Y'all-itics

If you want to move grandma onto your own property, why can’t you? A growing, bi-partisan movement argues that if more people say “yes, in my backyard,” the housing crisis in Texas – affordability and availability - would begin to disappear. But as one of the leaders of that effort explains, it’s hard to convince folks that new neighbors don’t necessarily mean new problems. Guest Nicole Nosek, Cha...

The state of Texas is investigating claims that troopers working along the border were ordered to withhold water from migrants trying to cross… even reportedly pushing some back into the river. It’s happening in Eagle Pass, Texas, the same area where the Governor recently deployed a long line of buoys to deter crossings. Just before Mexico filed an official diplomatic complaint, a kayaker and life...

Y’all-itics early release: July 14, 2023 John Scott might not be a household name, but he is a go-to for Governor Abbott. As we were releasing this episode of Y’all-itics , Scott was leaving after six weeks as the temporary Texas Attorney General. And that was not too longer after he served for more than a year as Secretary of State. Scott provides us our first glimpse inside the office since Paxt...

Y’all-itics: July 10, 2023 Hours after Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan announced an agreement on property taxes, Patrick took our call to explain what made the deal. And what did not. The final version of this legislation included something new. GUEST Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, (R) Texas

Y’all-itics: July 9, 2023 It has been another momentous term for the U.S. Supreme Court, full of bombshell decisions, from “gutting” affirmative action in college admissions, to upholding the Voting Rights Act. The high court has always made important and controversial decisions... one of the nation’s premiere constitutional law experts, Professor Stephen Vladeck from the University of Texas at Au...

Texans pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation. And despite big promises, Texas Republicans still haven’t delivered relief to property owners. Can they finally agree on anything during the second special session now underway in Austin? The Jasons turn to the political insider’s insider to find out. And Scott Braddock, the editor of the Quorum Report, explains why property tax relief h...

Suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is required to attend his own trial. But will he testify? What will his defense be? The Texas Senate laid out 29-pages of rules by which the Paxton impeachment trial will happen. Travis County GOP chairman and veteran political consultant Matt Mackowiak shares what he expects to happen next. Guest: Matt Mackowiak Travis County GOP Chairman and veteran politica...

A third political party is challenging two decades of Republican dominance in Texas. Former Democratic Presidential candidate Andrew Yang and former Republican New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman argue the two-party system has created a one-party monopoly that deprives voters of choices and solutions. And they've come to Texas to drum up support for their new Forward Party.  Guests Andrew Y...

After the deadly 2021 winter blackouts that left millions of Texans in a deep freeze for days, lawmakers have now had two sessions to remedy the state's flawed power grid. In this episode of Y’all-itics , the Jasons are joined by two experts who say recently passed "fixes" haven't made the grid more reliable, but that it could have been worse.  Guests Doug Lewin Founder, Stoic Energy Author, The T...

Dick DeGuerin and Rusty Hardin have resumes and personas as big as Texas. These two legal icons will now prosecute the impeachment case against suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Their selection shows how serious House Republicans are in removing Paxton from office. But can even the best attorneys get the jury in this case – the state’s 31 senators – to put aside their next re-election a...

How serious is the Republican-led case against Attorney General Ken Paxton? He said all of it is “easily disproved”. But you’re about to hear all of the evidence collected by investigators from the Texas House General Investigating Committee – as told to lawmakers just before they voted to send up the articles of impeachment.   GUEST:   The General Investigating Committee from the Texas House of R...

You never know what to expect in the final week of a legislative session in Texas. But 2023? Wow. The Jasons have been in Austin all week, witnessing this drama, chaos and legislative two stepping in person. Joining them for a cold brew and hot topics are two veteran political journalists, KVUE’s Ashley Goudeau and the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s Bud Kennedy.   GUESTS   Ashley Goudeau, KVUE Anchor/...

