Second Reading Podcast

James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about how immigration protests, the Trump administration's push for redistricting in Texas, and the short-lived in-state tuition lawsuit have disturbed the post session lull in the Lone Star State.

From ESA’s to property taxes to hurled hemp, James Henson and Joshua Blank take a day-after look at the 89th Texas Legislature and what lawmakers did and didn’t do over the last 140 days.

James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about the progress made on major legislation this week and where the legislative leadership stands as the end of the regular session looms.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the big issues still pending in the Texas Legislature, including property taxes, education funding, water, the budget, bail, THC products, and more as legislative deadlines start killing bills.

James Henson, Daron Shaw, and Joshua Blank discussed what the newly-released UT/Texas Politics Project Poll reveals about Texas views of Donald Trump, major issues getting hammered out in the final weeks of the Texas Legislature, and the coming 2026 election in Texas.

James Henson talks with political reporter Bayliss Wagner, of The Austin American-Statesman, about her recent coverage of abortion and intraparty tension among Texas House Republicans, as well as the Statesman’s change of ownership, and covering the lege for the hometown paper.

James Henson talks with Harvey Kronberg, publisher and godfather of Harvey Kronberg’s Quorum Report, about the vibes in the legislature as well as the longer trajectory of politics in the state, and the place of Quorum Report in the Texas media universe.

James Henson and Josh Blank look at the arc of politics surrounding ESA’s/vouchers, and check in on 2026 election politics in Texas.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at Texas public opinion on tariffs and the economy, and how economic upheaval might upend core assumptions about the state budget for the next biennium.

James Henson talks with Brad Johnson, political reporter and managing editor of The Texan, about recent happenings in the Texas Legislature, including the ESA bill voted out of the House Education Committee, the failed attempt to depose Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows, and Dan Patrick’s presser this week. They also talk about The Texan’s […]

James Henson talks with Jasper Scherer, reporter and incoming politics editor at The Texas Tribune about political maneuvering at the legislature as the pace of the session picks up, and about the evolution of the Tribune’s position in the media ecosystem in Texas.

 James Henson talks with Jonathan Blitzer about his profile of Texas Governor Greg Abbott for the March 17 issue of The New Yorker.

James Henson talks with veteran political reporter Gromer Jeffers, Jr., about his recent reporting on Democrats’ struggles after the 2024 election and, in Texas, their position in the Texas legislature.

Daron Shaw, Josh Blank, & James Henson discuss news highs for Donald Trump, but amidst persistent economic concerns, and other findings in the just-released University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll.

James Henson talks with Greg Cox about his recently launched Texas politics newsletter, and the state of play in the legislature, where he finds people generally getting along better after the heated 2023-2024 sequence in Texas.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk about how politics are shaping up as the House makes committee assignments, and the current Big Three position as the session shifts into a higher gear.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss how to think about how national politics shape politics in Texas, and consider the feedback loops at work in sorting out the reciprocal effects of Texas and national politics.

James Henson & Joshua Blank look at Gov. Abbott’s emergency items through the lens of Texas Politics Project polling.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank dig into UT/Texas Politics Project polling data in the run-up to the Governor’s State of the State speech.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank consider the ascension of Dustin Burrows as House Speaker, and look at UT/Texas Politics polling on Texans’ attitudes toward the emerging agenda of Donald Trump.

The UT/Texas Politics Project Poll Team discuss what December polling in Texas tells us about public opinion, and potential cross-currents buffeting the Trump administration & Congressional Republicans in 2025.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank join the ongoing speculation about whether Dade Phelan will remain Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives.

Jim Henson & Joshua Blank look at what UT/Texas Politics Project polling data can (and can't) tell us about the big Latino vote for Donald Trump in Texas.

On the day after, Jim Henson and Joshua Blank take a first look at the results of the 2024 election in Texas, which delivered Texas’ electoral votes to Donald Trump by a wide margin, and sent Ted Cruz back to the U.S. Senate.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at Texas attitudes on immigration & the border, abortion, and transgender issues in Texas as the election comes down to the wire.

