Jim Henson talks with Ross Ramsey about how Texas is tackling the fundamental issues facing the state, and how he's thinking about them as he writes his last set of regular analysis columns as Executive Editor of The Texas Tribune.
The podcast uses three of Ramsey's columns from the week as points of departure for the discussions:
Analysis: Texas schools need support from politically distracted state leaders
Analysis: Texans without high-speed internet are getting closer, slowly
Analysis: Gerrymandering has left Texas voters with few options
In the final moments, talk turns to Texans' views of the track the state is on...
| Poll | Right Direction | Wrong Track |
|---|---|---|
| October 2009 | 38% | 39% |
| February 2010 | 43% | 37% |
| May 2010 | 45% | 38% |
| September 2010 | 43% | 38% |
| October 2010 | 45% | 37% |
| February 2011 | 41% | 41% |
| May 2011 | 36% | 48% |
| October 2011 | 39% | 43% |
| February 2012 | 43% | 38% |
| May 2012 | 38% | 42% |
| October 2012 | 43% | 34% |
| February 2013 | 45% | 39% |
| June 2013 | 50% | 32% |
| October 2013 | 42% | 39% |
| February 2014 | 45% | 35% |
| June 2014 | 49% | 33% |
| October 2014 | 48% | 35% |
| February 2015 | 50% | 30% |
| June 2015 | 50% | 32% |
| November 2015 | 45% | 36% |
| February 2016 | 42% | 37% |
| June 2016 | 41% | 38% |
| October 2016 | 42% | 40% |
| February 2017 | 46% | 36% |
| June 2017 | 43% | 40% |
| October 2017 | 43% | 40% |
| February 2018 | 48% | 36% |
| June 2018 | 46% | 37% |
| October 2018 | 50% | 35% |
| February 2019 | 49% | 35% |
| June 2019 | 49% | 34% |
| October 2019 | 47% | 35% |
| February 2020 | 49% | 37% |
| April 2020 | 43% | 43% |
| June 2020 | 41% | 47% |
| October 2020 | 41% | 44% |
| February 2021 | 39% | 41% |
| March 2021 | 41% | 46% |
| April 2021 | 42% | 42% |
| June 2021 | 41% | 43% |
| August 2021 | 35% | 52% |
| October 2021 | 40% | 48% |
| February 2022 | 40% | 46% |
| April 2022 | 39% | 51% |
| June 2022 | 31% | 59% |
| August 2022 | 36% | 52% |
| October 2022 | 37% | 50% |
| December 2022 | 39% | 46% |
| February 2023 | 35% | 51% |
| April 2023 | 37% | 50% |
| June 2023 | 38% | 49% |
| August 2023 | 33% | 55% |
| October 2023 | 37% | 50% |
| December 2023 | 38% | 49% |
| February 2024 | 44% | 44% |
| April 2024 | 43% | 45% |
| June 2024 | 41% | 48% |
About the Second Reading podcast. The podcast has been produced intermittently by Jim Henson for the Texas Politics Project, with production support from UT's Liberal Arts Development Studio, since 2016. You can find past episodes and subscribe to the Second Reading podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.