Texas Take

Texas Take

Go behind the headlines for a look at what's really going on at the Texas Capitol and in Washington with the state's #1 political podcast: Texas Take. Join the conversation featuring Houston Chronicle/San Antonio Express-News political writer Jeremy Wallace.

Episodes

October 3, 2025 47 mins
Why is the new mayor of Texas’s second-largest city publicly fighting people in her own party and a guy known as Spurs Jesus? Express-News reporter Molly Smith gets behind the scenes of the turmoil of Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones’s tumultuous first 100 days in office. Plus U.S. Reps. Dan Crenshaw, R-Houston, and Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, join the program to explain their frustration at the other side over the government shutdown and...
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Texas Republicans and their national brethren were settling a lot of scores this week. While the Texas GOP officially threatened the political future of fellow Republican House Speaker Dustin Burrows, the Trump White House went after comedian Jimmy Kimmel to the objection of notable Texas Republicans like Sen. Ted Cruz. Reporters Benjamin Wermund and Taylor Goldenstein join host Jeremy Wallace to assess how much danger Burrows is i...
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September 19, 2025 58 mins
Veteran Texas political reporters Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News and John Moritz of the Austin American-Statesman join host Jeremy Wallace to break down the suddenly red-hot 2026 primaries, including the clash between Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton plus the budding rivalry between Colin Allred and James Talarico. They also dive into a major upheaval in the state’s congressional delegation and tell you t...
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September 12, 2025 51 mins
The political turmoil around Texas A&M University this week has been years in the making as Republican leaders from Vice President JD Vance to Gov. Greg Abbott have made clear that college campuses are the new battlefront in controlling the future of the nation. Reporter Samantha Ketterer joins host Jeremy Wallace to help explain what is happening and why A&M is a prime target. Reporter Benjamin Wermund also explains why there are ...
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August 29, 2025 32 mins
Another Texas summer is in the books and it had us wondering who in Texas politics made the most of their opportunity to get ahead. Host Jeremy Wallace, with help from reporters Benjamin Wermund and James Osborne, breaks down 10 names in Texas politics that crushed the summer and are riding high going into the fall. In the process, you’ll hear the latest on congressional redistricting, the battle over THC and a big change to testin...
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Houston Democrat Gene Wu has received a burst of national attention for being the leader of the Texas House Democrats as they fled the state to try to stop President Donald Trump's redistricting plan. Ultimately, the maps passed despite Wu's efforts. He sits down with Texas Take host Jeremy Wallace to explain what if anything Democrats accomplished, how he's dealt with racists attacks as his profile has grown and why many in his c...
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August 22, 2025 53 mins
President Trump got the redistricting maps he wanted from Texas, but it may come with a big political price tag. The Democratic Party, so fractured after the 2024 campaigns, suddenly found a rallying issue that washed away many of its own internal divisions - at least temporarily. Brad Johnson of The Texan and Kat Vargas of Howdy Politics join host Jeremy Wallace to break it all down. Plus, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called out Gov. Greg...
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August 18, 2025 25 mins
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn joins the Texas Take for a special episode to talk about being a political underdog for the first time in decades and pushes back against attacks that he's going more MAGA just to win his GOP primary next year. The Republican also explains why he called on the Justice Department to investigate Texas Democrats and what he did to make sure the state got reimbursed for all of the border spending it did during the...
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August 15, 2025 44 mins
From California to New England, Texas Democrats have the entire nation focused on the Great State and President Donald Trump’s push to redraw the state's congressional districts. Reporters John Moritz and Taylor Goldenstein explain where things stand and whether Democrats are succeeding in their mission. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn also joins the show, pushing back against critics who say he is becoming more MAGA just to salvage his poli...
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In this special edition of The Texas Take, host Jeremy Wallace shares the full audio of a rare 1990 speech by President Ronald Reagan, delivered in Chicago to recent high school graduates. Recorded two years after leaving office and just a few years before he would stop making public remarks, Reagan reflects on topics from repealing the 22nd Amendment to his criticism of gerrymandering. This copy, one of the few remaining, is being...
