In Houston, A Crisis for The Long Haul

Coming up on today’s show:

• Congressman Joaquin Castro represents the 20th district in Texas, and joins the program to discuss political leadership in the state in the face of Harvey, the ways Washington can support the Lone Star State during this time, and what Texans need to know about disputing weather-related property claims during this difficult time.

• Harvey will delay the start of the school year for many students in the greater Houston area, but the destruction in some areas is so severe there are questions about whether they’ll be able to open at all in the coming weeks and months. Suzanne Ransleben, executive director for the Aransas County ISD Education Foundation, looks at the challenges facing students, teachers, and parents. 

• On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis put a temporary freeze on President Trump’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military, pending further research. But the freeze has caused more confusion about the ban and whether Mattis’ move was in lock step with Trump’s vision for the policy. Shawn Snow, a reporter Military Times and Marine Corps veteran, explains. 

• President Trump made a pitch for tax reform during a speech in Springfield, Missouri on Wednesday. It was his first presidential speech specifically-focused on tax policy. Richard Rubin, U.S. tax policy reporter for The Wall Street Journal in Washington, unpacks the president’s address. 

• Amazon purchased Whole Foods for $13.7 billion back in June, and this week the company dropped prices at the country’s biggest premium grocer by 43 percent. We look ahead to how this partnership will affect consumers and their access to affordable groceries, with Brittain Ladd, a strategy consultant who previously worked for Amazon on its grocery business.

• Access to food is becoming an issue in Houston, where supplies are limited or running out at shelters and grocery stores that are still open. Katherine Blunt, business reporter with the Houston Chronicle, weighs in. 

• Insurance experts say that approximately 80 percent of Hurricane Harvey victims do not have flood insurance, which is typically purchased by homeowners with federally-backed mortgages living in Special Flood Hazard Areas. Carolyn Kousky, director of policy research and engagement at the Wharton Risk Center at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses how flood insurance works, and why so few Houstonians have it. 

This episode is hosted by Todd Zwillich.