Texas Tribune TribCast

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Patrick about the debate performances of Ted Cruz and Jeb Bush, the legislative drama over the Texas Racing Commission, and the leadership styles of Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Alexa about Houston's mayoral race, the defeat of the city's non-discrimination ordinance and an influential House chairman's reelection bid.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Jay, Julian and Aman about Gov. Greg Abbott's sanctuary cities message to Dallas, Texas' reaction to new cancer warnings about red meat and the latest on the Planned Parenthood investigations.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Alexa and Patrick about the state's move to defund Planned Parenthood, Hillary Clinton's Texas endorsements, and the vice presidential chatter around HUD Secretary and former San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Aman about UT's phallic protest against campus carry, Hillary Clinton's big week in Texas and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's interim agenda.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Jay about the Trib's God & Governing documentary project, former Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst's looming campaign debt and the flap over Texas textbooks.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Patrick about presidential candidates' support in Texas, Ted Cruz's Planned Parenthood politics in Washington and what the speaker's race means for Texas' congressional delegation.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Patrick and Edgar about the latest shakeup on the presidential campaign trail, legal action over Medicaid rate cuts and Wendy Davis' interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

On this week's TribCast, Evan talks with Ross, Patrick and Jay about Rick Perry's exit from the 2016 race, the outsider appeal of GOP frontrunners Donald Trump and Ben Carson, and George P. Bush's timesheet.Like what you hear? Follow The Texas Tribune on Twitter for more podcasts, news and video. twitter.com/texastribune

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Patrick and Jay about Ted Cruz's time in the limelight and a major Tribune investigation into an unusual relationship between a giant insurance company and the Travis County district attorney's office.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Edgar, Kiah and Morgan about Attorney General Ken Paxton's revolving door of lawyers, the state's involvement in Rick Perry's criminal case and what's revealed in Gov. Greg Abbott's health care emails.

On this week's TribCast, Evan talks with Ross, Alexa and Jim about Sid Miller's atomic Facebook post, George P. Bush's agency clean-up, the second round of Ken Paxton indictments and the status of Confederate statues on the UT campus and elsewhere.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Abby about Rick Perry's presidential money struggles, his GOP debate performance and security questions at the state Capitol.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Morgan and Patrick about Attorney General Ken Paxton's legal hot water, Rick Perry's failure to make the first GOP debate and the latest undercover Planned Parenthood video — this one in Texas.

On this week's TribCast, Evan talks with Ross, Patrick and Morgan about the politics of the Planned Parenthood videos and this week's Senate Health and Human Service Committee hearing, the latest on Attorney General Ken Paxton and that Collin County grand jury, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's beef with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Alana and Julian about the Sandra Bland death investigation in Waller County, Chapo Guzman's escape from a Mexican prison and Donald Trump's impending visit to the Texas-Mexico border.

Straus, R-San Antonio, was first elected to the Texas House in a special election in February 2005. He was elected speaker of the House in 2009 and won a fourth term in that post for the 84th legislative session. His district includes the Bexar County communities of Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills and northeast San Antonio. Straus previously served on numerous campaigns for federal, state and local candidates.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Patrick and Jay — complete with a tin foil hat — about Jade Helm, Rick Perry's reported income and Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to veto a bill opposed by a Scientology group.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Morgan about Attorney General Ken Paxton's legal troubles, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's split with his grassroots advisers and what to do with Confederate monuments on the Capitol grounds.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Patrick and Alexa about the U.S. Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage and abortion, Ted Cruz's new memoir and his ongoing spat with Karl Rove.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jim about the contents of Gov. Greg Abbott's emails and Texas voters' perceptions on everything from presidential hopefuls to gay marriage and marijuana.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jay about the Texas Monthly Best & Worst list, the San Antonio mayoral race, some big departures from the Texas Legislature and Jeb Bush's presidential announcement.

Members of the 84th Legislature rode off into the sunset on June 1 leaving plenty of memorable moments in their trails. Listen to our recap of some of those moments as part of a special episode of Texas Standard.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Matthew, Alana and Patrick about Rick Perry's campaign swing through Iowa, Ted Cruz's fundraising visit to the border and House Speaker Joe Straus' recap on the legislative session that was.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Patrick about the drama — or lack thereof — in the 84th Texas Legislature, Dan Patrick's political future and Rick Perry's big announcement.

In this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Morgan about Tuesday's mega-night in the Texas House, from parliamentary tricks and brokered deals to ethics, campus carry and abortion insurance.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Aman and Jim about negotiations on a massive legislative deal, Gov. Greg Abbott's first veto and former Gov. Rick Perry's forthcoming presidential announcement.

