270 episodes
Y'all-itics WFAA
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- News
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4.4 • 334 Ratings
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Y’all-itics is the unofficial political podcast of Texas. Each week we’ll crack open an ice-cold Texas brew and explore a single hot topic affecting Texans. But this isn’t politics as usual. Y’all-itics doesn’t come from a fancy studio. We’re taking our podcast on the road to get past the soundbites and dive deeper into the issues that matter to y’all. Leave your labels at the door, this is a political podcast for all Texans… even the recent transplants!
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Why Texas secession would be "highly problematic"
Talk of secession has gotten a little louder these days, amplified by the so-called “Take Texas Back” pledge. The site devoted to the pledge boasts that dozens of Republican candidates and officeholders have signed up, promising to support legislation that would push Texas to leave the United States under certain conditions. This has all been talked about before. So, is this time different? And how do we know when chatter about secession is something to take more seriously? The Jasons called Dr. Eric McDaniel, a government professor at the University of Texas at Austin, to learn more about the movement and what might happen if it were to succeed.
Guest
Eric McDaniel, University of Texas at Austin -
Is Ken Paxton unstoppable?
Ken Paxton is on a winning streak: acquitted in his Senate impeachment trial, successfully defeating some fellow Republicans on Super Tuesday, and most recently Paxton got the criminal charges against him finally dropped after nine years. So, is Ken Paxton the most powerful Republican in Texas? One of the state’s top Democrats – who tried to take the AG’s job – says Paxton absolutely is. Why then would Joe Jaworski, a Houston attorney and the grandson of Leon Jaworski, the famous prosecutor in the 1973 Watergate scandal, be considering running for this position again in 2026? And if Ken Paxton is unstoppable, Jaworski explains what that means not only for his party, but also for Texas Republicans.
GUEST
Joe Jaworski, Houston Attorney -
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SPECIAL RELEASE: ‘Prison was never a possibility.’ Why the special prosecutor settled criminal charges with Ken Paxton.
Ever since settling the criminal case against Attorney General Ken Paxton, special prosecutor Brian Wice told us he has been excoriated by people who think it was a bad move. So why did he do it? And why won’t specifics of the deal be made public? We had lots of questions after this bombshell news broke. Wice made the decision and he took our call from his Houston office in this special episode of Y’all-itics.
GUEST:
Brian Wice / Special Prosecutor in Paxton case -
Save the machines! Hand-counting ballots did not work
Turns out, Republicans made errors hand-counting votes. The GOP in Gillespie County (Fredericksburg) did not trust machines to count the votes on Super Tuesday. So, they did it themselves. By hand. 8,000 ballots. And they made mistakes in every precinct. Jessica Huseman, the editorial director of Votebeat, was there on election night and joined the Jasons for a pint on this episode to explain what happened and the bold new project her newsroom is undertaking in Gillespie County.
https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/politics/inside-politics/texas-politics/gillespie-county-gop-primary-officials-found-multiple-errors-after-hand-count/287-9cfe3150-cf66-4d4f-ba66-ad1fc6f9feeb
Guest
Jessica Huseman, Votebeat Editorial Director -
Texas isn’t an oil and gas state. It’s an energy state.
There have been several times recently when 60% - 70% of all the power consumed in Texas came from renewables. And in January, the state set a new solar production record, topping out at over 14,000 megawatts, more than enough to power San Antonio and Austin. Life is so good for renewables in Texas, a new study funded by the oil and gas industry found that they should likely connect to the grid to get cheaper power… thanks to the influence of renewables. In this episode of Y’all-itics, the Jasons pop open a cold one with energy expert Doug Lewin who explains why Texas should no longer be considered an oil and gas state, just an energy state.
Guest
Doug Lewin, Stoic Energy Founder
Customer Reviews
Great reporting, but…
I am a West Coast person, butI enjoy your podcast and listen to it regularly. Your interview with ERCOT left me with an unanswered question. As the utility struggles to cover the gap when the energy demand is high, due to high temperatures during the night, when solar energy is no longer available, the only plan, apparently to fill that gap is to offer $6 billion, in the hopes that energy companies will build new power plants over the next several years. Was it ever discussed that instead of building power plants perhaps every home could be outfitted with a whole house battery system and if not, why not? Why couldn’t more solar and wind do the job rather than burning oil and gas? Were those options studied?
Great Voting Information
I went online and printed the sample ballot and listened to this outstanding podcast. As I listened I made my decisions on how to vote on each amendment. The information was very helpful in understanding not only the amendments but also the potential impact of a yes or no vote. Thanks for providing the most useful information as usual!
Information and perspective not often shared
Thank you for calling out the state government for their treatment of public education in the occasions that you have. I am a spouse and a mom to teachers. I also work as support staff in public Ed. I grow attached to the students that I meet through my loved ones. We all pour our own wages and extra time into students in order to make a difference. We all flew out of bed at 6 AM this morning when we thought one of the students was in danger (she wasn’t, thank the Lord!). Our legislators and state wide leaders have failed our students and teachers over and over again. How they can continue to do this after the preventable tragedy of Uvalde just proves how uncaring and hardened their hearts have become. I thought I was a conservative voter, but if being conservative means siding with party over doing what is right for kids, count me out. Thank you for always highlighting the stories that need to be told.