Ernie Manouse and Frank Billingsley Bring Fresh Energy to Hello, Houston!

Vibrant and trusted Houston media personalities Ernie Manouse and Frank Billingsley, along with Celeste Diaz Schurman, are serving up smart conversations, heartfelt storytelling, and occasional dad jokes every weekday on Houston Public Media. Hello, Houston! is their new show that blends the affable gravitas of the two beloved media veterans with the bustling energy of Houston. Manouse and Billingsley consider the show to be more than just a gig. It’s a return to form, a reinvention, and a love letter to the city that they’ve both helped shape.

A staple format for any public-media outlet, Hello, Houston! didn’t emerge from thin air. Like a phoenix, this program was born from the ashes of Town Square, the community-driven show that held space for the important conversations happening during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When we were far enough away from COVID, Houston Public Media  wanted to come back with something,” Manouse explains. “They wanted to still do what we were doing, but build a bigger imprint using all this technology.”

That vision also called for multiple personable hosts who had strong ties to the Houston community. “They wanted someone like a Frank Billingsley,” Manouse says with a smile. As fate would have it, Billingsley happened to be itching for a new project after retiring from KPRC-TV in July 2024.

Billingsley’s so-called “VIP retirement”—made up of “vodka, internet, and pickleball,” he jokes—lasted all of two months before he texted Manouse out of the blue. “He was already tired of retirement,” Manouse laughs. “I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, we’ve got something you would be perfect for.’”

For Billingsley, the timing and fit were perfect. “I never got tired of doing weather and being a communicator,” he says. “I just didn’t really like the schedule anymore.” The new show offers a 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. window and the luxury of doing in-depth, issues-based journalism without the hurdles of commercial TV.

“What we’re doing is, I think, really good, solid journalism,” Billingsley says. “We’ve never once been coached. We’ve never once been told, ‘You can or cannot talk about this or that.’ We’re left totally up to our thoughts and whims.”

Launched in March, Hello, Houston! is broadcast on News 88.7 FM and also available for streaming on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts, among others. The multi-platform show is built for how contemporary audiences consume media, which includes a robust presence on Instagram. Additionally, the podcast is available in both full-length and 40-minute commuter-cut versions.

“You don’t have to find us. We’ll find you,” Manouse says. “We’re everywhere you are. And that seems to be the future of media.”

The three hosts and their small but mighty behind-the-scenes staff embody their mission of serving the audience. “Unlike in commercial television where you’re serving the ads, we’re serving the audience,” Manouse explains. “We’re not looking at audience size. We’re looking at the quality of the message.”

“We can do what we want, when we want, and how we want,” Billingsley agrees. “As long as the people that watch and listen to us are happy, then we keep doing it. It’s a different formula.”

The chemistry among the trio of hosts is palpable, both on the air and off. Though Billingsley and Manouse may “check some similar boxes,” as Manouse puts it, their life experiences are distinct. Add in Celeste, a first-generation American and millennial mom of two with deep ties to the community, and it’s easy to understand how Hello, Houston! manages to have layered, poignant conversations daily.

“It’s like Only Murders in the Building—two old white guys and a cute Latin chick,” Billingsley jokes. “Two old white gay guys, to be certain.”

But for Houston Public Media and this show specifically, it is not just about representation. It’s truly about perspective. “We bring different knowledge to the subjects, different ways of viewing it,” Billingsley notes. “Sometimes we disagree. Sometimes we completely agree. Sometimes we’re in the middle.”

Though they’re quick with quips, neither Manouse nor Billingsley are afraid of going deep. Recent shows have tackled topics such as school vouchers, anti-trans legislation, and other political minefields Texas residents must traverse daily.

“I lost my best friend—two of my best friends—to AIDS,” Billingsley shares. “That’s a different perspective that I bring to the whole conversation. Only so many of us have that history. A lot of us didn’t survive it.”

Born in 1960, Billingsley has witnessed historic progress, including his own marriage to his partner, Kevin, in 2012. Still, he fears the pendulum may be swinging back. “We’ve already lost rights for transgender people. Those are already being challenged,” he reflects. “And certainly, the whole Roe v. Wade was demolished in front of our eyes.”

Despite its sometimes timely and sobering moments, Hello, Houston! is not a gloom-and-doom show. It offers a space where complex issues meet human stories, and where these media veterans can still find joy and surprise.

“We’re not here to tell you what to think,” Manouse emphasizes. “We’re here to help you learn to think.”

“If people know where you’re coming from, then I think they’ll connect with you,” Billingsley adds. “They want to hear from us because they feel like they know us.”

Moreover, their multifaceted presence on the airwaves offers visibility that’s both intentional and organic. “We’re not caring about just one or two topics,” Manouse says. “We care about politics. We care about schools. We care about the arts. We care about business and medicine. We care about it all.”

What makes Hello, Houston! special isn’t just the innovative approach to distribution on multiple platforms. It’s also the camaraderie of the people behind the mic and the team of producers that support the program.

“There’s probably more laughter in our offices than anything else,” Manouse admits. “More than any work that gets done.”

Billingsley, always quick with a pun, chimes in: “I’m too old to have Grindr, so I downloaded Reminder. ‘Eat. Take pills.’”

For longtime fans of Manouse and Billingsley and first-time listeners alike, Hello, Houston! offers a bit of everything: heart, humor, and the unmistakable warmth of familiar voices that have earned Houston’s trust.

Hello Houston is your live weekday connection to the heart of the Bayou City. It airs Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Houston Public Media News 88.7.