It might be the toughest job in Texas politics, leading the state Democratic Party. Kendall Scudder is the new chair, and after his first week on the job with little sleep, he’s looking to reinvent the party across the state, especially “rural” Texas where Democrats have struggled for decades. Don’t know who Kendall Scudder is? After listening to this episode of Y’all-itics, you will. The new leader of Texas Democrats is already on the clock, and he has a pint with the Jasons at Oak Highlands Brewery to explain his vision.

Guest

Kendall Scudder, Texas Democratic Party Chair

Ordinary Americans. Extraordinary action. The National Medal of Honor Museum in Arlington, Texas is finally open and telling the stories behind the recipients of the nation’s highest award for valor on the battlefield. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the museum’s President and CEO Christopher Cassidy, and Medal of Honor recipient Retired Army Staff Sergeant Clinton Romesha explain how some of these soldiers became American heroes and why the museum is so special for the nation… and Texas.

National Medal of Honor Museum: https://mohmuseum.org

Guests

Christopher Cassidy, National Medal of Honor Museum President/CEO

Retired SSG Clinton Romesha, Medal of Honor Recipient

What happens in America – does not stay in America. For 80-years, Europe has relied on the U.S. like a big brother to keep the bullies at bay. On this episode of Y’all-itics, two German television correspondents join the Jasons to explain what outsiders think about American politics today and why it should matter to us. Plus, what would happen if the United States left NATO or the United Nations. But Germany is also experiencing a rise in the political right. The similarities between our countries is more than you might imagine.

Guests:

Victoria Enzenauer / RTL Frankfurt

Daniel Frevel / ARD Hamburg

In Uvalde, it’s not an anniversary, it is a mark. And the three year mark of the city’s darkest hour is May 24, 2025. The publisher of the Uvalde Leader News started a journal the day after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School to serve as a daily calendar of what really happened, and he’s turned that journal into a book. Craig Garnett says while it may appear the community has gotten better, you can still find plenty of anxiety and grief just below the surface. Garnett also explains why the tragedy is not just the deaths, but also the institutional failures in the community, and how its ripple effect still impacts residents on a daily basis.

Guest

Craig Garnett, Author of “Uvalde’s Darkest Hour”

Assembly lines could grind to a halt. Prices for everything from cars to cantaloupes are at risk of rising. President Trump's trade war with Mexico and Canada will hit your wallet. But is there any benefit for Texans? Will it cause folks to buy local? A Republican mayor and a veteran logistics expert on the southern border tell the Jasons how just the threat of tariffs will affect the state's chugging economy.

GUESTS:

Mayor Jim Ross, Arlington, Texas

Jorge Torres, Founder and President of Interlink Trade Services

Dallas County District Attorney John Creuzot says the federal government is practicing shock and awe on the American people through mass firings, “deferred resignations,” and the freezing of federal grants. And he called Y’all-itics to issue a warning. Creuzot argues that the shrinking federal government could lead to rising crime in his county and across Texas. And in this episode, he explains to the Jasons how his office has reduced crime and launched successful crimefighting initiatives with the millions in federal grants it receives.

Guest

John Creuzot, Dallas County District Attorney'

Location

Community Beer Co.

3110 Commonwealth Dr, Dallas, TX 75247

It definitely doesn't have a catchy name: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But our guest this week says, "if you're returning almost $20 billion to ordinary people, you've got to be doing something right". In the past several years, dissatisfied and frustrated Texas consumers have comprised the most---or second most---number of people turning to the CFPB for help taking on 'Big Finance'. But now the agency they counted on is itself in danger under Trump 2.0. UT-Austin Banking, Financial, Commercial and Corporate Law Professor Angela Littwin previously wrote an opinion column about saving the CFPB when its survival was threatened before. She joins us to talk about what its demise would mean for Texans.

Guest

Angela K. Littwin

Charles Sapp Chair in Banking, Financial, Commercial and Corporate Law Professor

Many Superintendents in Texas say lawmakers need to spend less time on making sure schools are safe on the outside, and more time on legislation making schools safer on the inside. In fact, they argue a 30-year-old law that’s now 140-pages long is making classrooms more dangerous. And they’re asking lawmakers to give them more leeway on how they discipline students. Wylie ISD Superintendent Dr. David Vinson explains the ask in this episode of Y’all-itics, joining the Jasons inside Wylie High School’s student-run cafeteria, The 544 Café.

Guest

Dr. David Vinson, Wylie ISD Superintendent

The Trump Administration wants Mexico and Canada to stop the illegal flow of the deadly drug fentanyl into America. But those countries say America has blood on its hands, too, and it must stop the illegal flow of U.S. firearms in the other direction. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons have a pint with WFAA Senior Crime and Justice Reporter Rebecca Lopez to discuss her recent investigation into the U.S. gun smuggling causing havoc and violence in Canada and Mexico and how the countries are working together – and often against each other - to stem the tide.

Guest

Rebecca Lopez, WFAA Senior Crime and Justice Reporter

(link to her investigation: https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/investigates/us-firearms-smuggling-fuels-canada-gun-violence-crisis/287-11ebf9ae-6e11-4557-b6c6-f4902d4c016e)

A recent report ranked Texas as the third most dangerous state for wildfires, behind only California and Colorado. Or, as the new deputy director of the Texas A&M Forest Service tells us, there’s some “nook or cranny” in the state that’s always burning. And in this episode of Y’all-itics, Wes Moorehead explains why the risk has grown exponentially in recent years, closing in on our backyards, and why they’re asking lawmakers to tap into the surplus for more planes, people and local preparation.

Guest

Wes Moorehead, Texas A&M Forest Service Deputy Director