Second Reading Podcast

With early voting underway and election day just around the corner, James Henson & Joshua Blank discuss the latest polls, the early voting numbers (and their limitations), and the final spending before the 2026 Election comes to its inevitable end. This episode was recorded by Claire Millet and edited by Brianna Padron.

With Donald Trump planning to return to Texas again next week, James Henson & Joshua Blank ponder his polling numbers in Texas and whether he hurts or helps Republicans (after a quick look at the latest wave of Texas polling). This episode was recorded by Claire Millet and edited by Brianna Padron.

James Henson and Josh Blank look at the trial ballot results in the U.S. Senate contest in Texas as well as for other statewide races in the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll. Listener warning: it gets a little wonky. This episode was recorded by Scott Leben and mixed by Brianna Padron.

Ross Ramsey, co-founder and former Editor of The Texas Tribune, joins James Henson to put the 2026 election campaign in perspective. They discuss the factors making the state more competitive, and how deep the change in Texas politics evident this cycle go. This episode was recorded by Scott Leben and edited by Brianna Padron.

James Henson and Joshua Blank abandon the top of the ballot this week to look at the state of play in Congressional and legislative elections in Texas. This episode was recorded by Scott Leben and edited by Brianna Padron.

Jim Henson and Joshua Blank talk about the ins and outs of all the polling data being generated in the Texas 2026 election, how to read it, and what it’s telling us so far. This episode was recorded by Scott Leben and edited by Brianna Padron.

Spurred on by two new statewide polls, James Henson and Josh Blank look at the knowns and unknowns in the Texas election environment. Call it an exercise in epistemological humility. This episode was recorded by Will Kurzner and edited by Brianna Padron.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at Texas public opinion (and vibes) to assess the possible impact of the 2026 National Convention in Dallas on elections in Texas. This episode was recorded by Scott Leben, and mixed by Brianna Padron.

While the latest UT/Texas Politics Project Poll found very mixed expectations among Texas voters about the expected impact of data centers in different domains, James Henson and Joshua Blank discuss the results and look at how messaging from a pro-data center group, and from Gov. Abbott, align with the perceived trade-offs revealed in the latest […]

With new polling data from the August poll, James Henson and Joshua Blank talk over what the trial ballots and other election-related items can and can’t tell us about the state of Texas races as summer winds down.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at public opinion data from rural Texas to assess how big a problem Republicans have among rural voters.

James Henson and Joshua Blank return from a July podcasting hiatus to catch up on Texas polling in the Senate and gubernatorial races, and consider the influences on the election environment in Texas. This episode was recorded by Xayda Garza and mixed by Astrid Alvarez and Julie Rios

James Henson & Joshua Blank look at Texas intersections with this week’s big Supreme Court decisions, and ponder the seeming emergence of stronger political parties in the U.S. and Texas. This episode was recorded by Astrid Alvarez and mixed by Uriel Murillo

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at 2026 Texas trial ballots and strikingly negative views of data centers and AI in the June Texas Politics Project Poll. This episode was engineered and mixed by Uriel Murillo.

In the wake of Gov. Greg Abbott’s signal-rich letter to Texas utility regulators on data centers in Texas, James Henson and Joshua Blank assess the public opinion on the issue and wade into the thicket of politics and policy as attention to the issue among policymakers and stakeholders grows. This episode was recorded and edited […]

After a week in which Texas Republicans circled the wagons for legislative elections and national Democrats announced #txlege targets, James Henson and Joshua Blank look at the landscape for legislative races, and compare differences and similarities in public opinion in 2018 and 2026. This episode was engineered by Els Brady, and mixed by Uriel Murillo.

In the wake of run-off wins by GOP candidates like Ken Paxton, Mayes Middleton, and Bo French, James Henson and Joshua Blank talk about dynamics in both parties, and what’s comes next in the general election and governing circles in Texas.

James Henson and Joshua Blank join the response to the much-discussed memo from Ragnar Research’s Chris Perkins on signs of sagging participation among Republican primary voters in Texas, and make some connections with the shifting politics of immigration and border security in the Texas GOP. This episode was engineered by Lucas Toussaint and mixed by […]

James Henson and Josh Blank look at the quasi-normal looking polling on the general election matchups for Texas Governor and Lt. Governor, and assess macrolevel indicators of the political mood in Texas. This episode was recorded and edited by Nathan Crews at LAITS Studios.

James Henson and Joshua Blank look at highlights from the just-released UT/Texas Politics Project poll, including resurgent concerns about prices and the economy, the sharp partisan differences fueling overall opposition to the U.S. war with Iran, and some interesting underlying numbers in the U.S. Senate race and the Cornyn/Paxton/Talarico triangle.