Audrey McGlinchy

The Bull of the Brazos

As the Texas Railroad Commission falls from global oil dominance, the energy crisis of the 1970s strikes and one gas company cuts power to millions. What comes next brings plenty of political intrigue, and sets up a divided system of energy regulation in Texas unlike anywhere else in the country. We talk about what that means for everyday people and energy reliability right up to today.

Written, reported, produced and co-hosted by Mose Buchele
Co-hosted and produced by Audrey McGlinchy
Produced and edited by Matt Largey
Production help from Rene Chavez and Jake Perlman

The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support our work by becoming a sustaining member at supportthispodcast.org.

The Bar Fight That Changed the World

We tell the story of how the National Guard descended on the East Texas oilfield, the chaos that followed, and how a bar fight in Austin helped establish a new system of energy regulation. Then we talk about World War II, and how the deal struck between Texas regulators and oil companies positioned the US to run the world of energy in the post-war era.

Introducing Season 3 of The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout

The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout is back for a third season, and Growth Machine host Audrey McGlinchy will be co-hosting some of the episodes with Mose Buschele.

In this season of The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout, the podcast explores the history of oil and gas regulation, how the industry became essentially self-regulating — with the help of compliant state regulators — and how some Texas officials continue to see natural gas as the future of electricity production, despite the rapid rise of renewable sources like solar and wind.

In the first episode, you’ll hear the story of a con man and a group of hardscrabble East Texas farmers who uncovered the biggest oilfield in U.S. history — and how that discovery forced an obscure state agency to confront the destructive forces of unrestrained oil drilling.

Listen and Subscribe to The Disconnect: Power, Politics and the Texas Blackout

The Long Con

Hear the story of a con man and a group of hardscrabble East Texas farmers who uncovered the biggest oilfield in U.S. history — and how that discovery forced an obscure state agency to confront the destructive forces of unrestrained oil drilling.

KUT Morning Newscast for August 16, 2024

Central Texas top stories for August 16, 2024. Violent crime in Austin is down compared to last year. A new rule lowering the amount of land required to build a home in Austin goes into effect today. Travis County Constables want to hire more deputies to patrol what they call traffic “hot spots,” but the budget is tight. AISD says its chief financial officer, Ed Ramos, was reinstated Thursday. Travis County has seen a steady rise in new HIV diagnoses since 2020, they are launching a campaign to end the epidemic. There’s a new cooling center in Austin, it’s located in the Trinity Center on East 7^th street.

KUT Morning Newscast for August 15, 2024

Central Texas top stories for August 15, 2024. The Austin City Council adopted a $5.9 budget, the largest in the city’s history. Homes in the City of Austin are taking longer to sell and are more expensive than last year. Peter Pan Mini Golf will stay open until March 2025. A prescribed burn is scheduled to take place on the Water Quality Protection Lands today, Austinites might see smoke. Georgetown and Lago Vista ISD are going back to school today.

KUT Morning Newscast for August 1, 2024

Central Texas top stories for August 1, 2024. A UT Austin committee says the university administrators violated their own rules when handling pro-Palestinian protests in April. The Austin City Council is holding a public hearing today on the proposed $5.9 billion dollar city budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The San Marcos Police Department is making changes in response to calls for greater transparency. Williamson County is looking to attract more space exploration companies.

Texas Extra: Growth Machine — We Planned This

In this Texas Extra, you’ll hear the first episode of the new podcast Growth Machine: How Austin Engineered its Housing Market.

Austin has grown a lot in recent years — and the East Side has been impacted the most. To understand the city’s pattern of displacement, we have to go back to 1928.

Listen to Growth Machine: https://kutkutx.studio/category/growth-machine

We’re experimenting with bonus episodes here at the Texas Standard and we’d love to know what you think. You can let us know here: https://www.texasstandard.org/contact-us/

How Austin’s housing market helped build the music scene, and how it could destroy it

In the latest episode of Pause/Play, we’re looking at how the housing market helped build Austin’s music scene, and how it could be the thing that destroys it. You’ll hear from Austin artists about how the housing market has changed for them over the years and why some of them have decided to leave. You’ll also learn about the connection between cheap housing and thriving music scenes, musician incomes, and Austin’s housing market from experts Nicky Rowling, Michael Seman, and Audrey McGlinchy.

In this episode you’ll hear from:

Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel
Robert A. Kraft
Laura Mendoza from Cosmic Chaos
Gina Chavez
Chinasa Broxton

Listen to the documentary “Back Home to the Armadillo”