Programs and Podcasts

Book Public is a Texas Public Radio podcast about books. At Book Public we believe books have the power to enlighten and entertain us. Listen in as we talk to authors about their books and why and how they wrote them. At Book Public we’re committed to connecting listeners to books that help us understand today’s world—and each other—a little bit better.

Loud narco-corridos and gunshots had become the soundtrack of Linda’s life in her hometown in Michoacan, Mexico, the avocado capital of the world. SUVs and men parading with smuggled automatic weapons hanging from their shoulders controlled avocado fields and every aspect of life. In February 2021 Linda was devastated by a loss so profound, she had to leave the only home she had ever known. In a twist of irony, she fled to the country where 80% of the weapons in Mexico come from, to request asylum. Caliber 60 is a limited series about the impact of illegal arms trafficking southbound to Mexico on the displacement of thousands of Mexicans fleeing towards the U.S., as told through Linda’s story, who escaped Michoacan and found refuge in California.Episode 1 drops on March 15th, 2023.This podcast was supported by the Pulitzer Center.

Narcocorridos y disparos se habían convertido en el soundtrack de la vida de Linda en su pueblo natal en Michoacán, México, la capital mundial del aguacate. Un amenazante desfile de camionetas y hombres con armas largas traficadas colgando del hombro controlaban los campos de aguacate y, prácticamente, todos los aspectos de la vida de ese pueblo.En febrero de 2021, Linda quedó devastada por una pérdida tan profunda que tuvo que dejar el único hogar que había conocido. En un giro de ironía, huyó al país de donde proviene el 80% de las armas en México, para solicitar asilo. Calibre 60 es una serie limitada sobre el impacto del tráfico ilegal de armas hacia México resultando en el desplazamiento de miles de mexicanos que huyen hacia Estados Unidos. Ese es el caso de Linda, quien escapó de Michoacán y encontró refugio en California.El episodio 1 se estrenará el 22 de marzo de 2023Este podcast fue realizado con el apoyo del Pulitzer Center.

In the past two years, about half a dozen chemical disasters have ripped apart Texas neighborhoods, sent dozens of people to the hospital and killed unsuspecting bystanders as well as workers. Texas Public Radio and Houston Public Media spent the better part of 2020 investigating these events. Our team has met with victims whose lives have been changed by chemical disasters. We’ve spoken with community advocates who are fighting back. We’ve examined the frayed patchwork of local, state and federal policies around chemical safety. And we’ve pulled back the curtains to reveal what’s going on behind the scenes with competing federal agencies in the aftermath of these disasters. We want to answer the question: why do so many chemical disasters keep happening in Texas, and what—if anything—is being done to prevent more?Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR One, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

"Fronteras" is a Texas Public Radio program exploring the changing culture and demographics of the American Southwest. From Texas to New Mexico and California, "Fronteras" provides insight into life along the U.S.- Mexico border. Our stories examine unique regional issues affecting lifestyle, politics, economics and the environment.

Cuando 16,000 personas haitianas llegaron a Del Río, Texas, en septiembre de 2021, la crisis humanitaria llenaba los titulares internacionales. Pero el improbable espectáculo en la frontera fue solo un vistazo de un viaje migratorio como ningún otro, uno que se extiende más de 16 mil kilómetros, desde los escombros del terremoto de Haití en 2010, a través de América del Sur, hasta Del Rio y los suburbios de Houston. Para la primera temporada de La Línea, Texas Public Radio y el Houston Chronicle exploran la historia humana detrás de esta odisea haitiana, junto con las fuerzas sísmicas en juego: políticas migratorias, las relaciones entre Haití y Estados Unidos y la promesa incumplida de reconstruir la llamada Perla del Caribe.

When 16,000 Haitians arrived in Del Rio, Texas in September 2021, the humanitarian crisis made international headlines. But the unlikely spectacle at the Texas-Mexico border was just a glimpse of an immigration journey like no other – one that extends more than 10,000 miles, from the rubble of the 2010 Haitian earthquake, through South America… all the way to Del Rio and the Houston suburbs. For the first season of Line in the Land, Texas Public Radio and the Houston Chronicle explore the human story behind this Haitian odyssey, along with the seismic forces at play – immigration policies, U.S.-Haiti relations and the unfulfilled promise to rebuild Haiti. Read more reporting from the Houston Chronicle: Inside the brutal 10,000-mile journey Haitian migrants make in search of a home

This is a show in which you will meet surprising business people. The nun from Corpus Christi who founded the top microlender in the country. The black man who grew up in Jim Crow Mississippi who - to his surprise - took over the chairmanship of the nation’s 2nd largest bank following the 2008 crisis. A 17 year-old girl in Round Rock Texas who has cracked the code of 2 different social media platforms, on the way to building her multi-million dollar business, a business which she runs in between studying as a junior in high school and going to band practice. A San Antonio restaurateur whose roots go back to the earliest days of settling the Panhandle of Texas, and whose favorite days are when his restaurant is empty. This is also a show in which you will hear about the complexities of business - business not about announcing the latest earnings, and certainly not the latest product pitches. But I mean the complexity of business as a calling, as a life-project. Business as a way to make a living, yes, but also where failure might be - and often is - just around the corner. Business as a project that makes us ask ourselves. What is success? And also, what do I still not know? Made possible by Texas Mutual Insurance Company.

