The Source

Whether it's a strength or vulnerability, Donald Trump's erratic nature and unpredictable policy making is something the entire world must deal with. Philip Luck, an economist and former Biden trade official, discusses how Trump's waxing policies are costing America.

The Amazon rainforest is known as the “lungs of planet Earth,” but what happens when deforestation in Brazil continues? One journalist tried to alert the world to this coming crisis. Dom Phillips was writing the book “How to Save The Amazon” when he was murdered. His colleagues refused to let Phillips' work die—and they completed his book.

After Gov. Greg Abbott vetoed SB3, the THC ban, there are now questions about what's next for regulating the intoxicant. And what should Texans make of the fall out between Abbott and Lt. Gov Dan Patrick over the veto?

The Trump administration has abruptly canceled 24 federally approved clean energy manufacturing grants totaling some 3.7 billion dollars—halting momentum on next-generation U.S. Critics say this is a major blow to job creation in states like Texas. But also will the U.S. be at a global disadvantage as cheap renewable energy is developed by other nations?

Project Marvel has been talked about for months—a plan for a downtown sports and entertainment district, which includes a new home court for the Spurs. Now city officials will be explaining their plans to local residents with community workshops— and on The Source. It's your chance to ask questions, give feedback and get clarity about the plans, benefits and costs of Project Marvel.

On Juneteenth we look back at the fight for civil rights in America. Historian Peniel E. Joseph discusses his new book Freedom Season: How 1963 Transformed America's Civil Rights Revolution." He reflects on the power of protest and community organizing and how segregationists and other bigots in power were pushed out of the way. And what this means today.

Thirteen people died after a heavy rainfall hit San Antonio. The city measured over six inches of rain— the tenth rainiest day in the city's history. But was this high death toll avoidable? Bexar County Commissioner Tommy Calvert joins us to talk about what went wrong and what needs to be done to prevent this from happening again.

The City of San Antonio and its partners are teaming up to host workshops and share resources on how to protect people, family, friends, and pets from the heat.

The consumer economy is showing signs of stress and strain. Lending platforms report an increasing number of “buy now, pay later” users falling behind on payments. “Buy now, pay later” refers to the short-term loans and missed installments are a sign of faltering financial health especially in the low-income working class— who are being confronted with rising inflation, cuts in SNAP and the Trump administration's move to collect on federal student loans.

New generations of Americans are taking to the street in protest, demanding change and accountability. And they are discovering what protestors of the 1960s and '70s found out— protesting is hard, frustrating and requires sacrifice. But protest songs can help. Songs demanding freedom and justice go back generations and are also being composed today. We hear from Stephen Stacks about his new book The Resounding Revolution: Freedom Song After 1968.

The U.S. Supreme Court is the final word on what happens in this country. Historically the nine justices decide what is constitutional and legal by looking at the law, legal precedent and judicial philosophy. But these days it seems like the high court is running on grievance, fringe theories and bad vibes. We get an explainer on why the Supreme Court is now so politically powerful and unpredictable.

There's a lot of chatter these days about a possible coming recession—and the impact of tariffs— inflation, stagflation and high interest rates. But what are all those things? It's easy to get lost with all these terms. How do make sense of the economy and how money works? We talk about Economics in Plain English.

FRONTLINE investigates the Assad regime's arrest, torture and execution of detainees during the Syrian war. Former prisoners, guards, soldiers and intelligence officials shed new light on atrocities carried out during Bashar al-Assad's reign.

The San Antonio AIDS Foundation has scaled back free testing services due to White House-imposed cuts in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding. Free HIV testing provides early detection and reducing transmission rates. How can San Antonians continue to get tested safely and confidentially for AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases?

In recent months the United States has witnessed a resurgence of protesters taking to the streets calling for change on social, political and environmental issues. These marchers are walking in the footsteps of other protesters who fought for civil rights, labor and peace. What makes a protest successful? How can a mass demonstration lead to substantial and long-lasting change. We discuss "A Protest History of the United States" by Gloria J. Browne-Marshall.

The Wild West gunfighter is a stock figure in dime novels and cornball westerns—but what is the reality of the six-shooter packing outlaw?The new book by Bryan Burrough, The Gunfighters: How Texas Made the West Wild, separates myths from truths about the violence of the Wild West. Many of the bloody shootouts happened in the streets of San Antonio.

