Texas Matters

This week on Texas Matters: Why “Sharia law” has become a flashpoint in Texas politics. How the state’s abortion ban is tied to new scrutiny after three doctors were disciplined. And why a Texas death row case still hinges on hypnosis, despite the practice being banned in criminal investigations in the state.

This week on Texas Matters — The story of Texas that we typically hear is one with a conservative bias.But there are parts of Texas history that reflect a more progressive vein of the state’s identity. Stories of the fence cutters, the great cowboy strike and the struggle against the power of big business. The new book "The Myth of Red Texas: Cowboys, Populism, and Class War in the Radical South" challenges the common view of Texas history.

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"?