Houston Public Media’s daily talk show Hello Houston turned one on Tuesday and celebrated with a two-hour anniversary special that packed in City Hall, Memorial Park, NASA and even a trip to the stage version of Back to the Future. The program stitched together civic news, local theater and national headlines, bringing on City Controller Chris Hollins, Memorial Park Conservancy CEO Chris Ballard, Houston comedian Chinedu and Back to the Future co-writer Bob Gale for interviews and roundups.
According to Houston Public Media, the anniversary episode mixed longer conversations with shorter segments across the show’s two-hour block and included an embeddable audio edition for anyone who missed the live broadcast. Garrett Bohlmann is credited as the episode’s producer, and the program continues to publish its daily Hello, Houston email newsletter.
Hollins joined in the first hour to talk through municipal priorities at a time when Houston’s budget is under close scrutiny. The City of Houston notes that he has served as the city’s independently elected chief financial officer since January 2024. His office oversees audits, investments and budget oversight, which made his stop on the anniversary show a timely check-in on the city’s books.
Chris Ballard, president and CEO of the Memorial Park Conservancy, walked listeners through the Memorial Groves plan, a roughly 100-acre redesign meant to honor the park’s World War I Camp Logan roots while adding recreation space, a visitors center and other amenities. The conservancy’s announcement outlines the goals and schedule, and the Houston Chronicle reports the project is expected to open in 2027.
Co-writer Bob Gale reflected on Back to the Future’s staying power and what it took to turn the film into a full-scale stage musical. Theatre Under The Stars is presenting Back To The Future: The Musical at the Hobby Center, where the show is scheduled to run in Houston through Sunday, April 5. Local listings and the Theatre Under The Stars website confirm the run and ticket information.
The hosts also spotlighted NASA’s decision to begin the launch campaign for Artemis II, the agency’s first crewed Artemis flight aimed at a lunar flyby. NASA details the wet dress rehearsal and countdown steps, and the Associated Press has been tracking the agency’s push toward early April launch windows.
The program widened its lens for national stories with local resonance, including children’s entertainer Ms. Rachel’s recent calls to shut down the Dilley Immigration Processing Center after video conversations with children detained there. NBC News reported that one child who appeared in the footage was later released on humanitarian parole, a development advocates say underscores the human stakes behind the policy fight.
As Hello Houston wraps its first year on air, the show is still pitching itself as a daily town square for the city’s conversations. Episode audio and the Hello, Houston newsletter remain available through Houston Public Media for anyone who wants to dig deeper into the topics raised. Producers say they plan to keep pairing local reporting with broader cultural and national stories that ripple through Houston.
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