Despite months of warnings, anxiety and political battles, Title 42 appears to have ended with a whimper, not the expected bang. The pandemic-era health policy that allowed authorities to quickly expel migrants, even asylum seekers, is no longer in place. And the predicted migrant surge and chaos along our southern border simply has not happened. In fact, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security s...

Eight innocent people dead. Seven more wounded. And hundreds more still suffering from shock and fear after being caught in the middle of a mass shooting involving another AR-15 style rifle. This time, it happened in Allen, Texas, a Dallas suburb. But at this point, it seems you can insert any Texas city’s name, like a Mad Lib. What is different is that a handful of Republicans have at least signa...

If you plan to protest your property appraisal in Texas, you’re running out of time. In many appraisal districts, the deadline is May 15. That’s why we aren’t waiting to release this special episode of  Y’all-itics , which will provide pro tips to help you take your protest to the next level. One important factor to know this year before you get started: Your 2023 appraisal is based on research th...

Before you book your summer vacation, you’ll want to hear this episode. What is going on at Southwest Airlines – a carrier known for efficiency and customer loyalty? The Dallas-based airline has had a rough go of it the last six months. The December meltdown cancelled more than 16,000 flights, impacting more than two-million passengers. Then in April, the failure of a computer firewall delayed 1,7...

Catholic bishops in Texas upset some parishioners after recently asking the flock to take a political stand and support Education Savings Accounts, one of the most controversial bills this legislative session. Parishioners have now gone public with their outrage, contacting us, and even writing letters to the editor – telling the church to stay in its lane and out of politics. Catholic schools in...

Some Texas Republicans now want to tell you what you can and cannot do on your land. SB 624, moving through that chamber right now, is one to watch. State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, wrote this one that takes specific aim at the renewable energy sector, with landowners who want to supplement their income by having wind or solar placed on their property taking some inadvertent fire. Kolkhorst w...

Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick said they were his highest priorities, from lowering property taxes to giving Texas parents money to send their kids to a new school. But with only six seeks left in the legislative session, many of those priorities are stalled in the Texas House… and he isn’t happy about that. In this special release episode of  Y’all-itics , the Lieutenant Governor doesn’t hold ba...

Only hours after a Travis County jury unanimously found a man guilty of murder, Governor Greg Abbott promised to pardon him as soon as a request from the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles hit his desk, something widely expected since he appoints those members. The unprecedented move by the Governor immediately elicited cheers from the conservative right, whose prominent figures had been calling f...

Laney Hawes, a fed-up mother with children in Keller ISD, has a simple wish: make school board meetings boring again. Next month, voters can select who represents them on city councils and school boards. Most Texans don’t bother with municipal elections. Republicans figured that out and have won majorities on at least four North Texas school boards, including Keller ISD. Conservatives are now capi...

It is no longer “likely.” Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson  is  running for President. But who is this Republican and why does he think he can win in 2024?  Y’all-itics  first introduced you to Governor Hutchinson last October. So, here is that conversation again now that he’s officially joined the field.   Original Summary (October 9, 2022)   The race for 2024 begins next month – as soon a...

Housing affordability has become such a crisis in Texas, it could be the one development that derails what’s known as the Texas Miracle, the economic engine driving the Lone Star State. But sky high demand, property taxes and inflation have combined to drive up the cost of housing to such a level, some experts say Texas no longer has a cost advantage. Put another way, before now, businesses had no...

It’s cheap, easy to conceal, and deadlier than any other drug. But what exactly is fentanyl, where is it coming from and how is it so easily ending up in our schools and on our streets? It killed three middle schoolers in Carrollton recently. And first responders in Dallas dealt with at least 27 suspected overdose cases… in one night alone. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons take their que...

Has the education revolution begun in Texas? Republicans have made “educational freedom” a priority in Austin this legislative session and there is now a bill they say does just that. SB 8 would provide $8,000 for families to move their children from public schools to private schools. But critics wonder who will be holding private schools accountable since public schools are held to a different st...