There has long been a saying along the lines of "As California goes, so goes the rest of the U.S." When it comes to population growth, technological innovation, and innovative policy solutions, California has often led the way. (For better and for worse.) While liberals have cheered California for its groundbreaking laws on, say, pollution (consider how California's clean air regulations forced automakers to clean up their act on emissions and fuel efficiency), there's little argument that the Golden State has very much set the pace. Similarly, conservatives have used the maxim as a warning of coming dystopia, pointing to the state's homelessness crisis, rising taxes, and regulations as a vision Americans should do everything to avoid. You can imagine our interest when we saw this headline in the op-ed section of The New York Times on Tuesday:"Texas Is the Future of America." Really? While the notion of Texas as a bellwether state may horrify some liberals, the author, a professor at UT Austin’s LBJ School of Public Affairs named Steven Pedigo makes a convincing case based on revelations from the 2020 Census. Texas is urbanizing faster than California. It is also a so-called majority-minority state with the fastest growth rate in the nation, and a majority of newcomers are people of color. While stereotypes of Texas as "almost monolithically white, rural and conservative" persist, Pedigo notes that less than 40% of Texans are white non-Hispanics, and that for every new white resident moving to the Lone Star State over the past decade, there have been three Black residents, three Asians, three people with multiracial backgrounds and 11 Hispanics. But Pedigo's analysis isn't empty boosterism: it's more of a warning for the rest of the country about policy reactions to changing demographics, saying that state GOP leaders, while embracing growth, are at the same time "excluding huge swaths of Texas’s citizenry" with policies that run "against the grain of many of its new stakeholders’ values. They are looking to (shore up their political positions) by a combination of gerrymandering, voter suppression and relentless cultural warfare." Is Texas the shape of things to come for the rest of the nation? Listen to our conversation today and let us know what you think. And make sure to check out our top picks from our recent coverage. Until next Wednesday, we'll see you on the radio – and online!

- David Brown

Work safe, Texas. Texas Work Comp Insurance

Texas redistricting maps move through Lege despite high-profile opposition

Two members of Congress objected to the maps, which they say break up communities of color in Houston.

Now properly classified, this tiny, translucent fish could unlock our brains' secrets

For years, researchers have used this fish to study the brain. But those researchers weren’t fish experts – and didn’t realize they were working with a species previously unclassified.

Media narratives about ‘chaos’ ignore the Border Patrol’s massive budget

This longtime border journalist says narratives of chaos are politically motivated and are used to stoke fear, particularly in conservatives. "It’s worked over and over and over again."

Explosions In The Sky's new soundtrack evokes the majesty of Big Bend

A University of Houston political scientist says Trump’s brand of Republican politics, including his stance on immigration, won't be successful in an increasingly diverse and urban Texas.

This tiny fish in the San Marcos River is probably extinct. So, what killed it? (KUT)
Dallas mayor proposes the city’s first-ever advisory group for people with disabilities (KERA News)
The Harris County DA is investigating claims that Houston’s mayor steered millions to a preferred developer, according to a report (Houston Public Media)
Bexar County Justice of the Peace retires citing nepotism, taxpayer waste and lack of oversight (Texas Public Radio)

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