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August 1, 2025 33 mins
The Texas Republicans weren’t messing around. Their Trump-directed redistricting map could end the political careers of the three longest-serving Texas Democrats in Congress and shake up who represents Black and Hispanic districts. It all triggered heated exchanges in and around the Texas Capitol. We break it all down, plus give you the latest on the battle over THC products, the future of the STAAR test and another potential way G...
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July 25, 2025 32 mins
Texas Republicans hold almost all the cards when it comes to redrawing the state's 38 Congressional Districts. But that doesn't mean Democrats don't have some tools they can employ to slow the game down. U.S. Rep. Greg Casar and State Rep. Ron Reynolds join us to talk about their options in fighting President Donald Trump's plan. Plus, Gov. Greg Abbott sits down for an exclusive interview to talk about redistricting and how U.S. S...
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July 23, 2025 29 mins
In an exclusive interview, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz talks in-depth about how legislation he crafted will expand private school vouchers in Texas, even beyond the separate state program Gov. Greg Abbott has signed into law. Cruz also addresses his reputation as a bomb thrower in the U.S. Senate and how, in this case, it helped him score some key legislative victories in President Donald Trump's big, beautiful bill. Learn more about your a...
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July 17, 2025 34 mins
Be careful what you ask Gov. Greg Abbott and President Donald Trump after a tragedy. As the state and federal governments respond to the disaster in the Texas Hill Country, Abbott and Trump both made clear some questions from the media are completely off limits for them. We catch you up to speed on what happens next in the disaster response and get you ready for the special session of the Texas Legislature, where once again Lt. Gov...
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Democrats are trying to get it together ahead of what should be a pretty good election cycle for them here in Texas. But the top of their ticket already includes the very real possibility of a US Senate nominee who lost badly to one of the most hated Republicans in America just 9 months ago. What are they even doing? Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chronicle political writer Jerem...
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June 27, 2025 71 mins
We have reached a really dangerous point in American history when people aren't so much judged for what they did, they're judged differently based on who did it even if it's the exact same thing. We'll explain plus Little Gov. Patrick looks defeated on THC and Jeremy reports on what might be the last days of a dying industry in Texas. No one can come close to covering this state like we do, right? Join the conversation with Scott B...
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June 20, 2025 83 mins
While Gov. Abbott waits until the last possible minute to let us all know how he's going to handle the proposed THC ban in Texas, candidates are already lining up for races up and down the ballot in next year's elections. We've got the fullest report on that yet. Plus, the rift within President Trump's MAGA base was on full display when Tucker Carlson and Sen. Cruz duked it out during a two-hour argument in Washington. We listened ...
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May 31, 2025 70 mins
Lt. Gov. Patrick this week called Jeremy "stupid" and "crazy" for asking him if adults should be able to use THC products legally in Texas while protecting children. Jeremy's ready to respond on the show. Plus, Gov. Abbott got his wish of cracking down on crime through "bail reform." But what does it really mean and did Abbott try to go too far? Join the conversation with Scott Braddock, editor of The Quorum Report, and Houston Chr...
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May 23, 2025 67 mins
Lt. Gov. Patrick brought the Texas House to heel this week in his quest to ban THC completely. How did he do it? We'll fill you in. Plus, single moms in a large swath of Houston have no representation in Congress as their food assistance is threatened. And this weekend marks the third anniversary of the Uvalde massacre. We'll take a look back and tell you about how little has been done to respond in the aftermath. Join the conversa...
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May 16, 2025 74 mins
Little Gov. Dan Patrick says this has been a "boring session" for him. Why would that be? Well, maybe it's because the Texas House is doing just about whatever the right-wing Texas Senate wants even though Speaker Dustin Burrows was elected with a majority Democratic coalition. Plus, the fight over Medicaid cuts gets downright nasty in Washington and Sen. Ted Cruz has serious concerns about President Trump accepting a gift of a lux...
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