Progress Texas Podcasts

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Amid the business and population boom of Texas, it now takes $90k per year for individual workers and $200k per year for families of four to live here comfortably - way up from just one year ago: https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/houston-texas-news/content/2025-06-16-the-cost-of-living-comfortably-in-texas-is-on-the-rise/ ...At the same ti...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: After great worry about how the No Kings events would go on Saturday, there's relief and celebration on Monday as generally, things went quite peacefully and productively indeed: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/14/texas-protests-anti-trump-immigration-no-kings/?_bhlid=5ac4797cc26960c9770e89ecd115fa763f69b1c3 There was a very low...

What a week - and what a weekend it's likely to be. Everyone be safe if you're attending protests - again, keep it safe and legal. We're gonna have a lot to unpack on Monday. Thanks for listening! Learn more about Progress Texas and how you can support our ongoing work at https://progresstexas.org/ .

We enjoyed a visit with one of our favorite regulars, Austin State Senator Sarah Eckhardt, to talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly (not necessarily in that order) of the recently-concluded 89th Texas Legislature. There was plenty to lament and plenty to commit to repairing later - but there were also tactical wins for Democrats, and some good legislation passed as well. Learn more about Sena...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Over 5,000 Texas National Guard troops and 2,000 Texas DPS officers, including special agents and Texas Rangers, have been deployed across the state by Governor Greg Abbott in advance of Saturday's "No Kings" rallies: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/11/greg-abbott-texas-national-guard-immigration-raid-protests/ ...Austi...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Governor Abbott promises a militaristic response to protests in Texas, including those on Saturday coinciding with Donald Trump's military birthday parade: https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/abbott-puts-texas-national-guard-dps-troopers-in-place-for-planned-protests-we-are-not-intimidated-no-kings-group-says/ ...National Guard troops,...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Governor Greg Abbott has activated the National Guard to establish a presence countering the anti-ICE protests that have been happening this week in our major cities, in particular targeting one expected today in San Antonio: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/10/us/la-protests-marines-ice-trump ...The reaction from Trump is more about...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Much like the recent GOP power grab at the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, the Texas Republican congressional delegation has begun discussing plans to redraw Texas' electoral maps to stave off defeat in the 2026 midterms: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/09/texas-redistricting-congress-house-republicans-midterms/ Civic unrest...

The Trump regime cracks down on anti-ICE protestors in Los Angeles: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj93d3r0zz0o ...California Governor Gavin Newsome: "This is about authoritarian tendencies. This about command and control. This is about power": https://t.co/uuAiHzYiIo ( https://x.com/Acyn/status/1931914095382683742?t=0lQ3pMrV8fm2BgTsRdCUfw&s=03 ...Houston Congressman Al Green: htt...

We're joined on our weekly airing of the grievances by Progress Texas board member Jason Smith, who's also a Fort Worth civil rights attorney who has had a front row seat to the blatant, racist power grab being executed by the Republican-dominated Tarrant County Commissioners Court, via which a premature redistricting effort is on the verge of successfully drawing one of the two Democrats...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The very public breakup of Donald Trump and Elon Musk is a great example of the dangers our country faces when big decisions are made by impulsive, egotistical billionaires: https://www.wsj.com/politics/elon-musk-trump-fight-gop-bill-c2e0be66?mod=WSJ_home_mediumtopper_pos_1 State Rep. Jolanda Jones has announced a run for the U.S. House s...

