With less than two weeks to go before the November election, Texas Republican officials are in radio silence over mention the name of Donald Trump, for fear of endangering their election chances or those of their friends. That's even though polls show Trump maintains a small but safe lead in the State of Texas.

 Early-voting numbers are setting new turnout records -- Harris County is setting a new record each day -- and we have the details on some curious patterns about the Texans who are casting their ballots early.

House Speaker Joe Straus has taken the lead in calling for immediate reforms to the state's special-education programs after a Houston Chronicle investigation revealed that many students have been systematically denied required programs. Plus, a crisis over foster care takes main stage in a heated Senate hearing and misbehaving voting machines.

Texas politics are never boring, and these intriguing highlights and other behind-the-scenes insights are explored in this week's Texas Take: The Podcast -- the leading political podcast in the Lone Star State, with a Facebook Live post so you can see the show each week as it happens.