Jim Henson, Daron Shaw and Josh Blank discuss results from the October 2024 UT/Texas Politics Project Poll as early voting begins in Texas.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk about polling and other context in the U.S. Senate race in Texas between incumbent Republican Ted Cruz, and Democratic challenger Colin Allred.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at Texas Politics Project polling related to Speaker of the House Dade Phelan, and what it contributes (and doesn’t) to understanding the dynamics of the current challenges to Phelan’s efforts to continue as Speaker amidst opposition from within the Texas GOP.

James Henson and Joshua Blank discuss trends in Texas public opinion on elections and voting in the context of recent efforts by Texas elected officials to thwart voter registration efforts in Democratic strongholds, and otherwise link immigration to voting in the minds of Texas voters.

James Henson. Daron Shaw, and Joshua Blank dig into the data from the latest University of Texas / Texas Politics Project statewide poll, which found Donald Trump leading Kamala Harris 49% to 44% in the Lone Star State.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at the political context of Texas Republican elected official recent efforts to draw attention to immigration, the border, and “election integrity.”

Jim Henson and Josh Blank talk about new Texas polling data from the University of Houston and Texas Southern, themes at the Democratic National Convention, and “gender gap” in Texas.

Jim Henson talks with Harvey Kronberg of Harvey Kronberg’s Quorum Report about how the rebooted presidential race is playing out in Texas, as well as the dynamics in Texas politics with both an election and the 2025 legislative session on the horizon.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at the baseline numbers in the presidential campaign before the big changes in the presidential race and take a quick look at some of the politics simmering in Texas in the shadow of the national politics. 

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk over the politics of Texas’ response to Hurricane Beryl and mounting uncertainty around Joe Biden’s reelection campaign.

Jim Henson, Josh Blank, and Daron Shaw discuss the June University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll, and what the results say about the impact of Donald Trump’s felony convictions on the presidential race in Texas.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at the results of the primary run-offs in Texas, the politics of the long primary season, and the implications of the results.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank take a deep dive into new UT/Texas Politics Project Poll data revealing nuances in Texans’ views of abortion not captured in broad labels like “pro-life” and “pro-choice.”

Jim Henson, Daron Shaw, and Joshua Blank dig into the trial ballot results for the presidential and U.S. Senate races in Texas in the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at different signals transmitted in the Texas Senate’s interim charges. 

Jim Henson and Josh Blank talk about the politics and implications of the “Contract with Texas” recently distributed by a group of far-right Texas Republicans, and take notice of a new polling on the presidential and Senate races in Texas.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at past election returns and UT/Texas Politics Project polling data to assess how competitive the presidential election might be in Texas.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at various judicial interventions in politics over the last week, as well as the kick-off of a speaker’s race in the Texas house & the presidential campaign in Texas. Referenced Article Here: https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/why-we-cant-stop-arguing-about-whether-trump-is-a-fascist

Jim Henson & Josh Blank look at the conflict between Texas and the federal government over border enforcement, and how it’s fed the boom in attention to Texas nationalism (Note: recorded prior to the US Supreme Court lifting the stay on SB 4.)

The Texas Politics Project team look at the outcome of the primary election in Texas and the implications for politics in the legislature and the state’s political system writ large.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank look at evidence of shifts in Texas Democrats’ views of immigration and border issues in the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll, and note how the same poll sheds some light on the audience for Trump’s primary endorsements in Texas House races. 

The team behind the latest University of Texas/Texas Politics Project Poll team – James Henson, Josh Blank, and Daron Shaw – talk about what the just-released February UT/TxP Poll tell us about the 2024 election in Texas.

Jim Henson talks with Ross Ramsey, co-founder and former executive editor of The Texas Tribune, about the reverberations in Texas  of Donald Trump’s presumed return as the Republican presidential nominee in 2024.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank discuss the convergence of national and Texas politics in the current national focus on immigration and border security.

Jim Henson and Josh Blank round up the flood of developments in politics in Texas, including the latest in the GOP presidential primary, the SCOTUS ruling against Texas, the DOJ’s report on Uvalde, and more.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank look at Donald Trump's standing in Texas after his win in Iowa – and the long term roots of support for him among Texas Republicans.