Houston Matters

On Monday's show: Watchdog groups say Texas public schools lost nearly $300 million because of school vouchers. And Galveston ISD has a week to comply with a court order to display the Ten Commandments in its classrooms. We discuss those developments in public education.

Also this hour: We offer listeners a chance to vent their pet peeves about life in our city.

And we get an update on Houston sports.

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On Friday's show: The Trump administration is seeking to ban diesel exports for 90 days to stifle rising fuel prices. But how might that hurt refineries and oil and gas companies in Greater Houston?

Also this hour: We consider how the growth of AI is affecting jobs here in Greater Houston and what our future workforce will look like as the technology develops.

Then, from Astros players criticizing fans who booed their playoff performance, to a new junior hockey team in Houston being forced to delay their debut, our panel of non-experts weighs in on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week.

And we talk with filmmaker Mye Hoang, the director of a new documentary called 25 Cats from Qatar, which will be shown Sunday at River Oaks Theatre. The film tells the story of a Milwaukee woman who flew to Qatar to rescue 25 cats, bring them back to the United States, and get them adopted. It was not easy.

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On Thursday's show: Chris Brown, who serves as Mayor John Whitmire’s financial integrity director, has admitted to working 15-hour weeks for a $127,000 salary but defended his work at a tense city council meeting. Houston Public Media's Dominic Anthony Walsh tells us what happened and updates us on the latest developments from City Hall.

Also this hour: A federal judge has ruled that Texas has to accelerate its timeline to install air conditioning in all state prisons by the end of 2029. The judge seemed to suggest the state was slow-playing the installation, which may fit an attitude about prison conditions built around the notion that people in prison are being punished not by doing time, but how they do that time. We discuss that and other observations about the ethics surrounding Texas prisons.

Then, since we Houstonians tend to do a lot of driving and gas prices are so high these days, keeping our cars in peak condition is more important than ever. In that spirit, we welcome your long-term car care questions for Jeremy Robertson of Christian Brothers Automotive.

And we talk with Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, who’s also a musician. He and his band The Hi-Seas will perform Friday night at the Continental Club.

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On Wednesday's show: We discuss the latest developments in politics in our weekly roundup.

Also this hour: We learn how the Trinity River has shaped the politics, economy, and environment of Texas and Houston from Scot McFarlane, author of The River That Made Texas: A Forgotten History of the Trinity.

And two local arts groups celebrate the works of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and novelist Ayad Akhtar with events in the coming days. Akhtar will hold a reading on Oct. 5 of his latest novel, The Radiance, with Inprint Houston. And Houston's Shunya Theatre is staging a production of Disgraced, the play that won Akhtar the Pulitzer Prize for drama. We learn about both.

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On Tuesday's show: We remember former Houston health authority Dr. David Persse, who has passed away at age 66.

And we get an update on the latest step toward a proposed desalination plant in Galveston.

Also this hour: Ahead of Stand Down Houston, an event on Oct. 2 promoting education, career, home ownership, and other resources for veterans, we discuss benefits available to veterans in Greater Houston and how to access them.

Then, we talk with Katya Suvorova, who grew up here in Houston, and is the author of the new book Ungrateful Immigrant Daughter: A Memoir From the Child of a Mail-Order Bride.

And we preview this weekend's Festival Chicano at Miller Outdoor Theatre.

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On Monday's show: We examine how the new flu season is shaping up.

Also this hour: We discuss the future of commercial spaceflight, ahead of the latest SpaceX launch taking astronauts to the International Space Station.

Then, we talk through the latest stories in the world of education, including how politicians statewide may address K-12 education if elected in November and how school districts like HISD exit from state control.

And the Astros became the first team in MLB history to win their division with a .500 record. We talk about their chances against the White Sox in the playoffs.

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On Friday's show: An error by the Texas Department of Public Safety has led to tens of thousands of voter registration applications being caught in a backlog. Natalia Contreras of Votebeat explains why, and a political analyst discusses what it means approaching the midterms.

Also this hour: We discuss with a group of medical professionals how to mitigate health risks in youth sports, including concussions and CTE.

Then, cellist Yo-Yo Ma and his son, filmmaker Nicholas Ma, talk about “American Revival,” a touring performance they're a part of that's coming to The Grand 1894 Opera House in Galveston.

And we break down The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of the week.

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On Thursday's show: City council members in League City are considering implementing a citizen-led committee to oversee the city's Flock Safety automated license plate reader system. We find out what that could look like.

And we get an update on the ongoing power struggle between Fort Bend's interim county judge and the county attorney.

Also this hour: A former Houston Chronicle photojournalist Meg Griffiths discusses her new documentary, The Life of the Party, which follows three Republican women elected to office in Texas as they navigate leadership, political identity, and the changing direction of their party. The film will be screened Sept. 28 at the MATCH.

Then, for 30 years, the Bayou Land Conservancy has safeguarded Houston waterways by protecting the land that surrounds them. We chat with the organization's new director, Dr. Anna Weiss.

And we escape the urban noise and sprawl to visit the Lake Houston Wilderness Park.

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On Wednesday's show: From the pushback from the press in Washington, to the latest from the campaign trail, we discuss the latest developments in politics in our weekly roundup.

Also this hour: Houston native and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ben Moser talks about his latest book, which explores the history of anti-Zionist sentiment within the Jewish community both in Houston and around the world. Moser will discuss the book at a Brazos Bookstore event on Sept. 29 and during the Jaipur Literary Festival on Oct. 3.

And we learn about the city's historic blue tiles and how they inspired some new Texans uniforms.

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On Tuesday's show: Gov. Greg Abbott has ordered the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to pause permits for new data centers until state regulators complete an audit of those projects. The order was the latest in a series of moves against proposed data centers by Abbott, who has raised concerns about water and power usage before. But this week's order marked an escalation affecting more projects than ever before.

Also this hour: We revisit the first-ever National Women's Conference, a pivotal moment in feminism across the nation that took place here in Houston in 1977, and discuss the role our city plays in women-led movements and organizations.

And we learn about Last Writers and its local chapter, which is enlisting medical students to help veterans record their life stories.

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