This week on Texas Matters: Will it be harder to vote in Texas in the coming midterm elections? We hear from Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor, Vikki Goodwin. And the Texas Gulf Coast is home to the nation’s petrochemical industry. Is this the economic boon that was promised?

This week on Texas Matters: Why are so many Texas public school campuses closing? We hear about the impact of vouchers, charter schools and the underfunding of the public school system. Also, a new law in Texas goes into effect in Texas on Sept. 1 — the right to repair your smart phone and other personal electronic devices. We hear what the new law covers and what it doesn't.

This week on Texas Matters: Is the Republican nominee for Senate, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, exceptionally corrupt? One group is calling out Paxton’s alleged history of abusing his office. And the fight in Texas over transmission powerlines cutting through rural areas.

Texas home insurance costs are skyrocketing and becoming a barrier for housing affordability. Rising insurance costs disproportionately burden low- and moderate-income families, erode homeownership stability and weaken communities. And how the Texas Juvenile Justice Department’s five state secure facilities continue to fall short.

This week on Texas Matters— How data centers have become a hot-button issue this political cycle and how that controversy could tip the rural vote in the 2026 midterm election. Quorum Report's Scott Braddock breaks down the Texas political landscape.

During his time as mayor of Austin from 2015 through 2023, the capital city grew by 20%, saw homelessness become a crisis and faced off against a Republican state government that threatened to take over the city. In Adler's new book, "Hot Seat — Hot City," he reflects on his days at city hall and warns about coming threats to democracy in Texas.

Nearly a year after the July 4, 2025, floods in the Texas Hill Country, the families of children and counselors killed at Camp Mystic are still seeking accountability and pushing for stronger safety standards.

It has been one year since the tragic flash flood on the upper Guadalupe River that took over 117 lives. Why were local officials caught off guard when the rains came and the flooding hit? The region is called "flash flood alley," and there is a long history of tragic floods on the river. We hear the second episode of the Texas Newsroom podcast, “After the Flood.”

The Texas Newsroom and FRONTLINE (PBS) are collaborating on a new five-part podcast series, After the Flood, an intimate and deeply reported look at the catastrophic Central Texas flooding that killed more than 130 people over the Fourth of July weekend in 2025.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller says the screwworm will continue to spread unless officials adopt a more aggressive response. Also, energy economist Ed Hirs says Texas oil producers are not significantly increasing production despite higher oil prices.