We were invited to join newly-elected Texas Democratic Party Chairman Kendall Scudder earlier this week in beautiful Kerrville for a town hall with the Kerr County Democrats - it was a well-attended, productive and enjoyable meeting, in which we all learned about the common needs and goals of rural and urban progressive folks across the Lone Star State, and how those two worlds can come together i...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Governor Abbott signs HB2, the public school funding bill, into law - but it falls well short of really getting our schools square with their expenses: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/04/texas-public-education-schools-funding-bill-explained/ ...Insufficient funding is part of the broader GOP game plan lately, as the Trump adminstration s...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: On the heels of the Johnson County Sheriff's Department's abuse of ALPR license plate tracking systems to follow a Texas woman who had self-managed an abortion, the Austin Police Department has also been taking liberties with the new technology: https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/news/2025-06-03/emails-reveal-improper-use-by-ap...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: The end of the 89th Texas Legislature represents the beginning of the analysis of the damage done. From the Texas Tribune: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/02/texas-legislature-ends-session-republican-agenda/?_bhlid=f3bc5066045403914b35bcc5884d32ca437e86bf ...From WFAA in Dallas: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/look-at-bill...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: An impressive takedown of Texas GOP Senators goes viral: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/texan-goes-viral-for-calling-out-legislators-over-anti-trans-bill_n_68388fa8e4b06ff5140d4a4b As Sine Die arrives - along with the beginning of Pride Month - Texas Republicans have sent Senate Bill 12, a bill outlawing LGBTQ+ clubs in Texas schools, to...

The 134 PAC, an organized group of progressives and Democrats from the vast expanse of rural, Republican-dominated Texas, has a plan to convert those folks into the unified, activated voting bloc that they should be through unity with their urban compatriots and mobilization of a proper, statewide resistance to MAGA rule in Texas. Both Progress Texas Podcasting Director Chris Mosser and Advocacy M...

The weekly kvetching session comes as the last days of the 89th session play out like a slow-motion train wreck. Dan Patrick makes massive ass at a truly bizarre (and entirely unnecessary) press conference, Elon Musk bows out in disgrace in D.C., and Texas Republicans make sure wild-eyed whackjobs can keep their guns. Thanks for listening and have a great weekend! Learn more about Progress Texas a...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: A Texas Tribune/Propublica investigation reveals that the Trump administration lied repeatedly about the criminal backgrounds of the 238 Venezuelan migrants they sent to a prison in El Salvador from Texas last March: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/30/trump-el-salvador-deportees-criminal-convictions-cecot-venezuela/ ...While pictures of...

A pattern emerged this May Election season for D/FW, Houston, Austin, and more: voters turned out for progressive candidates and issues, to stomp out bigotry and book bans. For this episode, we’re featuring several candidates from across the state who want to ride that wave through the Runoff Elections, with early voting from May 27 to June 3, and Election Day on June 7: we're joined for this...

Governor Abbott weighs in on a tragic accidental death at Grapevine Lake, calling for the death penalty against the Venezuelan national alleged to have caused it: https://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local/article/ava-moore-daikerlyn-alejandra-gonzalez-grapevine-20349012.php Elon Musk is apparently out of the Trump cadre, after critizicing the "big beautiful bill" and its certain massive bloating of...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Dallas U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett promises a counter to Donald Trump should Democrats retake the House in 2026: https://www.latintimes.com/rep-jasmine-crockett-says-dems-will-investigate-trump-if-they-reclaim-house-midterms-well-do-583793 ...Meanwhile, Austin U.S. Congressman Greg Casar is talking about an investigation into conn...

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas: Austin Rep. James Talarico scored the viral moment of the holiday weekend at the Lege, with a gotcha on Republican Rep. Candy Noble regarding her violation of the Sabbath in order to force the Ten Commandments into Texas classrooms: https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/05/26/ten-commandments-bill-texas-tiktok/ Hemp industry advocates are plea...

Advocacy Manager Reagan Stone reviews two bills that threaten your voting rights: the Texas version of the SAVE Act and the “Use it or lose it” bills! Joined by Vote Riders’ Vicente Martinez to discuss SB 16,  Texas’ SAVE Act introduces new, incessant barriers to register to vote—requiring proof of citizenship to register. And from the National Coalition for Voting Rights, Robin Lederer and Dr. An...

Our weekly decompression session comes in the closing days of the Texas Legislature - when all the bad stuff we've fought against for months tends to happen anyway. Looked for a minute there like we might make a sensible move on cannabis - but noooo. And Sam has an idea that might make us all feel better about Republicans refusing once again to give Texas public schools and teachers what they...