Podcast
Southlake
Hosted by NBC News · EN
Southlake, Texas, seems to have it all: stately homes, intense civic pride, and above all, terrific schools. So when a video surfaced in 2018 showing Southlake high school students chanting the N-word—and when Black residents came forward to share stories of racist harassment and bullying—the school board vowed to make changes. But the unveiling of the Cultural Competence Action Plan set off a backlash that’s consumed Southlake, fueled by a growing national crusade against critical race theory. Hosted by NBC News national reporter Mike Hixenbaugh (host of the hit podcast Do No Harm) and NBC News correspondent Antonia Hylton, Southlake tells the story of how one idyllic city became the test case for a new political strategy with national repercussions.
11episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Dateline Presents: Trace of Suspicion
Mar 1000:02:56Tap to summarizeAs a bonus for Southlake fans, we’re sharing the trailer for Trace of Suspicion, an all-new original podcast series from Dateline and Josh Mankiewicz. After seemingly healthy 23-year-old Marine Todd Sommer dies unexpectedly, his widow Cindy’s lavish spending, cosmetic surgery, and wild partying raise investigators’ suspicions. They accuse her of poisoning him with arsenic for his life insurance, setting off a criminal case that takes a stunning turn... Josh Mankiewicz sits down with the woman at the center of it all in Dateline’s newest podcast. If you like what you hear, just search Trace of Suspicion to listen to the first two episodes now, completely free. Or subscribe to Dateline Premium on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or DatelinePremium.com. Subscribers get early access to new episodes and can listen to all Dateline podcasts ad-free. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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They Came for the Schools
May 14, 202400:40:40Tap to summarizeIn an exclusive audio excerpt from Chapter 1 of “They Came for the Schools: One Town's Fight Over Race and Identity, and the New War for America's Classrooms,” author Mike Hixenbaugh uncovers Southlake’s history, demonstrating how policies meant to protect the town from outside development a half-century ago helped plant the seeds for conflicts over diversity, equity and inclusion—conflicts that are now tearing apart suburbs across the nation.For more details and to purchase the book, on sale May 14, 2024, follow this link: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/they-came-for-the-schools-mike-hixenbaugh?variant=41284682088482 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Grapevine - Ep. 6: A Final Lesson
Nov 27, 202300:49:07Tap to summarizeGrapevine goes to the polls in a contentious school board election driven by the fight over the role of religion and LGBTQ inclusion in public schools. As the dust settles, Ren reflects on the impact of her mother’s allegations. And, after months of feeling as if she’s had to erase herself, Em Ramser reclaims her voice. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Grapevine - Ep. 5: Open The Floodgates
Nov 27, 202300:44:42Tap to summarizeEvangelical activists open a new front in their campaign to impose their version of biblical morality in public schools — at the Texas statehouse. While legislators debate bills requiring the Ten Commandments and banning mention of gender identity in classrooms, three nonbinary students share the trauma they’ve endured at Grapevine High. Meanwhile, a coalition of progressive parents and disillusioned conservatives pledge to retake control of their school system. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Grapevine - Ep. 4: A Raging Fire
Nov 27, 202300:43:09Tap to summarizeWeston Brown, 28, sees a video of his homeschooling mother calling for dozens of books on sexuality and gender to be banned from public schools in another Texas school district. To counter her political activism, Weston publicly shares his story of growing up gay in a fundamentalist Christian family. Feeling pressured by parents and school officials, Em Ramser removes LGBTQ symbols from her classroom and no longer recognizes the teacher she’s become. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Grapevine - Ep. 3: A Harvest Is Coming
Nov 27, 202300:47:43Tap to summarizeAmid a growing anti-trans backlash, Ren devises a plan to get out of Texas — and away from her mother. In Grapevine, Sharla’s claim that teacher Em Ramser “infected” her child with lies about gender triggers online attacks, leading Ramser to consider leaving the profession. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Grapevine - Ep. 2: The Seven Mountains
Nov 27, 202300:44:26Tap to summarizeConservatives are gaining power in Grapevine, fueled by a once-fringe movement that calls on evangelicals to control the seven key “mountains” of American society — including education. A cellphone company with a Christian nationalist agenda heeds that call and sets its sights on winning school board seats in Grapevine, following an example set a year earlier in the neighboring city of Southlake.CORRECTION (Oct. 4, 2023, 08:40 p.m. ET): A previous version of this episode misstated the amount of money Patriot Mobile Action spent in school board elections in North Texas in spring 2022. It was nearly $500,000, not $600,000. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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Grapevine - Ep. 1: The Girl And The English Teacher
Nov 27, 202300:43:21Tap to summarizeA mother named Sharla publicly accuses a high school teacher in Grapevine, Texas, of using a graphic novel called “The Prince and the Dressmaker” to convince her child to change genders. Reporters Mike Hixenbaugh and Antonia Hylton set out to investigate the allegation. Sharla’s child, Ren, and Ren’s English teacher, Em Ramser, tell them a different story. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Books and Backlash
Mar 6, 202200:37:21Tap to summarizeThe fight over diversity in Southlake’s Carroll Independent School District is back in the headlines and has a new focus — books. Teachers are worried about a new Texas law that limits instruction on contentious topics, and one of them secretly records a meeting in which a Carroll administrator offers an unexpected piece of advice: If teachers share books about the Holocaust with students, the administrator says, then they should also offer books on “opposing perspectives.” Teachers are incredulous, and the recording sets off an international backlash. In this special bonus episode, we speak with a former librarian at Carroll Senior High School, who retired early instead of continuing to navigate the battle over books, as well as a 12-year-old student whose mother pulled him out of the district after he faced severe bullying over his sexuality. And we have new details on what could be a game-changing development in Southlake: a federal civil rights investigation into students’ complaints of discrimination.If you or someone in your life is in distress, you can always call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The toll-free number, 800-273-8255, connects you to a certified crisis center nearby. For more resources, click here. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Beyond the Bubble
Oct 4, 202100:36:57Tap to summarizeFive months after the high-stakes local election in Southlake, the city is gearing up for yet another contentious vote. One of the school board members who supported the diversity plan, retired Air Force Col. Dave Almand, is stepping down, and the battle over diversity programs is at the center of the fight to replace him. But he’s far from the only leader to leave a role in public schools this year following attacks from parents opposed to what they see as the quiet creep critical race theory. For this special bonus episode, we sit down with a panel of four educators from across the country who’ve come under fire, including James Whitfield, the first Black principal at a high school a town over from Southlake, whose school board has begun a formal process that could lead to his termination. The educators discuss how the anti-CRT movement is driving them out of their careers—and away from their students. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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