Texas Standard » Stories from Texas

Texas Standard » Stories from Texas

Stories from Texas are written for and recorded for the Texas Standard radio program. They’re written by W.F Strong and edited for broadcast by Texas Standard producers.

Episodes

November 19, 2025 4 mins

Boxer, preacher, and grill super salesman George Foreman died in his longtime hometown of Houston in March. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong has been thinking about Foreman’s life and how he literally fought his way from rags to riches more than once. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on […]

The post George Foreman’s resilience: A two-time rags-to-riches story appeared first on...

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In 1909, in the little town of Shiner, a group of German and Czech farmers decided they missed the beer of the old country. They pooled their money, built a ramshackle brewery, and called it the Shiner Brewing Association. But they weren’t brewers. They were farmers. The beer was, well, bad. Locals apparently joked it […]

The post The two men who rescued Shiner Beer appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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October 8, 2025 4 mins

Did you know a Texan actually co-founded the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA)? But before that, she showed prowess in several other sports. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong explains that she was so good at baseball, she was nicknamed after one of the greatest players of all time. Here is the story of Mildred “Babe” […]

The post They called her ‘Babe’ appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Pod...

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September 24, 2025 5 mins

Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong has met a lot of Texans throughout the years. Some have shared bits of history from the Lone Star State. Some have recalled old family traditions or news of certain oddities. But others have imparted on him some unique problem-solving skills. This story tells of two old friends and their […]

The post Belle and Lea appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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September 11, 2025 4 mins

Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong reminds us of a time you’ll find particularly in rural Texas – Cowboy Time. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

The post Cowboy Time appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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August 13, 2025 3 mins

The start of the school year means it’s the end of summer travel season for many families. As Texans well know, depending on where you live in the state, it can take longer to travel out of it than to cross several state lines beyond our borders. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong reflects on coming […]

The post The sky welcomes you home appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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July 16, 2025 4 mins

There are a few symbols so deeply woven into the fabric of Texas that they seem as native as mesquite or bluebonnets. One of them is the Stetson hat. Not just any Stetson hat – the Boss of the Plains. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong says that oddly enough, it didn’t come from Texas at […]

The post The hat that made the cowboy appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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If there’s one thing the Texans of the early republic never lacked, it was imagination – especially when it came to dodging tariffs and taxes. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong explains. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available […]

The post Creative smuggling when Texas was a republic appeared first on KUT & KU...

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May 21, 2025 4 mins

Back in frontier times, it was the most deeply feared moon in Texas and northern Mexico. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

The post The Comanche Moon appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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This bit of history really does seem too strange to be true. It involves the family of John Wilkes Booth, the son of Abraham Lincoln, and Sam Houston. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or […]

The post New York aids Texas Revolution appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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Growing up in Texas, WF Strong found that whistling played a important role in his life. But there are many ways to whistle. He explores a few of them. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles […]

The post Whistling while you work appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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March 12, 2025 6 mins

If you examine any good map of Texas, you’ll notice a natural division of East and West Texas that runs from the eastern side of the Panhandle down to Abilene and San Angelo and on past Uvalde to Carrizo Springs and Laredo. To the west side of that line is arid and to the east […]

The post The 100th meridian appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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January 29, 2025 5 mins

Steinbeck’s comments about Texas and Texans go well beyond his “Texas is a state of mind” quote. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong explores. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

The post John Steinbeck (and Charley) on Texas appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts...

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Texas Standard is celebrating its 10th birthday by looking back on 10 years of covering Texas. One way we’re going to do that is with top 10 lists. We started by counting down our top 10 Stories from Texas from commentator W.F. Strong. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the […]

The post Do you have a favorite W.F. Strong story? Here are our top 10 appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios...

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December 19, 2024 4 mins

Some of the most frustrating hours of our lives might be spent in a vehicle. After some hard times on the road, nothing can feel better than the perfect parking spot at the place you need to be. But how will you pull in? Texas Standard commentator WF Strong has some thoughts. The full transcript […]

The post Fronters and backers appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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December 4, 2024 4 mins

On the western side of the Panhandle, right on the Texas/New Mexico border are two towns that were established just a few years apart in the late 1800s. They were separated by a line as thin as a goal line. They both still exist today — with populations of less than 1,500 each. But Texas […]

The post A tale of a stolen town appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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Texas Standard commentator WF Strong says the Gruver Farm Scholarship Foundation has already made a multi-generational impact. The full transcript of this episode of Stories from Texas is available on the KUT & KUTX Studio website. The transcript is also available as subtitles or captions on some podcast apps.

The post How some donated land became a bounty for a small town’s students appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios --...

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November 7, 2024 4 mins

A strongman politician is something we’ve heard a lot about recently. This Stories From Texas is about a strongman from history and a plan to set him up anew in Texas. Texas Standard Commentator W.F. Strong dug up this story — one that you probably didn’t hear about in Texas history, for one, because it […]

The post Could Napoleon have ruled over Texas? appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts.

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October 23, 2024 2 mins

Even though the words “Remember the Alamo” are available on t-shirts, bumper-stickers, and kitchen kitsch, the Alamo wasn’t always remembered with the reverence it is today. For a long time, the Alamo was used mostly as a warehouse. Even the church, which people rather universally think of as the Alamo, was used as an army […]

The post A second siege of the Alamo appeared first on KUT & KUTX Studios -- P...

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October 10, 2024 5 mins

Sometimes things happen in the world that just seem too coincidental to be coincidental. We have lots of words to describe these moments — luck, serendipity, maybe fate or destiny, perhaps a miracle? Texas Standard Commentator WF Strong remembers one of these moments he just can’t explain. The full transcript of this episode of Stories […]

The post My brush with fate or serendipity appeared first on KUT & KUTX...

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