As the Texas legislative session ends there are new bills passed that could again reshape the state's access to abortion care. Advocates for reproductive freedom are condemning the passage of Senate Bill 31, The Life of the Mother Act and SB 33, a ban on San Antonio's Reproductive Justice Fund.

Sitting on Governor Abbott's desk is SB3 —a bill that would ban hemp-derived THC products in Texas. Abbott has not said if he will veto it or allow it to become law. Supporters of the bill, including Lt Gov Dan Patrick, argue the ban is necessary to protect public health. But many veterans, chronic pain suffers, and some conservatives say it goes too far.

Who are the ultrarich in America and what do they want? Evan Osnos, author of The Haves and Have-Yachts, pulls back the curtain on the hidden world of the massively wealthy, their unbelievable lifestyles and their unchecked influence on American politics—which directly impacts our lives while distorting the economy.

What does it mean to be a father? Fatherhood is one of history's enduring puzzles. Why are fathers the way that they are? We look at being a dad through the lens of history, philosophy and the examples of some of Western civilization's most emblematic fathers to understand how this role of protector, caretaker, provider and disciplinarian evolved. Augustine Sedgewick is the author of "Fatherhood: A History of Love and Power."

Misty Spears and Angi Taylor Aramburu have advanced to the runoff election.

District 8 runoff candidates are Ivalis Meza Gonzalez and Paula McGee.

Former Under Secretary of the U.S. Air Force and two-time Democratic congressional candidate Gina Ortiz Jones will face former Republican Texas Secretary of State Roland Pablos in the June 7 mayoral runoff election after no candidate received a majority of votes in the May municipal election.

District 6 runoff candidates are Kelly Ann Gonzalez and Ric Galvan. They are the two remaining candidates from a diverse field of eight, and only 28 votes separated them after the final count on election night.

District 1 Councilmember Sukh Kaur, who faced nine challengers in the May 3 election, is headed to the June 7th runoff against Patty Gibbons, a retired business owner and conservative.

How did the Avocado become the toast of the nation? The humble tropical fruit is now common in supermarkets, but even in the 1980s many Americans had never seen an avocado, much less tasted one. How did this once obscure alligator pear come to occupy a central spot in American culture?

Bexar County is in a prolonged exceptional drought, and we're already dealing with 100-degree days.And due to climate change it's only going to get hotter and dryer in the coming years. How do we garden and landscape using drought and heat tolerant plants? How can you make your lawn Texas tough and beautiful?

What's it like to be a child in Central America, forced to flee to the United States and then spend months in immigration detention? “Detained” is the first-ever memoir of a child's experience in detention on the U.S.-Mexico border under President Trump's infamous family separation policy. The book tells a story of pain, cruelty, friendship, and resilience.

President Trump and the Republican controlled congress are planning deep cuts to Medicaid to help cover the cost of $4.5 billion in tax breaks. This could knock off over 8 million people from Medicaid and reduce services for millions more. Texas rural hospitals will be especially hit hard along with Texas new mothers and children.

Alcohol use disorder doesn't mix well with marriage. It frequently leads to personal chaos. That's the story that Melissa Fletcher Stoeltje has written in her tell-all memoir about her journey to sobriety. Her book “Drunk Love: A Marriage Under the Influence” explores the depths of addiction and the redemptive power of love.

America's rivers are a vital resource for drinking water. They support wildlife habitats and are critical for transportation and industry. However, across the U.S., many of the largest and most important of these waterways are at risk from pollution, poor flood management and more. These endangered rivers include the Mississippi and the Lower Rio Grande.

Beto O'Rourke is again finding big crowds across Texas with townhall meetings. The former congressman and Democratic presidential candidate says he wants to give Texans an opportunity to ask questions about state and federal issues and have conversations about America's future. O'Rourke joins us to talk about protecting rural Texans and the future of the Democratic Party.

Few have ever valued literacy as much as the enslaved Black people of the American South. For them, it was more than a means to a better life; it was a gateway to freedom and, in some instances, a tool for inspiring revolt. Few governments tried harder to suppress literacy than did those in the South. When knowledge is power, the powerful make knowledge unobtainable or illegal.

