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Texas Tribune TribCast

The Texas Tribunewww.texastribune.org
The TribCast is a weekly political podcast hosted by Matthew Watkins, James Barragán and Eleanor Klibanoff, and featuring a rotating cast of editors, reporters and other guests. The TribCast is returning as a limited-run weekly series during the 2025 legislative session.
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Episodes

TribCast: Paid to Prosecute and Ted Cruz's Travels

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Patrick and Jay about Ted Cruz's time in the limelight and a major Tribune investigation into an unusual relationship between a giant insurance company and the Travis County district attorney's office.

Sep 09, 201532 min

TribCast: Paxton's Lawyers, Perry's Case and Abbott's Emails

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Edgar, Kiah and Morgan about Attorney General Ken Paxton's revolving door of lawyers, the state's involvement in Rick Perry's criminal case and what's revealed in Gov. Greg Abbott's health care emails.

Sep 02, 201533 min

TribCast: Sid Miller, George P. Bush, Confederate Statues

On this week's TribCast, Evan talks with Ross, Alexa and Jim about Sid Miller's atomic Facebook post, George P. Bush's agency clean-up, the second round of Ken Paxton indictments and the status of Confederate statues on the UT campus and elsewhere.

Aug 19, 201536 min

TribCast: Paxton, Perry and Planned Parenthood

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Morgan and Patrick about Attorney General Ken Paxton's legal hot water, Rick Perry's failure to make the first GOP debate and the latest undercover Planned Parenthood video — this one in Texas.

Aug 05, 201531 min

Tribcast: Planned Parenthood, Ken Paxton and Ted Cruz

On this week's TribCast, Evan talks with Ross, Patrick and Morgan about the politics of the Planned Parenthood videos and this week's Senate Health and Human Service Committee hearing, the latest on Attorney General Ken Paxton and that Collin County grand jury, and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's beef with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Jul 29, 201536 min

TribCast: Sandra Bland, Chapo Guzman and Donald Trump

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Alana and Julian about the Sandra Bland death investigation in Waller County, Chapo Guzman's escape from a Mexican prison and Donald Trump's impending visit to the Texas-Mexico border.

Jul 22, 201532 min

A Conversation With House Speaker Joe Straus

Straus, R-San Antonio, was first elected to the Texas House in a special election in February 2005. He was elected speaker of the House in 2009 and won a fourth term in that post for the 84th legislative session. His district includes the Bexar County communities of Alamo Heights, Olmos Park, Terrell Hills and northeast San Antonio. Straus previously served on numerous campaigns for federal, state and local candidates.

Jul 20, 201558 min

TribCast: From Jade Helm to Scientology

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Patrick and Jay — complete with a tin foil hat — about Jade Helm, Rick Perry's reported income and Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to veto a bill opposed by a Scientology group.

Jul 15, 201531 min

TribCast: Paxton's Legal Woes and Patrick's Grassroots Advisers

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Morgan about Attorney General Ken Paxton's legal troubles, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's split with his grassroots advisers and what to do with Confederate monuments on the Capitol grounds.

Jul 08, 201531 min

TribCast: SCOTUS Decisions, Ted Cruz and Karl Rove

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Patrick and Alexa about the U.S. Supreme Court decisions on gay marriage and abortion, Ted Cruz's new memoir and his ongoing spat with Karl Rove.

Jul 01, 201532 min

TribCast: Abbott's Emails and UT/TT's Summer Poll

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jim about the contents of Gov. Greg Abbott's emails and Texas voters' perceptions on everything from presidential hopefuls to gay marriage and marijuana.

Jun 24, 201534 min

TribCast: Best & Worst and Big Lege Departures

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jay about the Texas Monthly Best & Worst list, the San Antonio mayoral race, some big departures from the Texas Legislature and Jeb Bush's presidential announcement.

Jun 17, 201533 min

Deconstructing the Session: Memorable Moments

Members of the 84th Legislature rode off into the sunset on June 1 leaving plenty of memorable moments in their trails. Listen to our recap of some of those moments as part of a special episode of Texas Standard.

