Texas Matters: Remembering Joe Ely and 'Love in the Midst of Mayhem'

This week on "Texas Matters," the life and writing of Larry McMurtry and how he refined the myths of being a Texan. David Streitfeld has written a biography of Texas writer Larry McMurtry — “Western Star: The Life and Legends of Larry McMurtry.”

This week on Texas Matters — forgotten songs from Texas prisons. Heartfelt tracks written, performed, and recorded by incarcerated men. The resurrected recordings from the '60s, ’70s, and ’80s tell us about crime and punishment, rehabilitation, and the humanity of the men locked inside.

Millions of Texans tell pollsters religion is very important in their lives. Every Sunday hundreds of megachurches fill up and celebrate their faith – which also shapes their politics. The result , elections are won and lost based on performances of righteousness. The State Board of Education bends the nation’s textbooks to a conservative Lone Star gospel, and laws are passed based on Christian values. How did Texas become “one state under God"?

Today on Texas Matters: The old Spanish missions of San Antonio — 300 years of history, community memory and meaning. Joel Daniel Kitchens is the author of “San Antonio and Its Missions: Three Centuries of History, Memory and Heritage.”

In October 1964, as the South simmered under the tensions following the signing of the Civil Rights Act three months earlier, First Lady, Lady Bird Johnson, began a whistle-stop tour of the South. She shattered the expectations of a presidential spouse with speeches, diplomacy, and palpable compassion as she encouraged the South to leave Jim Crow behind.

Governor Greg Abbott and other Republican state leaders are targeting CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations. Abbott has signed a proclamation calling CAIR a “terrorist organization.” Edward Ahmed Mitchell, National Deputy Director of CAIR, says these are baseless conspiracy theories created for politics.

Today on Texas Matters — A first-of-its-kind survey shows how Texans experience violence. And how changes at the post office can impact the coming election.

Today on Texas Matters: The State of Texas v. Adrian Gonzales. The former Uvalde School District police officer on trial.

The Donald J. Trump Advanced Energy and intelligence Campus — near Amarillo — plans to use nuclear power for the biggest data center ever. And how in 1910 the classic western movie was born in San Antonio.

“Pass the Politics Pappy” explores the remarkable political rise of W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel, a flour salesman who used his popular radio show and catchy slogans to rocket into becoming Texas Governor and then U.S. Senator in the late 1930s and 1940s. Part 2 of the series focuses on O'Daniel's time as governor and delivered very little on his grand promises. Ultimately O’Daniel’s story serves as a cautionary tale of media-driven political populism.