T-Squared: Alexa, meet The Brief

Here at The Texas Tribune, we strive to meet you where you are — be that your computer, phone or social media. We’ve added a new channel to the mix: Amazon Echo. (Yes, your smart speaker can do more than tell you the weather and who won the Astros game.)

Our first foray into smart speakers is The Brief, a daily audio news summary hosted by Alana Rocha. Like our free daily newsletter of the same name, the audio Brief gives you a concise heads-up on what you need to know about Texas news and politics to start your day. For example, here’s a recent episode recapping the conviction of former Texas congressman Steve Stockman.

The audio Brief is available as a Flash Briefing on Echo devices. For the uninitiated, "Flash Briefings" are Amazon’s term for news updates. If you have an Amazon Echo, enable The Brief in the Alexa Skills store. After that, any time you say, “Alexa, what’s my Flash Briefing?” you’ll hear The Texas Tribune Brief.

Don’t have an Echo device? Buy one here or here, and a portion of the sale will benefit the Tribune.

Not an Alexa user? Don’t worry – we have you covered. The Brief is also available as a podcast. Subscribe to it on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher.

Give it a try and let us know what you think by emailing thebrief@texastribune.org. We’re excited to hear from you.