Teaching Texas

Teaching Texas

In 1961, Norma and Mel Gabler were a quiet couple living in Hawkins, Texas. One day, they noticed some factual errors in their son's school book. What began as a small complaint morphed into a multi-decade crusade to shape what children of Texas — and therefore the country — read in their textbooks. In an election year with raging debates around education, this audio documentary charts how Texas dictated American education over the last sixty years and examines how the fight over our childrens’ classroom has only intensified today. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

September 28, 2020 2 mins

Winning Wisconsin is a Wonder Media Network production. It is created by Grace Lynch and produced by Grace Lynch and Maddy Foley. Jenny Kaplan is the Executive Producer. 

WMN on Twitter: @wmnmedia 

Grace Lynch on Twitter: @gracelynch08


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played

Winning Wisconsin is a Wonder Media Network production. It's created by Grace Lynch, and produced by Grace Lynch and Maddy Foley. Jenny Kaplan is the Executive Producer. 

Background reading: 

FiveThirtyEight's tipping-point analysis. 

WMN on twitter

Grace Lynch on twitter

 

 


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
October 6, 2020 31 mins

How Governor Scott Walker's attack on labor transformed Wisconsin into ground zero for divisive politics. 

Read The Fall of Wisconsin: The Conservative Conquest of a Progressive Bastion and the Future of American Politics by Dan Kaufman

Read How The Right Lost Its Mind by Charles Sykes 

Winning Wisconsin is a Wonder Media Network production. It's created by Grace Lynch, and produced by Grace Lynch and Maddy Foley. Jenny Kaplan is the ...

Mark as Played
October 13, 2020 39 mins

Four years after overwhelmingly supporting President Trump, Wisconsin's dairy farmers are struggling to stay afloat. 

Read Dan Kaufman's article in The New Yorker, "How Suffering Farmers May Determine Trump's Fate

Winning Wisconsin is a Wonder Media Network production. It's created by Grace Lynch, and produced by Grace Lynch and Maddy Foley. Jenny Kaplan is the Executive Producer. 

WMN on twitter

Grace Lynch on twitter


Mark as Played
October 20, 2020 34 mins

The city blamed for Hillary's defeat is home to some of the starkest racial disparities in the country. Four years later, the citizens of Milwaukee are in a fight for the vote, for their health, and for racial justice. 

Read Joseph O'Neill's article in The New Yorker, "How Milwaukee Could Decide The Next President"

Learn more about BLOC and their work in Milwaukee

Winning Wisconsin is a Wonder Media Network production. It's created by...

Mark as Played
October 27, 2020 45 mins

To win Wisconsin, campaigns can't solely rely on turning out their base of supporters, they need to persuade voters. 

Read FiveThirtyEight's analysis of how Trump's gaining support with young Black and Hispanic men and losing support among white women in suburbs

Winning Wisconsin is a Wonder Media Network production. It's created by Grace Lynch, and produced by Grace Lynch and Maddy Foley. Jenny Kaplan is our Executive Producer. D...

Mark as Played
November 10, 2020 34 mins

In our series finale, Grace examines what happened on election night and where Wisconsin goes from here. 

Read Dan Kaufman's article in The New Yorker, Will Trump's Broken Promises to Working-Class Voters Cost Him the Election?  

An analysis of Wisconsin's election results from Craig Gilbert at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 

Winning Wisconsin is a Wonder Media Network production. It's created by Grace Lynch, and produced by Grace Ly...

Mark as Played
September 15, 2022 3 mins

Introducing Teaching Texas, a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network that uncovers the surprising history behind America’s latest culture war.

WMN on Twitter: @wmnmedia 

Grace Lynch on Twitter: @gracelynch08


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
September 27, 2022 35 mins

On the outskirts of Hawkins, Texas, a couple found a problem in one of their kids’ school books. They didn’t have a background in education, but because they lived in Texas, their concern ignited a national movement and several decades of influence over what the rest of the country learned. 

 

Teaching Texas is a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network that uncovers the surprising history behind America’s latest culture war.

W...