Antidote, the latest documentary from Emmy Award-winning filmmaker James Jones, is an exposé on the perilous journey of whistleblowers confronting Vladimir Putin's regime. Premiering at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival, the film delves into the lives of individuals who risk everything to unveil the Kremlin's covert operations.

President Donald Trump vowed to deport one million people in the first year back in office. And he has turned to possibly unlawful executive orders to do so. At least a dozen U.S. citizens have been ensnared in Trump's immigration crackdown, and many more legal residents. They are being accused of being gang members and are being deported without due process.

An analysis of the municipal election results and what you need to know about the upcoming runoff races.

Robbery, kidnapping, extortion, rape and murder— that's what migrants face on their journey north. Jason De León spent years interviewing human smugglers in Mexico and Central America. De León argues it's far more complicated than what American politicians and the media portrays. His book Soldiers and Kings: Survival and Hope in the World of Human Smuggling won the National Book Award.

Many of us tend to take our muscles for granted. They are the unsung heroes of our bodies. They are the stuff that moves us and keeps us healthy. But as we age, how much can we rely on our muscles? What are the secrets of our muscles? Journalist and author Bonnie Tsui takes a deep dive into the science, history, and personal narratives that shape our understanding of muscle in her book, On Muscle: The Stuff that Moves Us and Why it Matters.

Public libraries are perhaps the most American of institutions. But today, libraries are under assault. There is book banning, and the Trump administration is gutting the federal agency that provides funding to public libraries. A new PBS documentary, “Free for All: The Public Library,” defends the importance and continued relevance of the local library.

Texas has one of the toughest abortion bans in the nation. And while the number of abortions performed within Texas has plummeted, the overall number of abortions obtained by Texans has actually increased. We look at the state of abortion access after Dobbs and discuss the new book “After Dobbs: How the Supreme Court Ended Roe but Not Abortion,” written by law professor David S. Cohen and sociologist Carole Joffe.

A sociopath is a person with a mental health condition. The term refers to a pattern of antisocial behaviors and attitudes. A sociopath might consistently show no regard for right and wrong and ignore the rights and feelings of others. It's estimated sociopaths make up 5 percent of the population. Patric Gagne writes about her life as a sociopath and her struggle to understand her disorder.

In Texas and many other states, lethal injection is used for executions. The new book Secrets of the Killing State by Corinna Barrett Lain pulls back the curtain of secrecy surrounding lethal injection. The author claims there is gross incompetence by woefully inept executioners and a state indifference to the fate of the condemned.

The public's faith in the safety and efficacy of prescription drugs and vaccines has been shaken as never before. There's skepticism about the role the big pharma plays in rolling out new medications, yet there are amazing breakthroughs in treating once fatal diseases. And then there's the price for critical treatments that can be beyond the reach for many. How did we get here and how can we fix it? We are joined by Dr Jerry Avorn, professor of medicine at Harvard University Medical School and author of the new book, “Rethinking Medications: Truth, Power and the Drugs you Take.”

Listeners are encouraged to call in to participate and engage with the candidates on topics important to them and the San Antonio community. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or find us @texaspublicradio on social media platforms.

Listeners are encouraged to call in to participate and engage with the candidates on topics important to them and the San Antonio community. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or find us @texaspublicradio on social media platforms.

The San Antonio Area Foundation has commissioned a report on the state of the local news landscape and its findings will be released at the first-ever Local News in the Heart of Texas Summit on Thursday, April 17, from 9 a.m. -1 p.m. at UTSA's downtown campus.

Listeners are encouraged to call in to participate and engage with the candidates on topics important to them and the San Antonio community. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or find us @texaspublicradio on social media platforms.

Listeners are encouraged to call in to participate and engage with the candidates on topics important to them and the San Antonio community. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or find us @texaspublicradio on social media platforms.

Listeners are encouraged to call in to participate and engage with the candidates on topics important to them and the San Antonio community. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or find us @texaspublicradio on social media platforms.

Listeners are encouraged to call in to participate and engage with the candidates on topics important to them and the San Antonio community. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or find us @texaspublicradio on social media platforms.

Listeners are encouraged to call in to participate and engage with the candidates on topics important to them and the San Antonio community. Leave a message before the program at (210) 615-8982. During the live show, call 833-877-8255, email thesource@tpr.org or find us @texaspublicradio on social media platforms.