Hello Houston: The Commuter Cut

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” our hosts talk with Lisa Lin, Director of the Office of Sustainability for Harris County and Stefania Tomaskovic, Director of Coalition for Environment, Equity, and Resilience to discuss Harris County’s Climate Justice Plan.

Then, we discuss the latest research to fight Alzheimer’s disease with Richard Elbein, CEO of the Houston and Southeast Texas Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Plu...

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Ernie, Frank, and Celeste talk with Brian Greene, President and CEO of the Houston Food Bank, who discusses the possibility of the food bank losing funding due to DOGE cuts.

Then, they talk with Teresa Hodge, co-founder of Mission-Launch, and Josh Pritchett, President of Job1Stop, who both discuss the Bank on 100 Million Houston Hackathon event which helps people with arrest or criminal conv...

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Ernie, Frank, and Celeste talk with Anshumali Shrivastava, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Rice University, who discusses data breaches and what people can do to protect their private information.

Then, they talk with University of Houston Energy Fellow Ed Hirs who shares his thoughts on U.S. relations with China, how far the trade war will go, as well as a possible Houston recess...

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Ernie, Frank, and Celeste talk with Dr. Craig Considine, Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Rice University, who calls in to share his thoughts on the legacy of Pope Francis following his passing this morning.

Then, they discuss the facts and fiction of artificial intelligence with Josh Kaisen, Managing Director of the Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence Institute at UH, who explains how AI ...

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” our hosts talk with Brandon Rottinghaus, University of Houston political science professor and co-host of Houston Public Media’s Party Politics, who discusses everything that’s passed in the Texas Legislature.

Also, we hear from Houston Running Company co-founder Randi Schooley who explains the history of the company and how the event has grown to host over 30 events annually.

Then, Sean Palm...

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Ernie, Frank, and Celeste discuss school vouchers with Josh Cowen, professor of Education Policy at Michigan State University, who shares his thoughts on the school voucher program.

Then, they respond to listeners’ comments about the school vouchers program and Houston City Council’s approval of an ordinance regulating short-term rentals such as those listed on Airbnb and Vrbo.

Plus, we have ...

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," our hosts talk with Bill King from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, who discusses the local economy and answers listeners’ questions.

Also, Rebecca Roberts, Executive Director for the children’s charity CYCLE, discusses the charity’s commitment to early literacy intervention for students in the Greater Houston area.

Then, we discuss adult autism with Donna Wilson and Jacqu...

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Ernie, Frank, and Celeste chat with tax attorney Max Zimmerman, also known as “Max the Tax Man,” who takes listeners’ calls to answer their tax questions, ahead of tomorrow's Tax Day deadline.

Also, Rice University engineering students Emmie Casey and Tomi Kuye talk about their invention – a low-cost vibrotactile glove that can help treat people with Parkinson’s disease.

Then, we hear our hos...

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Ernie, Frank, and Celeste talk with former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards about her run to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Sylvester Turner as representative for Texas' 18th Congressional District.

Then, we chat with musician Brittany Davis about her music career, what inspires her sound, and her performance tonight (April 11, 2025), at the Legendary Art Car Ball at The Orange Show.

Al...

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Ernie, Frank, and Celeste talk with Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee about his run for the 18th Congressional District seat, which was left vacant after the passing of former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

Then, we hear their conversation with ‘A Taste of Ireland’ dancer Aaron O’Grady who explains more about the Irish music and dance sensation and what audiences can expect from the ...

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Ernie, Frank, and Celeste talk with John Diamond, Rice University's Director of the Center for Tax and Budget Policy about Trump's tariffs.

Then, President of the Houston Federation of Teachers Jackie Anderson, weighs in on HISD's new teacher evaluation system. Also, Houston Public Media's Colleen DeGuzman discusses her story about a shortage of school nurses.

Then, our hosts chat with Housto...

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Hello Houston hosts Ernie Manouse, Celeste Diaz Schurman, and Frank Billingsley talk with HISD Superintendent Mike Miles about all things involving the largest school district in Texas.

Then, University of Houston political science professor and Party Politics co-host Brandon Rottinghaus calls in to share insight on Governor Greg Abbott calling for a special election to fill Texas' 18th Cong...

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” our hosts discuss the excitement around the NCAA basketball championship game tonight (April 7, 2025). Houston Mayor John Whitmire calls in to share his excitement for the Houston Cougars.

Then, we hear our hosts talk with Peter Rodriguez, dean of the Jones Graduate School of Business and the Virani Undergraduate School of Business at Rice University, who discusses his new role with the Hous...

In today's edition of "The Commuter Cut," Hello Houston hosts Ernie Manouse, Celeste Diaz Schurman, and Frank Billingsley talk with State Senator Mayes Middleton about SB 379, which prevents those on food assistance from buying unhealthy foods.

Then, they discuss topics such as school vouchers, the “Hands Off! Houston Fights Back” protest, and the measles outbreak in Texas. Dr. Catherine Troisi, infectious disease epidemiologist at ...

In today’s edition of “The Commuter Cut,” Hello Houston hosts Ernie Manouse and Celeste Diaz Schurman discuss President Trump’s tariffs, and how they will affect us here at home with Margaret Kidd, a leading expert on tariffs and program director for the University of Houston Supply Chain and Logistics Technology program.

Also, we hear Ernie Manouse’s conversation with Broadway and TV star Sutton Foster ahead of her one-night concer...

For today's installment of "The Commuter Cut," we hear Hello Houston hosts Ernie Manouse, Celeste Diaz Schurman and Frank Billingsley's conversation with Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher as she weighs in on the current dysfunction in Washington D.C.

Then, we hear Joe Cutrufo, Executive Director of Bike Houston, as he discusses the city’s plan to get rid of bike lanes. Also, entertainer Storm Large discusses her career and upcoming perf...

For today’s installment of “The Commuter Cut,” we hear Hello Houston hosts Ernie Manouse, Celeste Diaz Schurman and Frank Billingsley’s conversation with Houston Mayor John Whitmire in which they dive into issues currently affecting the city of Houston.

Mayor Whitmire addresses why bike lanes are being removed, how he’s approaching solving the city’s budget, whether he’s spoken to Governor Abbott about whether he will schedule a spe...

For today's installment of "The Commuter Cut," we hear Hello Houston hosts Ernie Manouse, Celeste Diaz Schurman, and Frank Billingsley’s conversations with notable Houstonian guests from our inaugural episode. 

We hear from local rapper and owner of Trill Burgers Bun-B, City of Houston Controller Chris Hollins, local comedian and internet personality Chinedu, social media influencer Courtney Zavala and Associate Vice President of UH...