KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts

KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond

Archives for October 2018

Kaia Kater: “New Colossus”

Nestled in a dense forest of folk, bluegrass and soul, the lush music of Kaia Kater doesn’t fall under any single category. This Toronto native has been blowing away listeners with her talent on banjo and vocals and a multicultural style that’s equally antiquated and modern, Appalachian and Ontarian, and all around authentic.

Kater’s come a long way since 2013 when she graduated high school and released her debut EP! Next Friday she drops her third full-length Grenades, a fourteen-track album that fragments the genre norms of folk. You can start cooking Grenades early so let’s pull the pin out on the album’s explosive opener, “New Colossus”!

Photo: Raez Argulla

Kelly Jenrette and Melvin Jackson, Jr. (Ep. 45, 2018)

In Black America producer and host John L. Hanson, Jr. speaks with actress Kelly Jenrette and actor, writer and producer Melvin Jackson, Jr., the first African American married couple to both be nominated for Emmy Awards.

Texas Standard: October 15, 2018

Constitutional protections suspended in the name of security: how the so-called border zone is expanding and who if anyone is pushing back. Though the policy of separating families at the border is reported to have ended, the camp housing kids at the Tornillo port of entry is expanding. We’ll get a first hand glimpse inside. Also, Toys R who? with what used to claim to be the world’s biggest toy store out of business, who’s filling the vacuum this holiday season? And seeing the lone star state from a different perspective: a mile in the air. Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:

Heather Morgan: “I Always Did”

She’s already written for Kenny Chesney, Billy Ray Cyrus, Keith Urban (the list goes on and on) and she also just shared something entirely of her own!

Heather Morgan resides in Richardson, Texas and has all the country sensibilities you might associate with such a town name. Only a couple weeks back, Morgan released a dozen new songs in the form of her debut album, Borrowed Heart. It’s got kind of a Kasey Musgraves meets kick-butt-rock vibe to it and you can catch up right now with something composed alongside her songwriting partner Ross Copperman, “I Always Did”!

-Jack Anderson

Higher Ed: Why The College Major May Matter Less Than We’ve Always Thought

Choosing a major. It is a rite of passage for higher education students, and it can feel like a … dare we say it … major decision with lifelong implications. In this episode of KUT’s podcast “Higher Ed,” Southwestern University President Dr. Ed Burger and KUT’s Jennifer Stayton discuss what could – and sometimes should – go into choosing a major plan of study.

Sometime in a student’s higher education career, a decision has to be made about a major – that set of courses that a student chooses in order to study a subject more deeply. For students, the decision can feel like a significant, irrevocable one that can impact the rest of their lives. But Ed suggests dialing back the stress to make that one, perfect decision.

“The major itself is not as important as the experience and the growth opportunities that come from that major,” says Ed. “That’s why you hear so many people, especially in the liberal arts and science, talk about how it doesn’t even matter what your major is. As long as you’re involved and interested and engaged, you will have that growth experience that will allow you to become better and to figure out the next thing you do, and that leads you to the next thing…. because you’re constantly going toward your passion.”

Ed also believes timelines that require students to declare a major at a specific point in time during their college career can discourage academic exploration and excitement about discovering new fields of interest.

“I’d like to see people declaring majors when they really are intellectually fired up about the thing, rather than it’s time to do it.”

Listen to the full episode for more about the process of academic discovery that can lead to declaring a major. It is also time for the solution to the puzzler about escaping a room while avoiding scorching heat and a fire-breathing dragon. Think it can’t be done? Wait til you hear the oh so simple solution!

This episode was recorded on Sept. 28, 2018.

KUT Weekend – October 12, 2018

A local ballot proposition has Austin environmentalists divided. Plus, dockless electric scooters make their debut at the Austin City Limits Music Festival. And On The Media host Brooke Gladstone on the consequences of partisan media bubbles. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!

Subscribe at https://weekend.kut.org

Scooter Culture

We might fancy ourselves as responsible, socially conscious people, but when new technologies such as communal scooters are introduced into our environments all that can easily fly out the window.

In this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about the psychology of scooter culture in Austin.

I’m An Autumn

In some places, fall means colorful leaves, warm jackets or even a coat of frost on pumpkins in the patch. In Texas, it means we get to turn of the air conditioning?

Shakey Graves: “Dining Alone” (Live in Studio 1A) [ACL Fest Preview]

Here we are once again staring down another weekend of ACL – and we couldn’t be more excited! Our final ACL 2018 preview is from native Austinite Alejandro Rose-Garcia, known around the globe as Shakey Graves. Shakey Graves is inseparable from the Austin music experience and when he performs at his hometown’s eponymous music festival, there’s a lot of local love in the crowd (case in point: last Sunday).

Shakey Graves plays this Sunday at Austin City Limits Music Festival, 7:00pm at the Barton Springs Stage. Shakey’s about to embark on an international tour and won’t be back in the states until December but we’ve got lots of goodies to check out in the meantime. Speaking of which…back in April, Shakey Graves released the critically acclaimed full-length Can’t Wake Up and joined us in Studio 1A around the same time. Here’s a cut from that 1A appearance to prime you for this last ACL weekend, “Dining Alone”.

