You’ve heard the headlines: billionaire newspaper owners pulling their presidential endorsements in the eleventh hour. Those controversial decisions got us thinking here at Y’all-itics, so in this early release episode we ask whether newspaper endorsements even matter. The Jasons sit down with William McKenzie, the Senior Editorial Advisor at the George W. Bush Institute and a Pulitzer Prize winning editorial columnist, and Bud Kennedy, himself an icon of Texas journalism and a member of the Fort Worth Star Telegram’s editorial board.

Guests

William McKenzie, Senior Editorial Advisor at the George W. Bush Institute

Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star Telegram Editorial Board

The threats are real. So, for the first time, elections offices in Texas and across the country are preparing for worst case scenario situations: from panic buttons, to tabletop exercises, to learning de-escalation techniques. Votebeat Editorial Director Jessica Huseman joins the Jasons to pull the curtain back on preparing for potential violence during and after the election.

Guest

Jessica Huseman, Votebeat editorial director

Jane Nelson rarely gives interviews. But for years she has been one of the most influential state leaders in Texas. In this special release Y’all-itics, Nelson answers questions on election misinformation, suing for citizenship records and the state's new plan for keeping voter rolls clean. WFAA Anchor Cynthia Izaguirre scored the rare exclusive and joins the Jasons with highlights.

Guests

Cynthia Izaguirre, WFAA Anchor

Jane Nelson, Texas Secretary of State

Can you honestly say Austin is still ‘weird’? Many now say it’s unaffordable with terrible traffic and a skyline that keeps ascending. Has all of that destroyed what made the city such a cool, hip place? Austin has had cultural booms and busts before. But can it recover from the explosive growth it’s experiencing now? The Jasons shared a beer with Author Alex Hannaford, an Austinite for 20 years who just released a book titled Lost In Austin, documenting where the capitol city went wrong – and what it can do to salvage what made it so special.

GUEST

Alex Hannaford, Author

Ted Cruz and Colin Allred are facing off in their first -- and only -- televised debate of their 2024 campaigns to represent Texas in the U.S. Senate. The debate moderators are WFAA senior political reporter Jason Whitely and Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers.

When have three letters ever caused such a stink? Propositions S, T and U on the November 5 ballot in Dallas would, among other things, force the city of Dallas to hire more police officers and open city leaders up to citizen-led lawsuits. Dozens of former mayors and city leaders recently came out against the propositions, arguing they would cripple Dallas for years, if not decades. In this episode of Y’all-itics, former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk tells the Jasons why he thinks passing the charter amendments would be like rolling a hand grenade into City Hall and destroying it, and why the effort to fight them isn’t too little, too late.

Guest

Ron Kirk, Former Dallas Mayor

There may not be any official courtrooms just yet. There aren’t even enough judges. But the new Business Court in Texas is up and running. And you can’t have Texas’ version of Wall Street, “Y’all Street,” without it. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons sit down with attorney David Harper from the huge Texas law firm Haynes and Boone. Harper explains why the court is needed, how it’s operating without any physical space to call its own and why big businesses involved in big disputes don’t want to be standing in line in district court behind a bunch of car crash cases.

Guest

David Harper, Haynes and Boone

Location

Jaquval Brewing Company

312 W Seventh St, Dallas, TX 75208

America is divided, there’s no question about it. So, how do we go about fixing our problems with so many extremes on both sides? What if it was as easy as calling an engineer, instead of a politician? We’re doing just that in this episode of Y’all-itics. Texas author William Taggart examined some of the largest issues facing our country, but searched for solutions through the eyes of an engineer. The end result? A completely different way to view some of the most intractable issues dividing the nation.

Guest

William Taggart, Author

We told you back in February how the state of Texas, last year, abandoned a fraud-fighting database that is designed to catch repeat voters and keep voter rolls accurate. And Texas pulled out without finding a replacement. Fast forward seven MORE months, and Texas still hasn’t found a replacement for the Electronic Registration Information Center, ERIC, because none really exists. And in this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons are joined once again by Jessica Huseman, editorial director of Votebeat, who explains why that could make our voter rolls “dirty” this November.

Guest

Jessica Huseman, Votebeat Editorial Director

Location

Community Beer Co. / 3110 Commonwealth Dr. Dallas, TX 75247

It has been 48 hours since the first Presidential debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. But has anything really changed since the fiery exchange? In this early release episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons discuss whether the political needle is moving at all here in Texas with WFAA Political Producer Berna Dean Steptoe and Fort Worth Star Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy.

Guests

Berna Dean Steptoe, WFAA Political Producer

Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star Telegram