Democratic lawmakers in Texas left the state to prevent a vote on redrawing the state’s congressional maps. The redrawn maps would create five more winnable U.S. House districts for Republicans. Democratic Texas state Rep. Armando Walle talks about where Democrats go from here.

And, as the school year is about to start back up, Michigan’s education budget and federal funding changes are creating uncertainty for districts in the state. Katy Xenakis-Makowski, superintendent of Johannesburg-Lewiston Area Schools, shares more about how uncertainty is impacting her district.

Then, Martha Barnette — co-host of “A Way with Words” — joins us to talk about her new book “Friends with Words,” where she explores word origins and her own love of language.

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