Dispatches from Texas: Trump's America up close

Guest: Richard Warnica, Senior Opinion Writer

In this episode, we explore Richard's recent visit to Texas as a vivid microcosm of Trump's current America. He reports on cratering trust in vaccines, increasingly aggressive ICE arrests that are cleaving families apart, and the dismantling of public media meant to help citizens understand their world. His conversations with advocates, lawyers, and local leaders highlight a landscape shaped by disease, cruelty, and deliberate ignorance — all unfolding alongside climate-driven disasters like the recent deadly flood at Camp Mystic girls summer camp, where grief still lingers in the air.

PLUS: Hear Texas House Representative Nicole Collier speak about how Republican action inspired her to sleep two nights on the Capitol floor, in protest.

Produced by Julia De Laurentiis Johnston, Paulo Marques and Sean Pattendon