attorney General and Republican nominee Ken Paxton to release the files regarding the light sentence delivered to admitted child molestor Adam Hoffman: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/18/texas-senate-james-talarico-ken-paxton-sex-abuse-plea-deal/ ...Hoffman's attorney also re...

We enjoyed a live recording session this last Saturday at La Palapa Mexican restaurant in Austin with our friends and supporters the Northeast Travis County Democrats (or NETCo!) for a deep dive on how environmental issues will interface with the upcoming election - in particular, how the impacts of AI data centers threaten our water, farmland, energy and more - and we also introduce to much of th...

The Texas Republican Convention in Houston last weekend set brand new standards for regressive, stupid, bigoted and just straight up bad policy ideas. The bar has been set low for the Democrats, who convene next weekend in Corpus Christi - though in all the ways that matter, it's all on the line this year for the Dems. We unpack the GOP event and look forward to the Democratic event - of which...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Here's hoping you have a chance to recharge for the resistance tomorrow, on Juneteenth - it's important for all of us to understand the history behind the holiday: https://www.history.com/articles/juneteenth-emancipation-proclamation-texas Local officials in Presidio have sued the Trump adminstration over border construction plans...

It’s Pride Month, and here at Progress Texas we remember that pride is not just a parade, it’s a movement: and it takes resources! Joined by the leading statewide LGBTQ+ community foundation, the Texas Pride Community Foundation’s Chief Community Impact Officer, Robert Salcido Jr., discusses the importance of supporting LGBTQ+ community centers and grassroots organizations amid unrelenting attacks...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: At a moment of dire environmental and cost of living threats against everyday Texans, Ken Paxton has challenged James Talarico to a BBQ eating contest: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2026/06/17/paxton-talarico-senate-campaign-texas-barbecue/90568148007/ Data centers make strange bedfellows as outgoing Republican Ag Commi...

The Lieutenant Governor is by most measures the most powerful office in Texas' state government structure. With full control over the agenda of the state Senate, nothing gets through our legislative process without the Lt. Governor's approval - so, placing a Democrat in that position would signal a fundamental change in the Legislature's ongoing and intolerable reality. Austin State Re...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: During last weekend's Texas Republican Convention, party leaders made it clear: Muslims are not welcome in their caucus, and as far as they're concerned, Muslims aren't welcome in Texas: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/15/texas-republican-party-convention-muslims-sharia-law/ ...We talked to the Reverend Mara Richards Bim...

At a moment when the Texas Republican Party is directly writing the destruction of the separation of church and state into their party platform, and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is announcing that Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is "going to hell" because of his progressive Christian leanings, the current political conflict in Texas could rightly be defined as the Christian Nationalists...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Attempts to inspire unity at the Texas Republican Convention appear insufficient to mask the division among the GOP faithful, as the hardest of hardline elements take full control: https://www.texastribune.org/2026/06/14/texas-gop-convention-houston-2026/ ...Lt. Governor Dan Patrick told the crowd that James Talarico is "going to hel...

Between the Texas data center boom - and Corpus Christi on track to become the first modern city to run completely dry - access to fresh water is a top ticket item for Texans this election year, and also going into the next Legislative session in 2027. Dr. Evgenia Spears, Water Program Coordinator for the Lone Star Sierra Club, joins us for a deep dive on the real state of our state's water su...

We've enjoyed getting to know veteran, intelligence expert and proud family man Kevin Burge this election season - he was one of the SIX Progress Texas runoff endorsees to secure his Democratic nomination - and in Kevin's case, by a whopping and record-setting 78%. Kevin Burge is now running hard in TX-24 (much of the northern section of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex) to replace MAGA darling and...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: As the Texas Republican Convention continues in Houston, the party's traditionalist wing is showing signs of resistance against the MAGA takeover of the GOP, including former Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley: https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/south-texas-el-paso/news/2026/06/11/former-gop-official-says-he-won-t-vote-for-paxton-in-ad ....

When we talk about the basic American right of a trial by a "jury of our peers" - what exactly does that mean? And, do we believe that Karmelo Anthony received such a trial - one he was due by Constitutional right? We discuss. Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/ .

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Leaving out Black jurors undermined the "perceived fairness" of the Karmelo Anthony trial: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/article/karmelo-anthony-trial-black-jurors-22296375.php ...Anthony's attorneys have moved quickly to appeal - basing their case on "peremptory strikes" of three Black jurors by th...

Who knew that so many of the most dire threats facing Texas lately - both the encroachment of big tech corporate data centers looking to suck up all our water AND power, and the New World screwworm fly, looking to wreak havoc on not only livestock farmers, but pet owners too - run straight through the office of the Texas Agriculture Commissioner? Clayton Tucker is the Democratic nominee for that p...