Mark as Played
October 4, 2022 30 mins

By the 80s, Norma and Mel had gained real traction in the textbook industry. And with their newfound power, they start dictating what goes into textbooks. They threaded their conservative Christian beliefs into textbooks across the nation, with little regard for separating fact from opinion.

Teaching Texas is a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network that uncovers the surprising history behind America’s latest culture war.

WM...

Mark as Played
October 11, 2022 38 mins
When the Gablers’ protégé, Neal Frey, gained control of Educational Research Analysts…he took a different approach.  Grace journeys to Longview, Texas to meet the man himself and witness the last vestige of the Gablers’ enterprise.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mark as Played
October 18, 2022 36 mins

Nowadays, standards known as TEKS dictate what every Texas student needs to learn. The State Board of Education is in charge of approving these standards. So, when a creationist dentist gained control of the board, those standards started to reflect his beliefs – for better or worse.

Teaching Texas is a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network that uncovers the surprising history behind America’s latest culture war.

WMN on Twi...

Mark as Played
October 25, 2022 32 mins

Critical race theory. It’s the latest rallying cry for people attempting to disrupt trust in public education. What do we lose when parents vilify educators? To find out, Grace pays a visit to the Texas suburb at the center of the national conversation.

Teaching Texas is a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network that uncovers the surprising history behind America’s latest culture war.

WMN on Twitter: @wmnmedia 

Grace Lynch on ...

Mark as Played
November 1, 2022 36 mins

Library books aren’t required reading like textbooks are, but they can play a big role in a child’s education. As activists and politicians bring book banning back into the education debate, one group of Texas parents are fighting back. They want their kids to read stories that center diversity – and in the case of one contentious book, they won. 

Teaching Texas is a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network that uncovers the ...

Mark as Played
November 8, 2022 37 mins

This fall, for the first time in 12 years, the Texas State Board of Education was due to review the Social Studies TEKS. In doing so, they attempted to answer the question: how should we teach U.S. History? Against the backdrop of outrage over CRT and a midterm election that will likely bring a more conservative board to power – what did the SBOE decide?

Teaching Texas is a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network that uncove...

Mark as Played
November 15, 2022 40 mins

Each year, Texas public school students learn the story of their state’s origin: the battle for the Alamo. The story has become a rallying cry throughout the ages for Texans, and Americans – It’s an underdog tale of sacrifice. But, it’s also not very historically accurate. In the series finale, Grace explores the danger of teaching myths as though they’re fact. 

Teaching Texas is a new audio documentary from Wonder Media Network tha...

Mark as Played
October 6, 2023 61 mins
Since Teaching Texas wrapped last fall, the state has been embroiled in a debate over school vouchers, climate change education and district takeovers. But flying slightly under the radar – though equally consequential – is House Bill 1605. In a discussion recorded live at Texas Tribune Fest, Grace is joined by Rep. Gina Hinojosa and State Board of Education Chairman Keven Ellis to dive into how the bill re-allocates power, impacts...

Mark as Played

We’re bringing you an episode of a new podcast we think you’ll love: The Amendment. A new podcast about gender, politics, and power from The 19th News and Wonder Media Network, The Amendment is hosted by award-winning journalist and 19th editor-at-large Errin Haines.

Each week, Errin sits down with people who have fresh perspectives on the state of our country – and asks questions that center the voices of women, queer folks, and pe...

