Texas Talks

Chris Powers, founder and CEO of Fort Capital, a real estate investment firm having completed more than $2.1B in real estate transactions in Texas, Tennessee, and Florida. He is also the host of The Fort podcast, a show about entrepreneurship where each episode's mission is to up your game by hearing directly from men and women in the arena. https://fort-companies.com/ https://x.com/fortworthchris...

Chris Baker is executive director of The Other One's Foundation, a homeless service provider focusing on shelter and workforce services. Since graduating from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 2007, Chris has worked many different jobs in the field of homeless services and activism, but also as a musician, writer, and even paralegal. He started The Other Ones Foundation in the summer...

Lieutenant Game Warden Aaron Sims is a public information officer for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. He joins the show to discuss hunting and boat safety, poaching, wildlife conservancy, and more. Website: https://tpwd.texas.gov/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexasdispatch LinkedIn: The Texas...

Dax Gonzalez is the Governmental Relations Division Director at the Texas Association of School Boards. Dax joins the show to discuss TASB advocacy efforts including increasing local control, improved funding, school choice/vouchers, and more. https://www.tasb.org/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexasdi...

Representative Cody Vasut represents House District 25, which comprises southern and western Brazoria County. He currently serves as Vice Chair of the Business & Industry Committee and member of the Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committees. Rep. Vasut discusses the need for additional transparency with campaign finance records, affordable housing, potential changes to the house parliamentarian a...

Representative Mihaela Plesa of Texas House District 70, which includes parts of Dallas, Richardson, Plano, and Allen, is a first generation Romanian American. She discusses education, women's health and reproduction, THC and compassionate use, and more. Website: https://www.plesafortexas.com/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_D...

Senator Jose Menendez of Texas Senate District 26 in Bexar County, joins the show to discuss Interim Hearings in the Texas Legislature. The discussion includes a potential ban on Delta 8 and 9 products, social media and children, catching kids up in education, and more. http://www.josemenendez.com/ https://x.com/Menendez4Texas https://www.facebook.com/Menendez4Texas Watch Full-Length Interviews: h...

John Wallace is a Houston native and attorney specializing in Municipal Utility Districts. John discusses what MUD's are, as well as PFCs (Public Facility Corporations) and how they are used, at the expense of MUDs, cities, counties, school districts, and all taxing entities, to create "affordable housing." You can learn more about John's law practice at https://bwplegal.com/ Watch Full-Length Int...

Lee Bratcher is a Board Member and President of the Texas Blockchain Council, an industry association that exists to advocate for blockchain centric public policy initiatives, educate members of government about the benefits of bitcoin, cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. https://texasblockchaincouncil.org/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on soci...

Steve Bruno is the Deputy Executive Director of the Licensing and Education and Examination Divisions and Customer Service at The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. Steve discusses the role that TDLR plays in the everyday lives of Texans, as well as their new five year strategic plan. https://x.com/tdlrlicense https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/ Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube...

Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland is the sheriff of Terrell County. He previously served for 26 years as a U.S. Border Patrol official. He is a member of Coalition Against Cartels, a national effort to expose the illegal operations of cartels in U.S. communities. He discusses how the Cartels control the US Mexico Border, the actions this administration has taken, Operation Lone Star, what more needs to b...

Robert Bryce is a Texas-based author, journalist, film producer, and public speaker. His latest docuseries, "Juice: Power Politics and the Grid", is available for free on YouTube and on juicetheseries.com. Subscribe to his Substack at RobertBryce.substack.com X: x.com/pwrhungry Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagra...

We are joined by Representative Ray Lopez, who was elected to the Texas Legislature in 2019 to serve HD 125, which encompasses much of San Antonio’s West and Northwest Sides. We discuss his background in politics and why he got involved, emergency preparedness in Texas, the Texas Military and the border, threats from foreign nations and organizations, and more. Watch Full-Length Interviews: https:...

Bradley Buckley is a Texas veterinarian and Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives for House District 54, which includes part of Bell County and all of Lampasas County in Central Texas. 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_podcast...

Doug O’Connell, Special Forces Colonel Retired, is the defense attorney for Sgt Daniel Perry who was convicted by a jury in Travis County for the murder of Garrett Foster during the BLM riots of 2020. Sgt Perry's conviction was recently pardoned by Governor Greg Abbott. Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thete...

Donna Bahorich is a member of the Texas Historical Commission and a former member of the Texas State Board of Education, serving as Chair from June 2015 - September 2019. Donna discusses the new Texas education curriculum as well as Open Education Resources (OER), which is an online database of school curriculum and lesson plans which can be accessed by teachers, staff, parents, and anyone else se...

Sid Miller is a republican politician from Stephenville, Texas. He served in the Texas House of Representatives from 2001-2013 and is currently the Texas Agriculture Commissioner, serving since January 2015. 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_po...

Charles is the President of Urban Reform and Urban Reform Institute, focusing on free market solutions to urban issues and creating opportunity for all in America’s metropolitan areas. Charles has been published in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Houston Chronicle, the Hill, Wired, and other publications. He is a Fox 26 Houston (KRIV) regular political commentator and weekly panelist on Sunda...

Anita Scott is former teacher and assistant principal. She is currently Director of Public Policy at the Texas Home School Coalition. THSC: https://thsc.org/ 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_podcast   Find more at The Texas Dispatch Your sourc...

Sharon McKinney is the executive director of the Texas Inmate Families Association, a non-profit whose mission is to serve people in Texas prisons through education, advocacy, and organizing. Sharon teaches the New Family Workshop for families whose loved ones are entering the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Parole Workshop for families whose loved ones are approaching parole eligibil...

Jeff Burdett is the Texas State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), an association of small businesses in the United States, formed to advance their interests. Website: https://www.nfib.com/ NFIB on X: https://twitter.com/NFIB Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexasdispatch...

Bryan Sunderland is the Director of Advocacy at the Cicero Institute, a nonpartisan public policy organization with deep experience in government, legislation and the law, technology, and entrepreneurship. Bryan and Brad discuss addressing the homelessness crisis, health care, public safety, and regulation and licensing reform. Cicero website: https://ciceroinstitute.org/ Bryan on X: https://twitt...

Representative Dustin Burrows is the representative for Texas House District 83. He recently served on a five person panel to investigate the cause of, and determine remedies to, the recent wildfires in North Texas. Dustin Burrows on X: https://twitter.com/Burrows4TX Watch Full-Length Interviews: https://www.youtube.com/@TexasTalks   Follow us on social media X: @Texas_Dispatch Instagram: thetexas...

The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit, non-partisan research institute. The Foundation’s mission is to promote and defend liberty, personal responsibility, and free enterprise in Texas and the nation by educating and affecting policymakers and the Texas public policy debate with academically sound research and outreach.   TPPF Website: https://www.texaspolicy.com/ TPPF X: http...

Russell Woodward is the senior manager of product marketing at Texas Beef Council. In his role, he fosters strategic partnerships and builds programs to strengthen the beef presence in the retail and foodservice sector. Growing up on a farm in North Texas, he knows how personal producers take growing and raising quality products for the consumer’s plates. His desire to pursue a career in the meat...