TPPF Distinguished Senior Fellow Sherry Sylvester and Texas State Senator Brent Hagenbuch (R-Denton) discuss the future of higher education, protecting religious liberty, and the role of Islamism in public discourse. Hagenbuch is championing the President’s proposal to fast-track commercial truck drivers licenses for veterans to strengthen the transportation workforce in a potential sneak peek at Texas' 90th Legislative Session. Sherry and Senator Hagenbuch also discuss how conservatives should address the challenges of the increasingly rapid growth of the Lone Star State.

The 2026 World Cup featured 104 matches in 16 host cities, including 2 in Texas. 7 million people attended the games, but for many Americans it turned into a nationwide tailgate party that went on for weeks.

In this episode, TPPF Chief Transformation Officer Joshua Treviño discusses how international visitors reacted to the World Cup and whether the 2026 games were an effective demonstration of America’s soft power. They debate whether the tournament changed the way the world sees America and the way we see ourselves.

Subscribe to the 9th & Congress newsletter and weekly Winners & Losers: https://www.texaspolicy.com/9thandcongress/

TPPF's Sherry Sylvester discusses how progressives try to play the race card in college football recruitment with Dr. Richard Johnson, head of TPPF’s Booker T. Washington Initiative and a member of Texas Southern University’s Board of Regents.

Last month, the NAACP and the Congressional Black Caucus called on college athletes to boycott the SEC and other Southern universities to protest the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which struck down racial gerrymandering in congressional districts. House Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declared the ruling as proof that the spirit of the “Old Confederacy” is rising again, and New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dubbed it the new Jim Crow, while calling on the North to come to the aid of the South.

Dr. Johnson brings a perspective on all this that few can match. In addition to serving on the Board of Regents of Texas Southern University and his decades of experience in public policy and education, he is a former college and Army athlete himself.

Subscribe to the 9th & Congress newsletter and weekly Winners & Losers: https://www.texaspolicy.com/9thandcongress/