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    The Burden

    The Burden is a documentary series that takes listeners into the hidden places where justice is done (and undone). It dives deep into the lives of heroes and villains. And it focuses a spotlight on those who triumph even when the odds are against them. Season 5 - The Burden: Death & Deceit in Alliance On April Fools Day 1999, 26-year-old Yvonne Layne was found murdered in her Alliance, Ohio home. David Thorne, her ex-boyfriend and father of one of her children, was instantly a suspect. Another young man admitted to the murder, and David breathed a sigh of relief, until the confessed murderer fingered David; “He paid me to do it.” David was sentenced to life without parole. Two decades later, Pulitzer winner and podcast host, Maggie Freleng (Bone Valley Season 3: Graves County, Wrongful Conviction, Suave) launched a “live” investigation into David's conviction alongside Jason Baldwin (himself wrongfully convicted as a member of the West Memphis Three). Maggie had come to believe that the entire investigation of David was botched by the tiny local police department, or worse, covered up the real killer. Was Maggie correct? Was David’s claim of innocence credible? In Death and Deceit in Alliance, Maggie recounts the case that launched her career, and ultimately, “broke” her.” The results will shock the listener and reduce Maggie to tears and self-doubt. This is not your typical wrongful conviction story. In fact, it turns the genre on its head. It asks the question: What if our champions are foolish? Season 4 - The Burden: Get the Money and Run “Trying to murder my father, this was the thing that put me on the path.” That’s Joe Loya and that path was bank robbery. Bank, bank, bank, bank, bank. In season 4 of The Burden: Get the Money and Run, we hear from Joe who was once the most prolific bank robber in Southern California, and beyond. He used disguises, body doubles, proxies. He leaped over counters, grabbed the money and ran. Even as the FBI was closing in. It was a showdown between a daring bank robber, and a patient FBI agent. Joe was no ordinary bank robber. He was bright, articulate, charismatic, and driven by a dark rage that he summoned up at will. In seven episodes, Joe tells all: the what, the how… and the why. Including why he tried to murder his father. Season 3 - The Burden: Avenger Miriam Lewin is one of Argentina’s leading journalists today. At 19 years old, she was kidnapped off the streets of Buenos Aires for her political activism and thrown into a concentration camp. Thousands of her fellow inmates were executed, tossed alive from a cargo plane into the ocean. Miriam, along with a handful of others, will survive the camp. Then as a journalist, she will wage a decades long campaign to bring her tormentors to justice. Avenger is about one woman’s triumphant battle against unbelievable odds to survive torture, claim justice for the crimes done against her and others like her, and change the future of her country. Season 2 - The Burden: Empire on Blood Empire on Blood is set in the Bronx, NY, in the early 90s, when two young drug dealers ruled an intersection known as “The Corner on Blood.” The boss, Calvin Buari, lived large. He and a protege swore they would build an empire on blood. Then the relationship frayed and the protege accused Calvin of a double homicide which he claimed he didn’t do. But did he? Award-winning journalist Steve Fishman spent seven years to answer that question. This is the story of one man’s last chance to overturn his life sentence. He may prevail, but someone’s gotta pay. The Burden: Empire on Blood is the director’s cut of the true crime classic which reached #1 on the charts when it was first released half a dozen years ago. Season 1 - The Burden In the 1990s, Detective Louis N. Scarcella was legendary. In a city overrun by violent crime, he cracked the toughest cases and put away the worst criminals. “The Hulk” was his nickname. Then the story changed. Scarcella ran into a group of convicted murderers who all say they are innocent. They turned themselves into jailhouse-lawyers and in prison founded a lway firm. When they realized Scarcella helped put many of them away, they set their sights on taking him down. And with the help of a NY Times reporter they have a chance. For years, Scarcella insisted he did nothing wrong. But that’s all he’d say. Until we tracked Scarcella to a sauna in a Russian bathhouse, where he started to talk..and talk and talk. “The guilty have gone free,” he whispered. And then agreed to take us into the belly of the beast. Welcome to The Burden.

    SmartLess

    "SmartLess" with Jason Bateman, Sean Hayes, & Will Arnett is a podcast that connects and unites people from all walks of life to learn about shared experiences through thoughtful dialogue and organic hilarity. A nice surprise: in each episode of SmartLess, one of the hosts reveals his mystery guest to the other two. What ensues is a genuinely improvised and authentic conversation filled with laughter and newfound knowledge to feed the SmartLess mind. Subscribe to SiriusXM Podcasts+ to listen to new episodes of SmartLess ad-free and a whole week early. Start a free trial now on Apple Podcasts or by visiting siriusxm.com/podcastsplus.

    The Breakfast Club

    The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2026 iHeartMedia, Inc.