KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts

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

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Good Looks: “Vaughn” [Live In Studio 1A]

Support for KUTX’s Love Austin Music Month coverage comes from Eldorado Cafe, embracing a community of folks who believe sharing food and music feeds the soul.

Good Looks! You know Good Looks. Our May 2022 Artist of the Month was fairly quiet throughout 2025, but they’re kicking off the new year in perfect Austin fashion with a Free Week Show this Saturday at Mohawk right before the Bright Light Social Hour, almost like a metaphorical torch passing between eras of Austin indie darlings. And sure, they sound fantastic on the radio, but their live show will consume you. The line-up rounds out with Parker Woodland and Hayden Butler.

How Austinites may be affected with Affordable Care Act subsidies expired

As we embark on the new year, many are expecting higher costs for the health care they need to live their best lives. That’s after Congress failed to extend subsidies to the Affordable Care Act during last year’s government shutdown and ahead of the new year deadline. We’ll talk about how Austinites and Texans will be affected in 2026.
The City of Austin and a former APD officer are being sued for excessive force. Austin has struggled for years to change the culture at APD’s training academy. We’ll have more about both those stories on today’s show.
Plus, we’ve got some advice on how to best achieve those financials goals you set for 2026.

haha laughing: Pulled Apart By Horses

Support for KUTX’s Love Austin Music Month coverage comes from Eldorado Cafe, embracing a community of folks who believe sharing food and music feeds the soul.

I like to say that Free Week is a time for exploration, moving on feeling, looking to be pulled in by sound and locked into place. And if you’re looking for something totally off the wall that you’ll spend the rest of the year trying to describe to your friends, look no further than haha Laughing. The experimental noise rap group duo of Jay Dilick and Aby Oviedo blends hardcore, rap, free-jazz, electronic, and other elements, creating sublime shambolic chaos. It’s like a stone soup of sound, to be understood only through experience, as they nourish the villagers their audience.

haha Laughing plays a Free Week show this Saturday at Chess Club with Night Ritualz, Die Mart, and more!

Crime statistics for Austin trended downward in 2025

Crime statistics for Austin trended downward in 2025, with the city experiencing the lowest number of murders this decade. We’ll talk about the trends, both locally and nationally, and discuss why the sentiment that crime is rising still persists.

Also, the city has released an updated design plan for a revamped Sixth Street. What will it look like and when will that work begin?

Plus, the first full week of January means it’s Free Week in Austin. Some of the city’s finest musicians will be putting on shows in venues across the city. We’ll have a lay of the land and let you know what our sister station KUTX is cooking up.

Je’Texas: “California Sun” [Live In Studio 1A]

Support for KUTX’s Love Austin Music Month coverage comes from Eldorado Cafe, embracing a community of folks who believe sharing food and music feeds the soul.

It’s Free Week, baby! Time to see your favorite groups you haven’t seen in a while, check out bands you haven’t seen but perhaps have heard on your favorite radio station, and the perfect opportunity to bounce around and discover your next favorite Austin artist. And Song of the Day is celebrating all week long.

Our January 2023 Artist of the Month Je’Texas is steeped in nostalgia. Specifically, the shimmery, hazy days of following jam bands around the country, blending a bit into the old cosmic cowboy days of Austin past. They subvert being wholly nostalgic with a balancing act of grit, tempo changes, and off-the-wall moments that keep you on your toes. After taking a break from the studio, the trio released their 2nd album Suit Yourself back in October, but we’re throwing back even farther, revisting an old favorite from their 2019 debut album, performed live in Studio 1A.

New year, new Texas laws on the books

The start of 2026 brings a bevy of new laws across the state, with a focus on taxes. Other new legislation focuses on artificial intelligence and how sheriff’s offices will work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

New toll lanes have opened on 183 North, and the additional access could mean increased traffic on your drive home.

Looking to cut back on distractions in the new year? We’ve got some techniques that you can use to keep your focus strong in 2026.

Reflecting on the year in Austin as 2025 winds down

It’s the final day of 2025, and we’ve been taking some time to listen back and reflect on the year that was here in Austin.

Austinites love supporting local shops and restaurants, but the hard truth is that running any kind of business is the city is a difficult and expensive pursuit. A look back at some local businesses that shuttered their doors for good this year.

Plus: New Year’s festivities bring on annual traditions — have you got yours ready? Come and share some good home cookin’ with us.

What Austin called 311 about in 2025

This year, Austinites reached out to 311 with 285,000 requests, covering everything from garbage and loud music to animal bites and scooters. We’ve got more about those requests —  and some coyotes.

KUT News launched a new desk in 2025: the Art Beat. We’re talking about the year in arts in Austin, including the return of a beloved outdoor gallery and the venues that are planning for the future.

The Texas Longhorns wrap up their football season tomorrow against Michigan. It’s not the ending fans and pundits predicted at the start of the year, but perhaps things aren’t as dark as they seem.

Reflecting on the year of news in Austin

It’s the last week of 2025, and we’re reflecting on the year of news here in Austin, including:
Resolution in a decades-long cold case known as the Yogurt Shop Murders.
The summer’s deadly flooding in Austin and Central Texas.
School campuses set to shutter across the city.

We’re also taking a look at the status of Austin’s housing market heading into the new year.

Plus: Another favorite track from 2025, and a look at some of the artists we lost this year.

What it’s like to work as a Paramount usher

It’s been a busy year, and KUT’s multimedia team has been capturing the moments that defined Austin in 2025. So which ones stood out most?  Visuals Editor Deborah Cannon takes us through the year in photos.

