It’s time again for our weekly political roundup and analysis of national, state and local political stories. We discuss everything from the Syria attack and reaction from the global community, the “nuclear option” employed by the Senate to confirmed Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch with just a simple majority, and the shakeup in the National Security Council. Also we look at the state budget and how the House and the Senate plan to reconcile, and the House’s passage of Houston’s pension reform bill.

Today, we talk with Christine LeVeaux-Haley, a political science professor from the University of Houston, Jay Aiyer, assistant professor of political science at Texas Southern University and co-host of Houston Public Media’s new podcast Party Politics, and Andrew Schneider, politics and government reporter for News 88.7.

Also this hour…

Ali Noorani on Immigration

As executive director of the National Immigration Forum, Ali Noorani advocates for the value of immigrants and immigration. That’s not an easy job these days amid debate over so-called “sanctuary cities” and the 287g program, the Trump administration’s plans for a border wall and ongoing court challenges to the president’s executive orders on immigration.

Noorani was recently in Houston and talked with Joshua Zinn about his views on immigration, the policies of the current administration, about his new book There Goes the Neighborhood: How Communities Overcome and Meet the Challenge of American Immigration, and about what future he sees for Greater Houston’s immigrant population.

Glorious Gulf of Mexico

Houston-based writer and photographer Jesse Cancelmo is publishing a book that he hopes will inspire better understanding and appreciation of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s called Glorious Gulf of Mexico: Life Below the Blue, and he joins us to talk about his work.

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