Texas Monthly Talks airs on most Texas public television stations. Please check local listings for confirmation since broadcast dates and times can vary. View the opening clip of Texas Monthly Talks.

August 4: Businessman Clayton Williams (repeat)
It’s been nearly 20 years since Clayton Williams challenged Ann Richards in the Texas Governor’s race, and nearly 20 years since he delivered his infamous “relax and enjoy it” line. But Williams remains a major player in some other big Texas games, including oil and gas, ranching and Texas A&M.

August 11: Editor Ruth Reichl, Gourmet (repeat)
Ruth Reichl talks with Evan Smith about going undercover as a restaurant critic, loving bad meals and discovering her favorite Texas barbecue. (Yes, she names the place.)

August 18: Filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola (repeat)
Francis Ford Coppola would be a legend even if his career had ended with The Godfather and Apocalypse Now.  But he’s written and directed numerous projects since, with more on the way.  Learn about Coppola’s moviemaking, his winemaking and his current role as the subject of a documentary by his wife a bookend to a film she made during the creation of Apocalypse Now.

August 25: Musician Billy Gibbons (repeat)
One look at Billy Gibbons and you know he’s probably not an accountant, or a banker or a lawyer.  The Houston-born musician’s look is as distinctive as the songs he’s written and performed with ZZ Top for nearly forty years.  The band means something important to almost anyone who was a teenager in Texas a teenager anywhere in the ‘70s or the ‘80s or the ‘90s.  And Gibbons’ stories are almost as good as his songs.