The Baines Report
Photo: Rock, Paper, Scissors The Higher Court is a weekly podcast from the 85th Legislature’s ultimate authority – the court of public opinion. Hosted by Estevan Delgado and Cynthia Van Maanen, produced by Jen Rice. All listeners are urged to run for office immediately. The Baines Report will be sharing the Higher Court’s episodes as soon […]
Photo: Molly Adler The session covering the Texas House Agenda for the next legislative session at the Texas Tribune Festival went relatively smoothly considering that many of the six politicians on stage had diametrically opposing viewpoints. It was mostly the same political infighting one would expect at any level of government. The panel was comprised […]
Photo: PEXELS As I headed into the Texas Union for the first session of the 2016 Texas Tribune Festival I experienced simultaneous feelings of anticipation and dread. My feet dragged slower and slower as I walked into the Santa Rita Room for the session on “Fixing Foster Care.” Foster care, adoption, and how children interact […]
Photo: Wikipedia As with most perspective-changing events, this one began on an idle Tuesday. One of my Nepalese coworkers approached me and explained that ISET hosted a competition awarding funding to graduate students, and the competitors were presenting their projects today. The presentations were going to be in English, and they asked me if I […]
On Monday, February 8, 2016, 17 year old David Joseph was shot and killed by a police officer in Northeast Austin. Police say the unarmed teen was naked and acted in an aggressive manner when he charged at Officer Geoffrey Freeman. Austin previously encountered police violence against communities of color in the 2013 shooting death […]
On Monday, February 22, as part of the 2016 Barbara Jordan Forum, Citizens for Local and State Service (CLASS) sponsored a panel of elected officials representing city, county, and state government who addressed the topic of “Criminal Justice Reform in Central Texas.” The panel consisted of Kathie Tovo, Austin City Council member for District 9; […]
A few weeks ago I took part in a policy simulation and learned as much about international relations in forty-two hours as I did in an entire semester of studying. Political theory is an important basis for understanding international relations, but it is incomplete without including the complex levels of diplomacy as well. During my […]
Photo Credit: Lynne Foster On October 11, 2015, Canadian journalist and activist Naomi Klein spoke at the LBJ School of Public Affairs about the connection between environmentalism and economic struggles around the world. During the previous evening UT-Austin hosted two screenings of the documentary “This Changes Everything”, a film directed by Klein’s husband Avi Lewis, which […]
Photo: Jon Buice behind prison glass The LBJ School of Public Affairs’ Center for Health and Social Policy (CHASP) recently collaborated with the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law at the UT Law School and the LBJ School’s Harvey Milk Society to present a screening of the film “The Guy with the Knife.” The […]