KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts
KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
New challenges in the rush to get people vaccinated: unfilled appointments! Plus, renters still stuck in limbo after their homes were damaged by the February winter storm. And how librarians are using the outdoors to get kids reading together again. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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2 trillion for infrastructure. The big push from the Biden administration. But what might those big plans mean for the Lone Star State? We’ll have details. Plus, going to a concert? Baseball game? Getting on a plane? You may need a passport for that. The push for and the controversy over so-called vaccination passports. Also Dr.Fred Campbell of UT Health San Antonio takes on more of your COVID-19 questions. And new lockdowns in other parts of the world and the ripple effects on Texas and the energy business. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
COVID numbers continue to flatten in the Austin-area. Plus, why it’s so hard to find out what Austin Energy circuit your home is on. And how an out-of-work musician’s latest album was inspired by having to spend hours on hold with the unemployment office. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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Texas expands coronavirus eligibility to everyone over 16 in Texas starting Monday. Plus, the legacy of Austin civil rights leader Bertha Sadler Means. And the story behind Herman the singing plumber. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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A plumber. Who sings?
As part of our Hi, Who Are You? spinoff, we get introduced to Herman Bennett.
Everyone over 16 in Texas will be eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine come Monday, but will there be enough doses to go around? Also, a new chapter begins in the fight against COVID-19 in Texas. We’ll have the latest on the push to get everyone over 16 vaccinated in Texas as soon as possible, and what if anything is being done to protect vulnerable populations. Plus a bill in the Texas legislature that could shut down an iconic Texas swimming hole sparks protests in the Texas capitol city. And branding Madness. Why is the march madness label reserved for men, but off limits to women as the college basketball playoffs move forward? Those stories and so much more today on the Texas Standard:
A recording of the state’s top utility regulator that caused him to lose his job. Plus, bills in the Texas legislature that seek to undo what local election officials did to try to make voting safe during the pandemic. And how some farmers are trying to get by after the winter storm decimated local farms. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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Bottlenecks creating a backup of detentions of young people crossing the border without documentation. We’ll have the latest on what’s needed as concerns grow over the detentions of young migrants. Also a wave of bills to restrict abortion rights in Texas taken up this week by the Texas legislature, abortion opponents seeing opportunity in recent changes to the supreme court. And a red hot real estate market in parts of Texas rivaling what we’ve seen in places like California. Demand up, supply down. Are more Texans getting priced out of homeownership for the long haul? Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Texans 50 or over, get in line. New rules take effect opening up vaccine eligibility, the trouble? Finding enough doses. Coming up disputes between the feds and state officials over whether Texas is getting enough vaccine doses in its fight against COVID-19. Also, efforts by the republican legislature in Texas to curb the powers of the governor during a pandemic. Now a priority item in the house. We’ll hear why. Also more listener questions about COVID-19 and the vaccine , plus our conversation with Austin mayor Steve Adler, the power of the Black church in Texas politics and so much more today on the Texas Standard :
The Austin school district needs to evaluate 800 students for special ed. It doesn’t have the staff to do it. A UT Austin committee determines the intent of the school song ‘The Eyes of Texas’ was ‘not overtly racist.’ And Austin rents have dropped, ever so slightly, so now some renters see a chance to negotiate.
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We talked to people from across the spectrum of the Austin music ecosystem around the 1-year anniversary of the cancellation of SXSW. In this episode, you’ll hear how they’ve coped, pivoted, evolved, gained new perspectives and dealt with trauma during the last 12 months.
You’ll hear from singer, songwriter and guitar player Jackie Venson, songwriter, producer and activist Mobley, Stephanie Bergara who fronts the band Bidi Bidi Banda, Maggie Lea co-owner of Cheer-Up Charlies, musician and founder of Austin Texas Musicians Nakia, singer, songwriter and podcaster Walker Lukens, live-event coordinator, screenwriter and co-founder of The Amplified Sound Coalition, Jeannette Gregor, executive director of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians, Reenie Collins, and executive director of Austin Texas Musicians, Pat Buchta.
We have a survey and we’d love to hear what you think! Go ahead! Take the survey here!
Links:
Listen to Jackie Venson’s music
Check out Mobley’s new record “Young and Dying in the Occident Supreme”
Listen to Nakia’s new single “It’s Never Too Late.”
The Health Alliance for Austin Musicians
Let’s set the table: we got a lot of food on the show today. From restaurants to citrus to food for thought. In the food for thought category we start with some little known side-effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. We also imagine what if would be like to be homeless from the book “You Are My Brother”. And we imagine the political cost of the pandemic and freeze. Then we visit restaurants still open and remember those that have closed during the pandemic. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
State lawmakers considering how to stop last week’s power outages from happening again. Plus, some Austin apartment dwellers still have no water. And how those sad mounds of dead cactus across Central Texas may be reborn. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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Austin Public Health tries to shed light on its confusing vaccine rollout. Plus, how coronavirus testing has become a “cash cow” for freestanding ERs in Texas. And an effort to preserve the memory of East Austin’s Metz Elementary School. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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Who will remember you when you die? Family? Friends?
We got a question about a cemetery in Central Austin for ATXplained.
It got KUT’s Matt Largey thinking about what happens when people are forgotten.
Challenges of the coronavirus vaccine rollout in Bastrop County. Plus, what is the future of the Broken Spoke now that its founder James White has died? And why it takes years for some Central Texans to develop cedar allergies. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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It’s January, so that means cedar fever is at its peak. Amid a global pandemic, this is the last thing we need. But here we are. KUT’s Nadia Hamdan answers this question about the annual trial in Central Texas.
Graham Williams, the founder of Margin Walker, discusses his journey in the Austin music scene and explains why nine months into the pandemic he decided to close Texas’s largest independent concert promoter for good.
Music in this episode by Sailor Poon
The latest on Austin’s coronavirus vaccine rollout. Plus, Governor Abbott targets Austin’s move to relax rules where homeless people can camp. And Texas Parks and Wildlife eradicates a zebra mussel infestation for the first time. Those stories and more in this edition of KUT Weekend!
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Longtime listeners of KUTX aren’t likely to gloss over certain Austin songwriters based on remarkable talent, perhaps most notably six-time Studio 1A veteran Erin Ivey. Whether she’s teamed up with Tosca String Quartet, The Finest Kind, David Ramirez, or just going solo acoustic, Ivey’s made countless jaws drop and eyes water with her luminous vocal presence and impressive range dating back to her 2007 debut.
But with seven years having passed since her last studio album, Whisper of the Moon, Ivey’s fans have been in dire need of an update. And they’re in luck! Next Friday Erin Ivey shares her ten-track full-length Solace in the Wild, leaning on her classic indie folk sound with sprinkles of Americana and psychedelia and other powerful nuances throughout. And though another premiere of sorts may understandably be taking up most of the spotlight today, take your mind off the news and enter Solace in the Wild with its lead single, “Where Have You Been All My Life”!