Former Waco Mayor Malcom Duncan explains how he initially doubted the fame that would come with the homegrown Chip and Joanna Gaines’s Fixer Upper DIY empire. Duncan and Dallas Fed economist Emily Kerr also discuss the impact of a growing Baylor University and the challenges of building a commercial hub squarely between Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin.

Taylor County Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agent Steve Estes discusses with Dallas Fed economist Laila Assanie the challenges of perpetually coping with little rain in the Big Country, where agriculture and ranching drive the area economy, including that of Abilene.

Ray Perryman, a Waco-based economist who’s opined on the Texas economy for more than four decades, discusses his hits and misses as well as what lies ahead with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius.

Enrique Dussel Peters, the coordinator of the Center for Chinese–Mexican Studies at the Universidad Nacional Autonóma de México, and Dallas Fed economist Jesus Cañas discuss challenges to the triangular trade relationship between the U.S., Mexico and China at a time of rising tensions.

William Serrata has been president of the El Paso County Community College District since August 2012 and has served on the board of directors for the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas’s El Paso Branch since 2018. He is past chair of the Texas Association of Community Colleges, serves on the Business Advisory Committee and is a member of the Legislative Committee. He discusses the unique, postpandemic challenges community colleges face.

Sheila Olmstead, a professor specializing in environmental policy at the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University, discusses with Dallas Fed economist Pia Orrenius the competing demands for water in Texas and the challenges a growing economy poses.

The number of Texas cattle are at a multidecade low at a time of strong demand and relatively high consumer prices. Dr. David Anderson, a Texas A&M University professor and extension economist, discusses with Dallas Fed economist Emily Kerr what’s driving the market, making even hamburger pricey.

Artificial intelligence, electric cars and power-hungry manufacturing are combining to boost power demand in Texas and nationwide. Dallas Fed economists Kunal Patel and Pia Orrenius examine what it will take to ensure that the lights stay on, and burgeoning user demand is met.