David Martin Davies

Paul Theroux is a novelist and also internationally renowned for his many books about travel.  He has spent more than 50 years traveling the globe to chronicle the lives of people in distant lands.  This time, he turns his eye on Mexico. 

Ann Patchett is back.  The acclaimed and beloved author  of seven other novels has penned “The Dutch House,” a story about a broken family in a beautiful house — one that becomes the center of a family saga spanning 50 years, and shows the ways in which three generations are influenced by the structure and its exquisite and idiosyncratic contents. The novel is about the ways in which we sometimes have to give up our obsessions, even abandon them,  and find a way to forgiveness just the same.

Texas has the highest uninsured rate for children in the nation. And for the second year in a row the rate got even worse. That’s according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Children advocates are calling attention to these numbers and asking for state leaders to address this problem immediately. They say steps could be taken now – without the legislature to improve access to CHIP and Children’s Medicaid. Patrick Bresette is the Executive Director Children’s Defense Fund-Texas.

Guest: U.S. House Rep. Joaquin Castro, TX-20

"The Source" is a live call-in program airing Mondays through Thursdays from 12-1 p.m. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 210-614-8980, email thesource@tpr.org or tweet at @TPRSource. 

*This interview was recorded on Wednesday, September 25

Texas politics has never been very accommodating to third parties and their efforts to win votes. The Libertarian party has been perceived as siphoning votes away from the Republican party, and the Green Party from the Democrats.

Twenty-nine people died as a result of two mass shootings in Texas last month. What is the response from Texans and their political representatives? Will these latest violent episodes move the needle on gun policy?

One of the most effective ways to keep people from voting for the political opposition is to not give those voters a place to go vote.  The recipe is easy; make is easy for your side to vote – make it difficult or impossible to the other side to vote.

It was on September first that over 800 new laws went into effect in Texas, including ten new gun laws that made it easier for owning and open carrying guns in the state. But there were some new bills that passed the legislature that didn’t become laws; these were the 58 vetoed bills.

One of them was House Bill 1168, which would make it a state crime to bring a gun into a restricted area at an airport. This bill did not prevent guns from being carried in airport terminals.

Monday on "The Source" -- Who are the people coming to the U.S. for asylum? What drives them to leave their homes and what are they finding when they arrive at the Southern border?