KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts
KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
An oil spill in the Gulf is considered to be among the worst in U.S. history. After two weeks, why is it getting so little attention?
We’ll hear about an unintended impediment to the growth of electric vehicle manufacturing in the U.S.
After a political fight over a school voucher-like program, salary bumps for Texas teachers are off the table. Why some teachers say they’re OK with that.
Also: What’s behind Mark Cuban’s sale of the Dallas Mavericks, and what could it mean?
At least three members of Congress from North Texas have decided not to run for re-election. Is it a broader signal for Texas politics? Alexandra Samuels of Texas Monthly has more.
One man and thousands of open records requests: A push for government accountability? Or something else?
Texas veterinarians are keeping a close eye on the spread of a deadly respiratory illness affecting dogs. We’ll learn more about what to look for.
And Texas food pantries say they’re serving more families than ever.
Arguments are set for today in a challenge to Texas’ near-total abortion ban. Eleanor Klibanoff of the Texas Tribune with more about a major abortion case before the state Supreme Court.
A securities case before the U.S. Supreme Court could destroy the U.S. government, according to some critics. We’ll try to sort the hyperbole from the facts.
A Texas-based international relations expert weighs in with more on the extended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
They call it cedar fever season – only there’s no fever, and for some, the suffering lasts more than a season. Top tips for dealing with a Texas scourge.
The Texas Standard team wants to know what you think about the Texas Standard podcast! Take the Texas Standard Podcast survey
Gov. Greg Abbott is issuing political endorsements, in what may be the first step in promised payback against some fellow Republicans. Also, a closer look at the governor’s own possible political ambitions.
Early voting gets underway in Houston’s mayoral runoff, and a new poll shows state Sen. John Whitmire with a seven-point lead over U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
Cow pies and black flies: the future of agricultural food? A Texas A&M professor explains.
Plus, just how nuts is it out there? We’ll hear what’s behind the large numbers of acorns all over the place.
For lots of folks in the Lone Star State, the holiday shopping season is underway. In recent years, the latest high-tech toy has become a red-hot commodity on the big shopping day after Thanksgiving. But this hour, we’ve got some alternatives for those willing to go a different direction.
Giving the gift of reading can be one of the best options out there; a great book can turn into a lifelong treasure. This hour, the Texas Standard team’s gathered up some of our favorite reads by Texas authors – and you may want to take notes.
It’s been a political season in Texas like few others in recent memory. After a legislative session and four special sessions, where do we stand?
November 22, 1963: It was on this date 60 years ago that a sunny Friday in Dallas turned into one of the darkest days in the history of the United States. We’ll hear firsthand accounts from two who were there in John F. Kennedy’s presidential motorcade when shots rang out in Dealey Plaza, and the world held its breath.
What does Congress’ budget deal to avert a partial government shutdown mean for food and the farmers and ranchers who produce it? We’ll hear more on the Farm Bill extension, and the implications for Texas.
The push for police accountability: An investigative report from the Austin American-Statesman reveals that police indictments rarely lead to convictions.
Last weekend’s destructive rocket launch was a big fail for SpaceX – or was it? What explains radically mixed reviews of the Starship test launch.
Plus the harrowing account of a Texas hiker, lost in Big Bend Ranch State Park in triple-digit heat, and his near-miraculous survival.
The Texas Standard team wants to know what you think about the Texas Standard podcast! Take the Texas Standard Podcast survey
After seven months pushing a school voucher-like plan, Gov. Greg Abbott gets a firm pushback from fellow Republicans. Scott Braddock of the Quorum Report shares the latest.
Mexico plans to offer “know your rights” educational sessions in Texas as lawmakers send a wide-ranging border security bill to the governor.
Amid slowing sales of EV’s, one city in Texas seems to be leading the switch away from gas pumps to charging stations.
The past legislative session saw the filing of a historic number of bills impacting LGBT Texans – but that’s just the latest effort in what’s been a half-century of criminalizing these communities, according to a new investigation from KXAN TV.
For the first time in modern memory, the Texas House is set to take up a school voucher-like plan.
How do you put a price tag on a state park? We’ll hear more about the challenges facing Texas Parks and Wildlife as it tries to reclaim parkland purchased by developers.
In a dramatic U-turn this week, China’s president appears to be trying to warm up to the U.S. Some clues as to why might be found in a new report from the Dallas Federal Reserve.
Also: What some forecasters are calling a “super El Niño” is coming soon to Texas.
New Texas schoolbooks are raising concerns about the long-term implications for attitudes about climate change.
The state-appointed board now running Houston’s independent school district is dealing with more than what’s happening in the classroom, but also struggling to regain trust.
Apple weighs in on a push to give consumers the right to repair their gadgets. What that means for a growing “right to repair” consumer movement.
Plus, plans to build a major energy plant on the Texas coast on hold after a court rules Texas regulators should have applied stricter emissions standards.
The Texas Standard team wants to know what you think about the Texas Standard podcast! Take the Texas Standard Podcast survey
As the first week of a fourth special session draws to a close, the Senate passes a voucher-like plan for education.