The Paramount Theatre is known for hosting unforgettable events — but have you ever wondered how audiences find their seats in the rush before showtime? What it’s like to work as an usher.

The year is winding down, but we still have songs for ya! Technical director Rayna Sevilla shares her top song of the year.

Plus: More local news coverage is headed to Austin with the launch of the Austin Current.

Caldwell library expands adult education classes

A library in Caldwell has become a beacon of hope for adults looking to get their GED or further their education — and volunteers are helping make that possible. The Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch has the story.

A look back at major developments in the business world this year and how they’re shaping the Austin area.

A Minnesota-based program that creates music inspired by stories of children in need worked with a 9-year-old Austin boy with a fatal genetic disorder on a piece that was performed by the Austin Children’s Choir.

Records in Ken Paxton divorce case are unsealed

Records in the divorce case for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have been unsealed after a judge’s order. We’re talking with the Texas Newsroom’s Lauren McGaughy to find out what that means for the case.

Travelers at the Austin airport will soon have more options. KUT transportation reporter Nathan Bernier has the details on the newest flights coming to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.

Plus: a look inside the Press Room in Hyde Park, which is home to a vintage letterpress and a vast collection of original cinema advertising prints.

A Year In Review 2025

On this episode we review our favorite moments from the show as well as our favorite moments from the culture at large. Hip-hop facts include facts about Jim Carrey, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and more. Fresh’s last Unpopular Opinion of the year is that dancing is more apart of hip-hop than people want to admit.

Austin reaches labor contract deal with city’s firefighters

Austin has reached a four-year, $63 million contract deal with the city’s firefighters, ending months of negotiations with the Austin Firefighters Association.

Calling all bird enthusiasts: Texas Standard’s Raul Alonzo explains what a bird count is, why it matters, and how you can take part.

KUTX’s Confucius Jones, one half of hip-hop podcast The Breaks, shares his favorite song of the year.

Plus: If you’re looking for TV shows to watch over the holidays, Jennifer Morgan, the ATX TV Festival’s head of programming, joins us with some picks.

Grace Sorensen: “Cologne” [Live At the Hole In the Wall]

KUTX’s Artist of the Month Program is powered by PNC Bank.

Fresh off her debut full-length BLUEPRINT, Austin R&B/soul singer (and our August Artist of the Month) Grace Sorensen has made it abundantly clear she is a force to be reckoned with. Well before her debut LP dropped, Sorensen had become an integral part of Austin’s R&B and rap scenes — including a guest appearance on BLK ODYSSY’s debut album, BLK VINTAGE, and a single featuring Austin rap group Magna Carda for some guest verses. She’s also been an official SXSW artist, performed at ACL Festival, AND opened for Diana Ross.

Today we’re sharing another preview of our new series The Hole Story. Think of it as MTV: Unplugged, but Austin. Short, stripped-down story-driven solo sets by some of our favorite Austin musicians performed on The Hole In the Wall’s famous front stage. And starting January 16th, we’ll be sharing new installments every week online, on-air, and right here with Song of the Day. Sorensen’s full episode will premiere on February 6th.

State making list of trans Texans using driver’s license data

The state of Texas is collecting information on transgender Texans using data from driver’s licenses — and it’s not clear what exactly that information is being used for. The Texas Newsroom’s investigative reporter and editor, Lauren McGaughy, has the story.

The Trump administration is looking to make changes to federal policy that could affect how homeless service providers do their work here in the Austin area. We sit down with Kate Moore from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition to learn more.

Under the twinkling lights of the 37th Street Lights is a surprising group of fluffy friends ready to be adopted. The price for a stuffed animal? One simple task.

How Austin is preparing to keep outages minimal this winter

The National Weather Service is forecasting warmer and drier-than-normal conditions for the Austin area this winter — but high-impact storms are still possible. What city officials and Austin Energy are doing to keep potential winter storm outages to minimum.

Austin music legend Joe Ely has died at 78. Jeff McCord, KUT and KUTX’s former music director, reflects on the life of Texas-born singer-songwriter.

We’ll also hear from another KUTX-er Marnie Castor gives us her favortie song coming out of Austin for 2025.

If you’ve lived in Austin long enough, you’ve seen the words “violet crown” around town — but what does it mean, and why are there so many? ATXplained digs in.

Chaparelle: “Devil’s Music” [Live In Studio 1A]

KUTX’s Artist of the Month program is powered by PNC Bank.

Texas band Chaparelle harkens back to a golden era of country with modern lyrics. What started as a mind-meld between Zella Day and Jesse Woods in 2023 not only evolved into a match on its way towards matrimony, but also into a trio, originally working with Beau Bedford in a producer role before he became part of the band full time. And it’s the magic among the three that puts Chaparelle on-track to be in the same discussions as Paul Cauthen, Leon Bridges, and Orville Peck (all artists Beauford has done production for).

The melodies, storytelling, and twangy vocals of Day and Woods set the group solidly in the modern era of golden country, and that power will be on full display this New Year’s Eve at Auditorium Shores with the Head & the Heart, The Point., and Tameca Jones. The show is free, all ages, and open to the public.

Teethe: “Holy Water” [Live In Studio 1A]

KUTX’s Artist of the Month program is powered by PNC Bank.

Our October Artist of the Month. Teethe was formed up in the DIY music enclave of Denton, all students of the University of North Texas. Now, with streaming numbers on their side, a move to Austin, and a European and east coast tour under their belt, the quartet is champing at the bit to keep their incisors sharp and their momentum growing.

While their debut album was an amalgamation of their individual songs synthesized together, their new album Magic of the Sale is wholly Teethe: a little no-wave; a little dark, dream pop; and a bit of that classic Denton DIY energy.

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