Texas Matters

Texas lost a flatlander troubadour — songwriter Joe Ely.The Amarillo native established himself as a songwriter’s songwriter and a musician’s musician, who sidestepped mainstream popularity but nevertheless attracted a devoted fanbase and legions of famous admirers. We take a look back to an interview from 2020 with the great Joe Ely.

As a growing number of people are caught in the affordability crisis, they are turning to selling their blood plasma to make ends meet. That plasma is used to make many lifesaving medications but are the donors being fairly compensated? We take a look at how the international blood plasma economy works and why Texas is the leading source for plasma.

For over 30 years Skip Hollandsworth has been a master storyteller at "Texas Monthly." He’s been investigating and telling the stories of Texas true crime with a keen eye for detail and a way of getting people to spill the tea. We hear from Skip about his new book “She Kills: The Murderous Socialite, the Cross-Dressing Bank Robber, and Other True Crime Tales."

This week on Texas Matters: How did FEMA actually perform after the July 4th Hill Country flood? Texas Rangers continue to search for flood victims. And investigating how pregnant women in labor are ignored while in jail.

This week on "Texas Matters": Governor Greg Abbott announces he's running for a fourth term with a five-point plan to eliminate school property taxes. But what does that mean for funding Texas Public schools? And how the federal banning of hemp derived THC is being felt across the state.