Jun 10, 20153 min

TribCast: On the Trail and Back at the Capitol

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Matthew, Alana and Patrick about Rick Perry's campaign swing through Iowa, Ted Cruz's fundraising visit to the border and House Speaker Joe Straus' recap on the legislative session that was.

Jun 10, 201531 min

TribCast: The Sine Die Edition

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Patrick about the drama — or lack thereof — in the 84th Texas Legislature, Dan Patrick's political future and Rick Perry's big announcement.

Jun 03, 201534 min

TribCast: The House's Very Long Night

In this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Morgan about Tuesday's mega-night in the Texas House, from parliamentary tricks and brokered deals to ethics, campus carry and abortion insurance.

May 27, 201533 min

TribCast: The Big Deal, Abbott's Veto and Perry's Chances

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Ross, Aman and Jim about negotiations on a massive legislative deal, Gov. Greg Abbott's first veto and former Gov. Rick Perry's forthcoming presidential announcement.

May 20, 201532 min

Budgetline: Numbers Aren't Everything

In this episode of Budgetline, Aman and Ross explore riders — descriptive items in the state budget meant to direct agencies how to spend state money. Often, they're a place where budget writers sneak policy and legislative instructions into state law.

May 18, 20155 min

TribCast: Deep Fryers, Lapel Cameras and Franchise Taxes

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jim about the ongoing drama over hidden cameras in the Lege, negotiations on a tax cut deal, and the ag commissioner's effort to return deep fryers and soda machines to public schools.

May 13, 201531 min

TribCast: Jade Helm 15 and Secret Capitol Videos

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Patrick about a group secretly recording lawmakers in the Capitol, the flap over Gov. Greg Abbott's response to a U.S. military exercise and this profile of state Rep. Jonathan Stickland.

May 06, 201532 min

Budgetline: The Cemetery at the End of the Budget

In this episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas budget, Aman and Ross explore the place at the end of the budget where unfunded items go. While it's charitably referred to as "the wish list," budget watchers say it more often serves as "the cemetery," or "where dreams go to die."

Apr 30, 20156 min

The Ticket: Rand Paul and Matthew Dowd

In this week's episode of The Ticket, a co-production of the Tribune and KUT, Jay and Ben break down the presidential campaign announcement speech of Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul and talk with Mathew Dowd, who directed George W. Bush's 2004 re-election campaign.

Apr 30, 201526 min

Budgetline: Jane Nelson, From Renegade to Ringleader

In this episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas budget, Aman and Ross sit down with Senate Finance Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, who voted against her first state budget in 1993 as a freshman senator and is now in charge of writing that most essential piece of legislation.

Apr 28, 20158 min

The Ticket: A Presidential Podcast – Episode 1

Welcome to the first-ever episode of The Ticket, a co-production of the Tribune and KUT, focused on the 2016 presidential election. This week, the Trib's Jay Root and KUT's Ben Philpott talk with former Texas GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri, who's now working for Rand Paul, and dissect Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential announcement speech at Liberty University.

Apr 24, 201533 min

TribCast: Godless Pre-K, House v. Senate v. Abbott

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks with Evan, Ross and Jay about pre-K reform drama, the House's resident dissenter, inter-chamber squabbles and Gov. Greg Abbott's role in all of it.

Apr 22, 201532 min

TribCast: Open Carry, State Spending and Hillary's Texas

In this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Ross and Morgan about the gun battle that wasn't, the budget negotiations to come, a "non-voucher" school choice pitch and the reasons why Hillary Clinton needs Texas.

Apr 13, 201534 min

TribCast: In-State Tuition and Bathroom Bills

In this week's TribCast Emily talks with Evan, Julian and Alexa about the fight over in-state tuition for kids of undocumented immigrants, the San Antonio mayoral race and bills aimed at transgender Texans' use of public bathrooms.

Apr 08, 201533 min

Budgetline: The Spending Cap

In this episode of Budgetline, an occasional TribCast series on the Texas Budget, Aman and Ross explore the state's fuzzy limits on how fast the state budget can grow, what counts and what doesn't, and how the politics work.

Apr 06, 20158 min
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