2015 Tribune Festival: Audio From the State Keynote Track

The State Keynote track at the 2015 Texas Tribune Festival included one-on-one discussions featuring Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick as well as Texas House Speaker Joe Straus, plus a presentation from former State Demographer Steve Murdock. There was also a panel discussion on challenges for big Texas cities, and some outgoing legislators offered their thoughts. Finally, several Republican legislators talked about how conservative they thought this year's legislative session really was. Scroll down to listen to audio from those sessions. 

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick was interviewed by Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith. 

The “Big Cities, Big Challenges” panel, moderated by Texas Standard host David Brown, featured Corpus Christi Mayor Nelda Martinez, Houston Mayor Annise Parker, Austin Mayor Steve Adler and San Antonio Ivy Taylor.

Texas House Speaker Joe Straus was interviewed by Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith.

The Festival's "Their Last Sine Die" panel, moderated by Quorum Report Publisher Harvey Kronberg, featured former state Rep. Joe Farias, D-San Antonio, and state Reps. Allen Fletcher, R-Cypress, Patricia Harless, R-Spring, and Jim Keffer, R-Eastland.

Steve Murdock, the former state demographer and former director of the U.S. Census Bureau, spoke during the "You're Welcome, America: Texas in 2050" session.

The Festival's "Really, How Conservative Was the 84th Session?" panel, moderated by Texas Tribune CEO and Editor-in-Chief Evan Smith, featured state Sens. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, and Konni Burton, R-Colleyville, and state Reps. Stephanie Klick, R-Fort Worth, Matt Rinaldi, R-Irving, and Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford.