Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The latest on the July 4th floods in Kerr County and across Central Texas, where the death toll has surpassed 80 and over 40 remain missing: https://abcnews.go.com/US/live-updates/texas-flooding-updates-13-dead-20-campers-unaccounted/?id=123488468 ...County and state leaders immediatly attempted to shift blame to weather forecasters - did...

Last weekend, Progress Texas Digital Associate Haley Smith visited the welcome social for the Texas Young Democrats and Texas College Democrats Joint Convention in downtown Austin to talk with young, passionate leaders from across the state. Tune in for candid conversations, a pulse check on the grassroots movement, and inspiration from the young people leading the charge toward a more just and in...

The news moves fast, y'all - between the time we recorded this on Thursday afternoon and posting time a couple of hours later, the U.S. House has passed what we've come to correctly call Donald Trump's Big Bullshit Bill - a truly historic heist of working class America for the richest in our country. As the elections of 2026 approach, it will be all-important not to let our fellow Texa...

For a time that isn’t typical, we’re not bringing you the typical talking points. German Ibanez has 40 plus years of experience in clean energy. From developing green solutions for municipalities to multinational companies, we like to list him as a consultant on the good side of the revolving door. Either way you look at it, he has boundless knowledge surrounding ERCOT, energy regulation and inves...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The U.S. House appears preparing to vote on Donald Trump's Big Bullshit Bill: https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-7-3-2025 ...As of last night, Austin Democratic Congressman Lloyd Doggett was holding out hope that the bill could be stopped: https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/doggett-holding-out-hope-that-trumps-one-big-bea...

As part of our larger “Progress Texas Summer Vacation" series, we reviewed the threats to our national parks with Cristóbal López, the National Parks Conservation Association’s Texas Field Representative. Our talk ranges from exacerbated staff shortages, to how Trump’s budget bill could create the largest public lands sale in modern history - so billionaires can cut you out of “America’s best idea...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Trump's Big Bullshit Bill, passed by the Senate, now heads for the House, where part of the opposition is Texas Congressman Chip Roy - whose concerns about impacts to the national debt will likely lead to even deeper cuts for vulnerable Americans: https://www.tpr.org/government-politics/2025-07-02/why-texas-rep-chip-roy-broke-with-trump-on-th...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Texas Senators John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, naturally, are all in for Donald Trump's deeply unpopular Big Bullshit Bill: https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-7-1-2025 ...It will have massive effects in Texas, both for SNAP recipients and the 15% of Texans who rely on Medicaid: https://www.kxan.com/news/texas-politics/how-cou...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Donald Trump's continued press to establish an authoritarian regime, supported by his stacked Supreme Court, gives progressives all the more reason to rise and resist: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/28/us/supreme-court-trump-victories.html ...The Trump tax bill, on the verge of passing the Senate, provide even more reason for working...

On this week's download of frustration and triumph and frustration, the crew celebrates the win of Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral primary - which both portends the rising power of young progressive voters, and has also unleashed an amazing outpouring of panic from not only the far right, but also, strangely enough, some from the Democratic old guard. What gives? We talk about it,...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Current and former aides to Attorney General Ken Paxton are in an all-out and tawdry legal battle over alleged obstruction during Paxton's 2023 impeachment, threatening to become a sideshow for Paxton's expected run for Senate next year: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/26/ken-paxton-impeachment-witness-tampering-former-employ...

The second time we've run Joe Jaworski's "Midterms" political talk show hosted by KPFT-FM in Houston, where it runs every Tuesday morning, features a talk with former Congressman Beto O'Rourke! It was recorded just after Beto's swing through Texas on his tour of town hall meetings - since, of course, he's joined Senator Bernie Sanders and Austin Congressman Greg Casar...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: New bi-monthy polling in Texas finds negativity growing against Republican leadership and policies, from Donald Trump to Governor Greg Abbott and on down the line: https://texaspolitics.utexas.edu/blog/june-2025-university-of-texas-texas-politics-project-poll-economic-concerns-drag-trump-s-job-approval-underwater-in-texas-while-most-texan...

