The Wake Up Call with Benji Snead Podcast

Benji Snead is joined by Republican candidate for Lubbock County Commissioner's Court in Precinct 2 Kevin Pounds, who is running unopposed in the general election. Kevin talks about his campaign, what he plans to do when gets into office, how he will handle Commissioner's Court issues, and how he wants to fund public safety and support firefighters.

Benji Snead is joined by local retired educator Dr. Velma Ruth Shambeck as Lubbock ISD announced they will name one of its elementaries after her. Dr. Shambeck talks about how she became an educator and later the first Murfee Elementary principal, and she shares more memories and stories about working in education.

Benji Snead is joined by Stephen Sanders, who is the founder of local group "Save Lubbock", to discuss Stephen's work advocating for Lubbock and his stance against data centers and Flock cameras.

Benji Snead is joined by the President and CEO of the Northwest Texas Goodwill branch Robin Raney to talk about the organization's Pathway to Success Center, what resources are available to West Texans who are in need, including AI training. They also discuss Goodwill's partnership with Lubbock ISD, misperceptions about the organization, and how people can help and get involved.

For this episode, Benji Snead is joined by Russell Thomasson, who serves as Congressman Jodey Arrington's Senior Adviser and General Counsel. Russell talks about his work with Congressman Arrington, how he met Jodey and got involved with the congressman's office, and what some of Jodey's achievements in office have been.

Benji Snead welcomes back Ashley Cash to the program to revisit their conversation about education reform in Texas. In this episode, Ashley breaks down the foundational components of the new TEKS standards passed by the State Board of Education, including an emphasis on American exceptionalism. She also talks about the process of passing TEKS standards, education performance in Lubbock schools, and her involvement with the Texas ibogaine bill.

Benji Snead is joined by local prominent figure Ashley Cash, who uses her platform to raise awareness and advocate for education reform in Texas. Ashley breaks down the impact of the upcoming elections in November on education, the need for financial literacy to be taught in classrooms, and her involvement in development new TEKS standards, especially as it pertains to teaching religion and Christianity.

Benji Snead is joined by Lubbock ISD superintendent Dr. Kathy Rollo to get an update on how the start of the school year has gone and what is going on with the campuses this fall.

Benji Snead is joined by local home developer Jordan Wheatley to get his take on multiple subjects and issues, such as the future of artificial intelligence, the push to grow and develop north Lubbock, the data center takeover, and more.

Benji Snead chats with Texas Tech head women's basketball coach Krista Gerlich to talk about last year's run to the NCAA Tournament, what she's looking forward to with this season's team, and gain her perspective on the current landscape of college athletics with NIL and the transfer portal.