Texas Standard » Stories From Texas

One of the most important figures in Texas’ religious history never set foot in Texas at all. She never in her life traveled beyond her tiny village in Spain, yet she stirred religious fervor from the Concho River to the headwaters of the Rio Grande. Our story begins in 1602 when Maria was born in […] The post The Lady In Blue appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The navigation apps so accessible in our cars and on our phones are to me, magical. Siri, Google Maps and the like save us collectively from hundreds of thousands of lost hours each day by saving us from, well, being lost. Siri also may have saved a few relationships by sparing couples from arguing about […] The post What Siri Can’t Tell You appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

When some people first arrive in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas they often ask, “Where are the mountains?” It’s natural. Generally a valley is between mountains or at least hills. But the Rio Grande Valley is most accurately a delta region, as level as Lubbock. The highest roadway point is the 80-foot summit […] The post What’s In A Name – The Rio Grande Valley appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

One of the best books I’ve read this year is “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI.” I was late to this literary party. This nonfiction work has been a super-bestseller for well over a year now. It has been on the Paperback Nonfiction bestseller list for 49 […] The post The Mystery Of The Osage Murders appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

This is the story of what was luckiest letter ever mailed in Texas. It took about six months to reach its destination, which was Louisiana. But to say it was mailed is a bit of a stretch. It was handed to some people to be given to others and it bounced around a while, sat […] The post The Luckiest Letter in Texas appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Over the past decade I’ve seen more breathtakingly beautiful photographs of Texas than I saw in all the decades before, combined. This is thanks to social media where many photographers share their exquisite work online daily. I’ve made it a point to befriend these great visual artists so I can enjoy Texas in all its […] The post Picturing Texas appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The other day I was trying to pull out on U.S. Route 281, and the traffic was so steady that I had to wait about three minutes for an opening. As I was waiting, my father’s voice came into my head and said, “Somebody left the gate open down there.” Dad’s been gone 30 years […] The post Ranch Words In Urban Life appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

At Christmas time each year I like to tell the story about a great gift given to Texas. My favorite Christmas stories of this kind concern seeds planted long ago that are still producing abundant harvests today. You may not know the name D.H. Snyder, but you will certainly recognize his influences on Texas history. […] The post D.H. Snyder – Cattleman And Philanthropist appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

If I could have any wish I would choose to be a time-traveler. Some say time travel will be possible one day, and some say it is the stuff of fairy tales. So, I guess until Elon Musk invents that mythical machine, books will have to do. Books give us the next best thing. They […] The post Time-Traveling With Frederick Law Olmsted appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

By W. F. Strong La LLorona (the crying woman) is a Mexican legend that is at least 500 years old. It no doubt arrived in Texas with the earliest Mexican settlers and La Llorona has haunted our rivers, lakes and streams ever since, particularly in the border regions. There are dozens of versions. Here is […] The post How Moms Use The Legend Of La Llorona To Keep Their Kids In Line appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

The highest natural point in Texas is Guadalupe Peak at 8,751 feet. The tallest building is the JPMorgan Chase Tower at 1,002 feet. But that is not the tallest manmade structure in Texas. In fact, it’s only half as tall as the tallest structure in Texas, the Liberman Broadcast Tower in Era, which is 2,000 […] The post Tower Climbers appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Texas Monthly once described the joke I’m about to tell you as THE TEXAS JOKE because of its staying power over many decades: A married couple from out of state were driving across Texas and saw a sign that said “Mexia 22 miles.” They got into a bit of an argument over how to say […] The post Texans Have A Funny Relationship With The Letter ‘R’ appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

About a month ago, my son went off to college with my Jeep, and I needed to get another vehicle. I had been truckless for a few years – a rare condition in my life – and I decided I wanted to fix that right away. For a long time, I had wanted a King […] The post Out-Texas Me This! appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

They other day I was looking over a list of those who died at the Alamo. The one thing that struck me about the list was that the men who gave their lives there were, collectively, incredibly young. I saw John Wayne’s film, “The Alamo,” when I was a kid and for years I had […] The post Defenders Of The Alamo appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

By W. F. Strong Tom Hanks in the movie “Cast Away” was stranded all alone on a deserted pacific island. He was the lone survivor of a plane crash. The seriousness of his situation sunk in as he did the math in his head. He explained radial geometry to Wilson (his Volleyball friend) as he […] The post Texas As A Unit Of Measure appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

On these warm summer nights, I see them often as I drive home on FM 803. They sometimes stop, frozen for a few seconds, their eyes reflecting my headlights in an eerie red – and then they dash off into giant clumps of prickly pear, where predators can’t follow. The Spaniards named them armadillos – […] The post The Armadillo’s Texas Roots Reach Back To Ancient Times appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

We have had dozens of rags-to-riches stories in Texas. These Horatio Algers had hardscrabble beginnings but built fortunes worth hundreds of millions and even billions of dollars. But unfortunately – at this point, anyway – most of them have been male. So the women who did it were all the more impressive because they had […] The post Pink Cadillacs And Lucky 13: How Mary Kay Ash Built A Billion-Dollar Business appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Like millions of his fans, I was stunned to learn that Anthony Bourdain had left us so soon last week. I was sad because he had such a genius for expressing his brilliance: and, I believe, had so much more to teach. I’ve spent half my life trying to teach students at the university to […] The post What Anthony Bourdain Knew About Mexico appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

A couple of weeks ago I read a book called “The Lion the Living Room,” which was about how our domestic cats are just little lions. I thought, ‘that’s nothing. I grew up with dinosaurs in the alley.’ They looked for all the world like little dinosaurs – at least to us kids they did. […] The post Where Have All The Horny Toads Gone? appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

Andy Warhol summed up our modern, technology-driven world: “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” But Barbara Jordan turned this idea on its head. In 15 minutes, she delivered a speech that gave her lasting, worldwide fame. She was only 38 when she, on national television, argued for the indictment of Richard […] The post In 15 Minutes, Barbara Jordan Built A Legacy appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.