Former Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger has become an influential player in Texas politics since moving his family to the Houston area after leaving the U.S. House in 2022. His vocal rejection of Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, including his active involvement in Trump's second impeachment, has brought him into natural alliance with progressives across the country. Congressman Kinzinger rec...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The primary win of young Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamadani in the New York City mayoral election is being seen by some as a bellwether for the national Democratic party: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/25/nyregion/cuomo-mamdani-mayor-primary-nyc.html ...Also representing that wave, Austin Congressman Greg Casar has been sticking to eco...

Today marks the beginning of a three day conference of the Texas State Board of Education in Austin. The quarterly meet ups set policies and standards for Texas public schools. That includes curriculum, adopting instructional materials, establishing graduation requirements, and managing the permanent school fund. As the SBOE is one of our lesser known state elected bodies, we brought you District...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: In the only budget item from the 89th Legislature he vetoed, Governor Abbott has nixed Texas' participation in the federal Summer EBT program, designed to keep lower-income kids fed during summer months: https://www.sacurrent.com/news/texas-gov-greg-abbott-vetoes-summer-lunch-program-for-low-income-kids-37817843 Lt. Governor Dan Patri...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Latest on Donald Trump's attack on nuclear facilities in Iran: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/22/us/politics/trump-iran-decision-strikes.html ...Responses from Texas Democratic U.S. Reps Lloyd Doggett, Greg Casar, Lizzie Fletcher, and Sylvia Garcia: https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/texas/texas-lawmakers-leaders-trump-iran/285-...

Hard to believe that our 15th Anniversary shindig in Dallas was just under two weeks ago - so much is happening, and so quickly, that time is really flying by. Podcasting Director Chris Mosser works the room when we gather our friends together to check in on how they feel about our work at Progress Texas, and this pod presents a bunch of our favorite Texans - whom we thank with all of our hearts f...

We’re excited to be one of the first to bring to you a discussion with newly-announced Democratic candidate for Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Clayton Tucker. He’s a rancher, president of the Texas Progressive Caucus, and works as a fair trade organizer, fighting corporations that use international trade policy to rig the rules against working people and ship jobs overseas. You might already know...

Our weekly blowing off of the proverbial steam covers the afterglow of the glorious No Kings weekend, Governor Abbott's deadline to sign legislation or get off the pot on Sunday, our worst fears about exactly WHO these masked ICE agents actually are, and more. Have a great weekend and thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas at https://progresstexas.org/ .

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Despite the risks, opposition within his party, and terrible optics, it's looking like Governor Greg Abbott may cave to Donald Trump and call a special legislative session for a rare mid-decade redistricting session: https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/politics/redistricting-texas-ohio-republicans-house Sunday marks the deadline for Govern...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: This Juneteenth, we renew our commitment to the liberation of and equity for our neighbors, regardless of their race, who they love, or where they came from: https://progresstexas.org/blog/protest-pride-and-progress-where-and-how-show-summer ...We honor Texas icon Opal Lee, who was instrumental in establishing Juneteenth as a federal holi...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Tucker Carlson appears to goad Senator Ted Cruz into prematurely revealing Trump administration military cooperation with Israel against Iran: https://x.com/allenanalysis/status/1935143824340160884?s=46 Both Elon Musk and Alex Jones have posted lies online about the murderer of Minnesota State Senator Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark:...

Happy Pride Month! Digital Associate Haley Smith is joined by Avery Belyeu of the Montrose Center and Miriam Laeky of Equality Texas for a Pride Month conversation that centers hope, solidarity, and the power of community. As queer and trans Texans face unprecedented legislative attacks, this episode shifts the spotlight to the people leading the fight for equality across the state.  From unpackin...