In this episode of Budgetline, Aman and Ross explore riders — descriptive items in the state budget meant to direct agencies how to spend state money. Often, they're a place where budget writers sneak policy and legislative instructions into state law.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jim about the ongoing drama over hidden cameras in the Lege, negotiations on a tax cut deal, and the ag commissioner's effort to return deep fryers and soda machines to public schools.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Patrick about a group secretly recording lawmakers in the Capitol, the flap over Gov. Greg Abbott's response to a U.S. military exercise and this profile of state Rep. Jonathan Stickland.

In this episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas budget, Aman and Ross explore the place at the end of the budget where unfunded items go. While it's charitably referred to as "the wish list," budget watchers say it more often serves as "the cemetery," or "where dreams go to die."

In this week's episode of The Ticket, a co-production of the Tribune and KUT, Jay and Ben break down the presidential campaign announcement speech of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and talk with Mathew Dowd, who directed George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

On this week's TribCast, Emily chats with Ross, Aman and Alexa about a resurgence of anti-abortion legislation, the House-Senate fight over tax cuts and the voter ID courtroom battle.

In this episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas budget, Aman and Ross sit down with Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who voted against her first state budget in 1993 as a freshman senator and is now in charge of writing that most essential piece of legislation.

Welcome to the first-ever episode of The Ticket, a co-production of the Tribune and KUT, focused on the 2016 presidential election. This week, the Trib's Jay Root and KUT's Ben Philpott talk with former Texas GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri, who's now working for Rand Paul, and dissect Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential announcement speech at Liberty University.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jay about pre-K reform drama, the House's resident dissenter, inter-chamber squabbles and Gov. Greg Abbott's role in all of it.

In this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Morgan about the gun battle that wasn't, the budget negotiations to come, a "non-voucher" school choice pitch and the reasons why Hillary Clinton needs Texas.

In this week's TribCast Emily talks with Evan, Julian and Alexa about the fight over in-state tuition for kids of undocumented immigrants, the San Antonio mayoral race and bills aimed at transgender Texans' use of public bathrooms.

In this episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas Budget, Aman and Ross explore the state's fuzzy limits on how fast the state budget can grow, what counts and what doesn't, and how the politics work.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Matthew about the abstinence fight in the House's overnight budget debate, a grand jury's opinions on UT Regent Wallace Hall and whether the state's health commissioner will keep his job. | Texas TribuneBe sure to follow the Tribune on Twitter.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Jay and Aman about Ted Cruz's presidential announcement, the differences between the House and Senate budget and the Trib's major collaboration with the Houston Chronicle, "Blood Lessons."

In this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jay about the presidential ambitions of Jeb Bush and Rand Paul, the gun bills moving in the Legislature and the fiscal needs of former lawmakers now at the helm of state agencies.

In the inaugural episode of Budgetline, Ross and Aman start where state officials started — with the revenue estimate that predicts how much money they'll have to spend. It sounds like a simple idea, but it's a complicated stew of economics, politics and risky forecasting.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Neena and Patrick about Rep. Jonathan Stickland's "Former Fetus" sign, Gov. Rick Perry's presidential ambitions and the Trib's Undrinkable water quality project.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jay about crumbling infrastructure at state agencies, the candidates to be the next UT-Austin president, and — what else — state Rep. David Simpson's stance on legalizing weed.

On this week's TribCast — the first sans Reeve! — Emily talks with Ross, Julian and Jim about the UT/TT Poll, the border security battle in the Legislature and tax cut proposals facing state lawmakers.

On Reeve's final TribCast, he talks with Evan, Emily and Ross about the most recent election results, Gov. Greg Abbott's first State of the State address, and a report on how political influence on admissions at the University of Texas at Austin.

Reeve, Terri, Emily and Evan dive into the ongoing scandals at the state's Health and Human Services Commission, including the purchase of $2,800 executive chairs and roughly 300 high-dollar badges. And they also discuss the politics of vaccines.

Reeve, Ross, Neena and Emily discuss the backlash over comments made by a state representative on Texas Muslim Capitol Day, lawmakers' response to a controversial blog post, and the future of the state's economic incentive programs.

Reeve, Emily, Evan and Terri discuss a recent ruling allowing the case against former Gov. Rick Perry to proceed, the reactions to open carry advocates at the Texas Capitol, and Gov. Greg Abbott's appointees to university system boards.