Texas Talks

Travis McCormick is the founder of the Make Texans Healthy Again movement, which aims to tackle the alarming rise in chronic diseases, poor nutrition, and preventable health challenges across Texas. https://www.maketexanshealthyagain.com/ https://x.com/Travis15mcc Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexasdis...

James Quintero is the Policy Director for the Taxpayer Protection Project of the Texas Public Policy Foundation. James joins the show to discuss property taxes in Texas, proposals to reign them in, M&O taxes paying for bond debt, and much more. https://www.texaspolicy.com/ https://x.com/JamesQuinteroTX Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X:...

Graham Dugoni is the CEO and Founder of Over Yondr, a company that produces pouches and other tools to alleviate the intrusion of personal technology to create vital, distraction-free experiences that enrich people’s lives. https://www.overyondr.com/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexasdispatch LinkedIn...

Annie Spilman is a Texas Lobbyist and representative for the Texas Business Association. She joins the show to discuss unions in Texas, the government collecting union dues, and much more. https://www.txbusinesscoalition.com/ https://x.com/tbc_com https://www.facebook.com/TexasBusinessCoalition Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_...

Representative Caroline Fairly of Texas House District 87 is not only the youngest member of the Texas House as well as the first Gen Z representative. She joins the show to discuss banning electronic devices in schools, protecting people from deepfake sexually explicit visual material, and much more. https://x.com/FairlyForTexas https://www.fairlyfortexas.com/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https:...

Ryan Walters is a former Oklahoma public school teacher and the current Superintendent of Public Instruction in Oklahoma. Ryan discusses how Oklahoma handles school choice, school finance, teacher pay, union dues, and more. ryanwaltersforoklahoma.com https://x.com/RyanWaltersSupt Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instag...

Tony McDonald is a conservative civil rights attorney and 1st amendment litigator. He joins the show to discuss the Texas Ethic Commission generally, as well as the Michael Quinn Sullivan v TEC case that he is trying to push to the Supreme Court. https://x.com/TweetTonyMac https://tonymcdonald.com/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Te...

Wayne Christian is a politician and financial planner who has served as a member of the Railroad Commission of Texas since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Christian formerly served in the Texas House of Representatives for the 9th district, which included Jasper, Nacogdoches, Sabine, San Augustine, and Shelby counties in East Texas. Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@Te...

Ellen Troxclair is an American small business owner and politician who is a member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 19. A member of the Republican Party, Troxclair was the youngest woman ever elected to the Austin City Council, where she served the 8th district from 2015 to 2019. Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Tex...

Mayes Middleton is an American businessman and politician serving as a member of the Texas Senate for the 11th district. Previously, he served as a Texas House of Representatives for district 23. A member of the Republican Party, Middleton has been in the Texas legislature since January 8, 2019. Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas...

Terri Behling is Director of Communications at Haven for Hope, an organization that addresses the root causes of homelessness by offering programming tailored to the specific needs of the individual. Their unique approach is person-centered, trauma-informed and recovery-oriented. The goal is to meet individuals where they are and support them as they move toward self-sufficiency. https://www.haven...

Todd Staples is the president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association and previously served as the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, as well as a Texas State Senator and Representative. He joins the show to discuss the record breaking amount of tax revenue the Oil and Gas industry brought to Texas in 2024, who benefits, the future of energy in Texas, and much more. https://www.txoga.org/ Watch Full-Len...

Lee Parsley is the General Counsel and President for Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR), an organization focused on tort and lawsuit reform in Texas. Lee discusses Nuclear Verdicts, Public Nuisance Lawsuits, and the effects of lawfare on Texans. https://www.tortreform.com/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thete...

Jennifer Rabb is the president of TTARA (Texas Taxpayers and Research Association) and joins the show to discuss the tax landscape in Texas - property taxes, school taxes, business taxes, and how Texas is faring under it all. https://ttara.org/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexasdispatch LinkedIn: The...

Texas Senator Nathan Johnson of Senate District 16 joins the show to discuss infrastructure: everything from physical infrastructure, but also education and government programs. https://linktr.ee/NathanForTexas Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexasdispatch LinkedIn: The Texas Dispatch TikTok: texas_talks...

Tony Bennett is the President and CEO of the Texas Association of Manufacturers, a position he has held since 2012. The Texas Association of Manufacturers gives voice to more than 600 small and large companies at the State Capitol as well as in Washington, DC. Tony joins the show to discuss education, energy, foreign trade, AI, and much more as it all relates to manufacturing. https://manufacturet...

Dr. Ben Carson is the former 17th Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban and Development, founder and Chairman of the American Cornerstone Institute, and currently serves on the Texas Education Agency Open Education Resource advisory board. Dr. Carson joins the show to discuss the recently approved Open Education Resource curriculum here in Texas, how to inspire kids to learn, modern...

Cameron Abrams is a reporter for The Texan, a statewide political news organization focusing on Texas news and politics. In addition to being a reporter, he is a doctoral candidate with a focus on postmodern philosophical influences in education. We discuss the recent Texas Legislative elections and the potential ramifications for policy and legislation in the upcoming 89th Texas Legislature. Watc...

Writer, speaker, consultant, and lobbyist, Adam Jones joins the show to discuss education finance in Texas. Adam served as the Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer for the Texas Education Agency from 2003 - 2012. Since then he founded CapitolJones to help organizations achieve their objectives, and presents regularly at education and government conferences. Watch Full-Length Interviews:...

Ken W. Good is a noted bail attorney and board member of the Professional Bondsmen of Texas, and who has worked closely with lawmakers, argued cases before the Supreme Court of Texas among others. He is the author of Good’s on Bail. Ken joins the show to discuss the recent correction in crime statistics, crime trends in Texas, the bail system in Texas, and efforts in the next legislative session....

Ray Martinez is the President and CEO of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, providing leadership to advance state policy, institutional practices and research in support of Texas Community Colleges. Ray discusses the role that community colleges play in Texas Higher Ed, workforce alignment in Texas' Building a Talent Strong Texas plan, changing the funding mechanism for community college...

Aaron Silva is a former candidate for Eanes ISD School Board, lifelong entrepreneur, and founder of Paladin-fs, a professional technology contract negotiation company for community banks and credit unions. He is also the founder of Texas Education Project 103. Aaron discusses the importance of fair elections at the local level, financial and educational issues facing school districts across the st...

Senator Brandon Creighton represents Senate District 4, encompassing parts of Montgomery, Harris, Chambers, Jefferson and Galveston Counties. He is the chair of not only the Education Committee, but the Higher Education Subcommittee, as well. During his tenure he has taken the lead on key issues that matter to Texas job creators, fought excessive taxation, and passed legislation to improve Texas s...

John Hryhorchuk is the Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy at Texas 2036, a non-partisan, data driven public policy think tank here in Austin, Texas. John previously worked as the Deputy Director of Budget and Policy for Governor Greg Abbott, and he joins us here today. John discusses many issues facing Texas today including health care, mental health, education, water sustainability, and...

This week's guest is Representative David Spiller of House District 68, which spans across 12 counties here in Texas. He serves on multiple committees, including as cochair of the Texas Energy Fund Advisory committee. He discusses border security, foreign ownership of land, water availability, and the electric grid. Lern more: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100069525410865 Watch Full-Leng...