Casualty counts from Iraq and Afghanistan aren’t part of the news cycle anymore, but thousands of American service members still put on their uniforms every day, preparing for whatever mission is next. Post-9/11 veterans are piecing together what happened, what it all meant, and where to go from here. Photographer Tim Kolczak is one of them. He is a combat veteran of Iraq, and has made it his mission to document the lives of fellow veterans—and share their stories. In Out Of Uniform, a co-production of Texas Public Radio and The Veterans Project, Tim travels the country talking with former service members about who they are, what motivates them, and, ultimately, their path to purpose. These are unfiltered conversations—veteran to veteran—about how the military shapes people’s lives and how hard it can be to leave the uniform behind.

Why does a new study on depression have people asking their doctors about their SSRI medications? Will sequencing the human genome soon be affordable for almost everyone? On Petrie Dish, join host and veteran reporter Bonnie Petrie for deep dives into a wide range of bioscience and medicine stories.

“Running Red-Lights” is a limited series podcast about the untold history of sex work in San Antonio and the women who ran the industry, but who weren’t allowed to make history. We talked with librarians, pastors, archivists and sex workers to help uncover San Antonio’s red-light district. It was one of the busiest in the country. City government, the military, the church — all institutions that still loom large in the city today — played a role in the making and breaking of the district. But the madams’ stories are mostly unknown. Today the sex industry operates underground. History will repeat itself if we lose these stories forever.

The coronavirus pandemic has left a crater in the U.S. economy and the real, human consequences are just becoming clear. From food lines to oil fields to airports, reporter Paul Flahive takes stock of the economic damage and the bold new ideas that are emerging in this series from Texas Public Radio.

The Source is a daily, one-hour call-in talk program that gives listeners in San Antonio the opportunity to call and connect with our in-studio guests and city-wide audience.The Source seeks to give life, context and breadth to the events and issues affecting San Antonio by bringing newsmakers and experts to the public, and highlighting the people being affected by the news of the day.The show is hosted by veteran journalist David Martin Davies.Tune in to The Source for insightful discussion and analysis on topics that matter to residents of the Alamo City.Contribute to the conversation:Call or text during the live show at 833-877-8255.Leave a voicemail at 210 615-8982 anytime. Submissions may be played on-air.Email comments to thesource@tpr.org.

Texas is a big state with a growing, diverse population and as the population grows, the issues and challenges facing its residents multiply. Texas Matters is a statewide news program that spends half an hour each week looking at the issues and culture of Texas.

What happens when you become your parent's parent? That's what longtime NPR journalist Kitty Eisele had to figure out when she became a full-time caregiver for her dad. After moving back to her childhood home, she finds herself bewildered by the medical, legal, and emotional challenges of elder-care, to say nothing of the time her dad headed off on a 300-mile road trip without telling her. Kitty manages doctors' appointments and hospital stays, finds outpatient and assisted living options, and tries to keep her beloved dad safe and secure—all while figuring out how to pay for everything in a country that doesn't offer much support. Through audio diaries and conversations with friends and experts, Twenty-Four Seven explores how we help our loved ones live—and die—and what they mean to us. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts. Support for this podcast comes from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and its Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer’s and Neurodegenerative Diseases.

Real stories told by your neighbors and friends in San Antonio. Worth Repeating was developed in collaboration with the 80/20 Foundation. 2024-2025 Sponsors include, the 80/20 Foundation, the City of San Antonio Department of Arts and Culture and the Lifshutz Foundation.For this and more details or to attend a live event visit: https://www.tpr.org/wr

Even though San Antonio is majority Latino, white adults are more than twice as likely to have a college degree. Just 17% of Latino adults in San Antonio have a bachelor’s degree.San Antonio is 64% Latino. If we can’t get this right, no one can. And there’s a lot at stake if we don’t. At the beginning of 2021, TPR asked thousands of local students about their college experience. Their responses paint a stark picture of the challenges San Antonio’s Latino students face, from paying tuition to simply putting food on the table, especially during the pandemic. We took their stories and insights to their college leaders and asked them what they were doing to support Latino students. From Texas Public Radio, this is The Enduring Gap, a limited series exploring the Latino college gap in San Antonio, what can be done to close it, and what the rest of the country can learn from it. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. The Enduring Gap podcast is made possible by an Education Writers Association fellowship. EWA fellowships support ambitious education journalism projects.

TPR Noticias al Día proporciona diariamente una selección de contenidos y acontecimientos más importantes de la actualidad del estado de Texas. A través de nuestro podcast y transmisión de video en las redes sociales, ofrecemos noticias cuidadosamente seleccionadas que cubren temas como la frontera, inmigración, la seguridad pública, educación, la economía, la cultura y más. TPR Noticias al Día cuenta con el apoyo de la sala de prensa de Texas Public Radio y es presentado por Pablo De La Rosa. TPR Noticias al Día es posible, en parte, gracias a Texas Mutual Insurance Company.

Acclaimed author Peter Orner and TPR's Yvette Benavides host The Lonely Voice. In each episode, they discuss a short story that underscores the ways that short stories help us say the unsayable, give us a language for the mysteries of our lives, and help us understand characters that muddle through conflicts, adapt, survive.


Peter Orner is the author of the essay collections titled Still No Word from You and Am I Alone Here?: Notes on Living to Read and Reading to Live. He is also the author of two novels and three story collections, including Maggie Brown & Others. Peter Orner is the director of creative writing at Dartmouth College.



Yvette Benavides is a contributing editor at Texas Public Radio. She is a professor of English and creative writing at Our Lady of the Lake University and an editor at large with Trinity University Press.