A teacher shortage and what a new study tells us about the implications of past plans to bring in and retain teachers in Texas classrooms.
The independent market monitor for the Texas power grid steps down after blowing the whistle on what she claims were artificially inflated energy prices.
Texas, once a red-hot housing market, has lost a lot of sizzle, yet many still struggle to get a house of their own. We’ll take a closer look at what’s happening.
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry with the Typewriter Rodeo.
The fourth largest earthquake on record in Texas struck Wednesday out west, renewing concerns about fracking and seismic activity. Erin Douglas of the Texas Tribune with more on yesterday’s temblor and what researchers and regulators are saying about it.
The latest on a runoff for mayor in Texas’ biggest city.
In San Antonio, plans to close several public schools getting pushback from communities targeted for closure.
The economics of electric vehicles: Is the race to EVs losing power?
And voters in Ohio approve ballot measures on abortion and marijuana this week. Why such measures aren’t likely to land on Texas ballots anytime soon.
The votes are in, and Texans have given the green light to 13 of 14 amendments to the Texas constitution. The Texas Tribune’s Karen Brooks Harper shares a rundown of how the state propositions fared.
Public media reporters statewide join us with updates on key local races across the Lone Star State.
Nuclear power plants, once the target of major protests, are now winning over many Texans looking for lower carbon energy alternatives.
And what some have considered a guilty pleasure: Why more readers are taking the plunge into romance novels. One of the genres’ top authors, Ali Hazelwood, joins us.
Several of the biggest cases before the Supreme Court this term originated in Texas, including United States v. Rahimi, which centers around the constitutionality of prohibiting people under domestic violence restraining orders from possessing guns.
There are growing concerns about near misses at airports – and the Austin airport in particular is drawing a lot of attention.
The driverless taxi company Cruise suspended its service in Texas and elsewhere, pending a review of accidents. What’s next in the driverless car space?
Plus a conversation with a musician many consider the original queen of outlaw country: Jessi Colter discusses her 13th studio album, “Edge of Forever.”
With the Legislature’s third special session set to conclude Tuesday, a major measure is now apparently on hold: The Texas Newsroom’s Julián Aguilar gets us up to speed on a controversial immigration bill.
Fourteen constitutional amendments are on the ballot in Tuesday’s statewide election. Here’s a crash course on the propositions before Election Day.
Thirteen guards have resigned or been fired after the beating of a Texas prison inmate. We’ll hear about growing concerns over a shortage of staffing and training leading to a rise in prison violence.
Also: Energy analyst Matt Smith explains the drop in Texas gas prices as geopolitical tensions ramp up in the Middle East.
After almost seven weeks, striking autoworkers reach deals with the Big 3 automakers. Why Texas played a critical role.
Scientists recently got to see a collision of two stars in space – and its aftermath.
The president has released an executive order on artificial intelligence. How far does it go, and will it go far enough?
The tale of Goatman’s Bridge has a history that haunts Texas to its core. The Standard’s Sean Saldana takes us to Denton for the story.
And: What would Texas cryptids look like in real life? We visited an elementary school art class to get some ideas.
A special session is at an impasse over one of the governor’s top agenda items: Gov. Greg Abbott says if the Texas Legislature doesn’t pass his proposal to use tax dollars to cover private school tuition, he’ll keep calling lawmakers back to the Capitol until they do.
Remembering Roky Erickson, a Texas pioneer in psychedelic music.
A marine science professor at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley is leading a project to build an artificial reef to capture carbon and reduce global warming.
Why seasonal pop-up stores like Spirit Halloween haunt efforts at smart urban planning.
And we’ll talk to Paul Bowman, an archaeologist by profession – and also a Bigfoot expert who’s tracked the elusive sasquatch all over East Texas and Oklahoma.
Where do we stand with education in the special legislative session? With Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas House at a deadlock over school vouchers.
The Federal Aviation Administration estimates that by 2035, one person could be injured or killed by falling SpaceX Starlink debris every two years.
As the World Series gets underway tonight in Arlington; North Texans share what their hometown Texas Rangers mean to them — and why they’ve never lost faith.
Also: the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
With the Texas House and Senate in special session, border security is taking center stage – including one measure that sparked a verbal brawl in the state Capitol on Wednesday night.
Tech expert Omar Gallaga tells us why social media companies are de-emphasizing news, and what that means.
Also, a new poll from the Texas Public Policy Project shares clues on where Texans stand on the eve of the 2024 election cycle.
A plan to boost payments to retired teachers will be up to Texas voters next month. We’ll have the backstory and details on Proposition 9.
Five thousand union workers walked off the job at the Arlington General Motors plant, which builds some of GM’s most profitable vehicles.
College football pay to play? Not OK, says the NCAA. Yet an investigation of recruitment shows how officials look the other way – and it’s happening a lot in Texas.
And just in time for Halloween, something wicked is coming to Garland: A celebration of Texas’ role in the horror film genre.