Texas Standard: October 12, 2018

Turkey says it has tapes of the murder and torture of a Washington Post columnsit at the hands of the Saudis. How should the U.S. respond? The disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi is creating geopolitical ripples, as Turkey works with U.S. officials over the Khashoggi affair, and this morning, orders the release of a U.S. pastor detained there. Also, counting casulaties in the wake of Hurricane Michael: after Hurricanes Harvey and Maria, why the numbers don’t seem to add up. Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more. No matter where you are, it’s Texas Standard time.

Texas Standard: October 11, 2018

Amid a national call for accountability, and after years of silence, Texas clergy now say they will name names of priests accused of child sex abuse. The announcement from the 15 dioceses in Texas is seen as an attempt to rebuild trust with the state’s 8.5 million Catholics… but questions linger over the process, and whether justice can be served. Also, while the Florida panhandle assesses damage in the wake of Hurricane Michael, Texas researchers explore the long term implications of what many regard as the worst industrial catastrophe ever to hit the Gulf of Mexico. Plus, surprise findings in a survey on political polarization. Those stories and more, today on the Texas Standard.

Duncan Fellows: “Kerosene” (Live in Studio 1A) [ACL Fest Preview]

Frequent fans of KUTX and lovers of the local music scene alike are sure to recognize the name, Duncan Fellows. And as you might know, this previous KUTX Artist of the Month isn’t one dude, it’s a whole crew of ’em! In the five formal years they’ve been together, the five friends in Duncan Fellows have engineered their indie rock inflections across two EPs and one full-length, most recently with the 2017 album, Both Sides of the Ceiling.

You’ve got plenty of time to catch up with Duncan Fellows’ Studio 1A appearance and My KUTX session before seeing them tomorrow 2:15pm at the Tito’s Handmade Vodka stage. Here’s an awesome hopping off point for Duncan Fellows and a great way to wax into this ACL weekend, the live rendition of “Kerosene”!

Texas Standard: October 10, 2018

As a Category 4 hurricane bears down on the Florida panhandle, parts of Texas Hill Country try to recover from flash flooding. Also, after family separations at the border, a new concern grows: an AP investigation finds deported parents in danger of losing kids to U.S. adoption. Plus, do student athletes have a fundamental right to be protected from concussions? We’ll hear of a closely watched civil rights lawsuit filed by parents of an injured player. And a claim from the campaign trail: is marijuana really legal in most states? We run it by Politifact. All that and more, today on the Texas Standard.

Curtis Roush: “Real Love” (Live in Studio 1A) [ACL Fest Preview]

Historically associated with local post-rock psych outfit Bright Light Social Hour,  Curtis Roush has recently been killing it with his independent chops. Roush released his debut solo album Cosmic Campfire back in February, illuminating an expansive acoustic-psychedelic spectrum of sounds created with a wide array of instruments – entirely performed by Roush himself. Roush joined us in Studio 1A around the same time Cosmic Campfire came out, and you can see him live this Friday, 11:15am at the Miller Lite Stage at Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Relive the 1A magic before making it to Zilker this weekend with the live version of “Real Love”!

Texas Standard: October 9, 2018

After Kavanaugh, the next battle royale on Capitol Hill puts Texas at the center of the conversation: a big push for the border wall. The Kavanaugh confirmation may have had an unexpected consequence: delaying a fight over the border wall until after the midterms. It looks like this one could get ugly. Also, a border battle of a different sort: fending off biological threats. How the Department of Homeland Security’s teaming up with Texas AgriLife. And on the last day for voters to register in Texas, how Texpats in London are getting involved in the biggest statewide race . All that and more, today on the Texas Standard.

This Song Extra: Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe talks to host Elizabeth McQueen after her performance at the Austin City Limits Music Festival about music, love and voting.

Today, October 9th is the last day to register to vote in Texas in order to be eligible to vote on November 6th.

 

Check out kutx.org/voteOur sister station KUT did an article on Everything You Need to Know to Register to Vote in Texas.📸 Gabriel C. Pérez/KUTX

Subscribe via the Podcasts App, iTunes or Stitcher to get the new episodes of This Song delivered to you as soon as they come out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Amen Dunes: “Dracula” [ACL Fest Preview]

A dozen years into his career and far removed from his trailer park origins, New York singer-songwriter Damon McMahon is best known to live audiences and listeners as Amen Dunes. McMahon’s brew of indie, psych and folk has made significant impressions for Amen Dunes’ musical topography, and he just released his fifth full-length Freedom this past Spring.

Three years in the making, Freedom blends fantasy and reality with eleven songs full of introspective ideas about childhood, masculinity and more. Amen Dunes returns to Austin City Limits Music Festival this Sunday, 1pm at the Miller Lite stage! For all you bloodsuckers and hemovores craving a feast of indie-psych-folk, here’s Amen Dunes with “Dracula”!

Texas Standard: October 8, 2018

One day before the deadline to register to vote, Texans set records signing up but thousands who think they’re registered may not be. Plus, an update on families separated at the border: what’s the state of the reunion? Active duty: breastfeeding challenges for military moms. Also, Mattress FIRM? Soft numbers lead to a hard landing for a ubiquitous Texas based retailer billions in debt. And the cult of the machine: a Dallas museum shows how our fascination and fears about the scientific age reshaped our landscape. All that and more, today on the Texas Standard.

×