Research Library

Houston Mayor John Whitmire just marked 100 days in office. Our latest episode of Baker Briefing features a conversation between Whitmire and fellow Edward M. Emmett on the city’s past and future, hosted in front of a live audience at Baker Hall on April 3, 2024.

In months and years following Hurricane Harvey, the vast majority of Harris County residents supported policy action to mitigate the impact of future natural disasters. On this episode of Baker Briefing, fellow Edward Emmett and Rice faculty scholar Jim Blackburn explore a critical question: Is Houston ready for the next big storm?

In the United States, drug overdose deaths are on the rise. In 2022, CDC researchers reported that 110,236 people died from an overdose in a single 12-month period, setting a new record. Synthetic opioid overdose deaths, primarily due to fentanyl, increased nearly 7.5-fold from 2015 to 2021. In Texas, the number of fentanyl-related deaths rose dramatically — from 883 deaths in 2020 to 1,672 deaths in 2021. While Republican lawmakers in Texas have previously opposed harm reduction policies, many have signaled a desire to take policy action to combat the crisis in the 2023 legislative session.