Central Texas top stories for August 7, 2023. Oak Grove fire near San Marcos burns 400 acres. Excessive heat and red flag warnings issued for central Texas. Austin looks to its budget.
climate change
The Texas Eclipse Festival is coming to Burnet next year
Wildfire evacuations in Central Texas this week and concerns about rising sea levels reshaping the Texas coastline.
The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldaña shares the latest unemployment numbers and what they tell us about the economic shape Texas is in.
A new alliance of automakers is going to take on Tesla’s charging standard.
A Texas-sized theme party is planned to welcome the total solar eclipse coming next year.
Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
KUT Morning Newscast for July 26, 2023
Central Texas top stories for July 26, 2023. Austin previews its city budget. How much will hot summers cost Texas?
The bipartisan appeal of psychedelic research into treating veteran PTSD
With a big election season looming, Texas withdraws from a national tool designed to prevent voter fraud.
Texas wants to regulate carbon storage on its own. Now two Texas congressmen are pushing to prevent that.
Inflation cooling, good news for many Texas workers but potentially a double edged sword.
With many teachers leaving the profession, a small Texas district sets up its own pipeline for getting new teachers into classrooms.
And a Texas Republican part of a bipartisan attempt to loosen drug restrictions?
KUT Morning Newscast for July 24, 2023
Central Texas top stories for July 24, 2023. Austin City Council adds reserve police officers. Extreme heat continues throughout Central Texas. Advocates urge for an end to utility disconnections in dangerous weather.
Why thousands of dead fish washed up along the Gulf Coast
Who implements a new law that bans “sexually explicit” material in Texas public school libraries – and how? We’ll talk with the president of the Texas Library Association about what’s being described by proponents as a child protection move, and by critics as the latest attempt to censor and ban books for young people with limited access.
The annual meeting of the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., Southern Baptists, debates women pastors and how to address abuse allegations.
Plus, what’s behind the tens of thousands of dead fish washing up on Texas Gulf Coast beaches.
Insurers are bailing on homes in disaster-prone regions. Is Texas next?
The Texas Senate passed three new bills on border security – but with the House adjourned, does it mean anything?
The Texas Education Agency has taken over the Houston Independent School District, and already some major reforms are taking shape.
Two major insurance companies say they won’t write new homeowner policies in California, citing the costs of climate change. Could something similar happen in Texas?
Pro baseball is a favorite summer sport for many Texans, but a rule change is making it a little less lazy than it once was – for better or for worse? We’ll take a look.
The dire situation facing underfunded Texas schools
“It’s a fantasy,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said of Gov. Greg Abbott’s objectives to lower property taxes. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune joins with more on a growing divide between the state’s two top Republican leaders.
One top political observer says there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to school funding for rural districts.
Hurricane season is back. We’ll have the seasonal forecast from Space City Weather, plus how to prepare.
Plus, Cine Las Americas kicks off its 25th International Film Festival in Austin.
KUT Morning Newscast for June 2, 2023
Central Texas top stories for June 2, 2023. When bees attack. Increasing chances of triple digit temperatures this summer. Austin FC rides again.
Earth Day
Saturday, April 22, 2023 is Earth Day. As the effects of climate change become ever more clear — what’s an appropriate way to mark the day? That was the question behind this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
The Texas Grid Under Pressure
In this bonus episode, you’ll hear a panel of experts we brought together to mark two years since the 2021 blackout, where we discuss the future of the Texas grid in the face of climate change and the increasingly extreme weather linked to it.
KUT Morning Newscast for January 17, 2023
Central Texas top stories for January 17, 2023. Governor Abbott inauguration. Record number of hit-and-runs in 2022. Leander MLK day march. Climate change impacts food. UT Men’s Basketball vs. Iowa State.
Climate Change Fatigue
The details of climate change can be overwhelming. For some, it’s so overwhelming that they begin to shut it all out. Others are just tired of hearing about it. Those where the dual inspirations of this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Low Water
The last several weeks brought a bit of much-needed rain to most of Texas. But it hasn’t been enough to offset months of drought. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: September 2, 2022
A vote about a change to the social studies curriculum in Texas public schools. Only it’s not the sort of vote some advocates wanted. Proposals to add teaching about Junetheenth, the murder of George Floyd and LGBTQ rights are on long term pause. We’ll hear the backstory. Also how what’s happening in San Antonio could give larger clues about how climate change is affecting Texas. And a perfect storm for animal shelters as more pets are abandoned, costs rising with inflation, and a shortage of vets and staffers have shelters scrambling. Plus the end of the bitcoin mining gold rush in Texas? The week in politics with the Texas tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: March 01, 2022
We’re tracking primary day in Texas as voters head to the polls on this first day of March. Also, the effects of a new policy by Governor Abbott to classify gender affirming medical treatment for transgender kids as child abuse. And, what the Russian invasion of Ukraine could mean for continued cooperation in space. Plus, a conversation with country music’s Carson McHone. These stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: October 15, 2021
A likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as the 5th Circuit reaffirms a decision to let Texas’ near total abortion ban remain in effect. Other stories we are tracking: in the final days of a third special session, the Texas House green lights a bill that would force transgender Texas youth to play on public school sports teams that align with their sex assigned at birth. Also, why supply chains have become a big worry for everyday Texans. And a horror film with a message steeped in the Mexican American experience. We’ll meet the star who hails from the Rio Grande Valley. Plus the week in politics and more today on the Texas Standard:
Climate Change
The visible evidence of climate change and the studies about its dire long-term impacts can be overwhelming. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Guam
“We’re fighting for a worldview. We’re fighting for a different version of what it means to be human on the planet. We’re fighting for a different version of what just relations look like between the human and non-human world.” –Julian Aguon
Guam is the secret ingredient for our conversation with indigenous human rights lawyer and author of The Properties of Perpetual Light, Julian Aguon.
In his book, Aguon takes us on a dreamlike journey past the horrors and indignation of his colonized home to illuminate the beauty, the generative ecosystem, and indigenous knowledge that can quite literally be the perpetual light that guides the way to a sustainable future.
Hosts Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy talk with Aguon about Guam’s unique history, ecology, and food, and about how we all must come together now to reshape what is possible.
Auntie’s Bookstore in Spokane, WA is hosting a conversation with Julian Aguon and Tommy Orange, author of There There Thursday, July 22nd at 7 pm PT.
Register here for this free event: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZIodOuvqz4rHdy9yoM–rHiXv09q0v-nrL2
Texas Standard: May 27, 2021
What an investigation shows about a “shock and awe” exercise that was meant to take place in El Paso on election day. We’ll learn more about the forces behind this exercise and about the reporter who uncovered it. Also, money is tight for the country, for the state, for families. And federal unemployment benefits will end for Texans in a matter of days. We’ll look at the implications. And as the climate changes, researchers learn from Houston and from some of its strategies. Plus Manufacturing is alive and well in Texas. We’ll take a quick look at the tech companies that are building here. And we’ll honor the men and women who have died in service to the country. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard: