KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts
KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
Texas Standard producers have made their lists and checked ‘em twice – or more – selecting some of our most memorable conversations with fascinating Texans over the past 12 months.
This hour, we invite you to sit back and enjoy our staff favorites from the past year, including honky tonk heroines, birders in cemeteries, bears making a comeback and a whole lot more.
New laws on arresting migrants who cross the border into Texas illegally are just one of many changes related to border security from this year’s legislative sessions. Julián Aguilar of The Texas Newsroom takes a closer look at what passed, what didn’t, and what it means.
How do Texas voters think lawmakers did dealing with top-line issues in 2023? Jim Henson of the Texas Politics Project shares the findings of a new poll.
A Texas perspective of the struggle over campus free speech.
Democratic lawmakers in Congress are pitching a plan to stop hedge funds from buying rental homes.
And the Standard’s Michael Marks dives in on Texas ranchers’ ongoing fight against predatory birds.
A court rules that Texas power generators do not have a responsibility to provide power in emergencies, like the winter storm of 2021. Mose Buchele of KUT Austin has more on what this means.
Understanding Pope Francis’ decision to permit Catholic church officials to bless same-sex marriages.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, more used to white-collar crime enforcement, wades into Texas cattle country to bust up what it calls a Ponzi scheme.
And: For West Texans far from medical facilities, some help zooms in by way of drones.
A plan to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel is on the ropes due to disagreements over border security. What comes next? Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston has more.
Thousands of vulnerable Texans stand to lose food and health benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC.
An obscure element of the school financial system is leaving some districts with more money than they need.
And we’ll talk to Tyler Campbell, the son of NFL Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, who’s sharing his story in a new book.
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.
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.
After a swift and historic vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, we’ll hear more about the role of the Texas delegation and what comes next on Capitol Hill.
Will climate change alter Texas’ coastal community landscape? It already appears to be doing just that, says Erin Douglas of the Texas Tribune.
Texan Simone Biles has pulled off a gymnastics move so remarkable that it now carries her name.
After overhunting and creeping development, the number of breeding ocelots in the wild has tumbled to under 100 – with very few in South Texas, where they used to be plentiful. Now, researchers are working on a plan to bring the cats back.
Plus, a conversation with James C. Watkins, the 3D state artist of the year.
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has faced increasing pressure to resign since Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial – and a special session of the Legislature starts next week.
El Paso, a city with a reputation as welcoming to migrants, is now at a breaking point, according to its mayor. Angela Kocherga of KTEP El Paso has details.
About 24 million Texans are living through some level of drought right now, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. What’s on the horizon as fall weather moves in?
The former Texas Memorial Museum on UT Austin’s campus, shuttered in March due to COVID and cutbacks, returns in grand style with a new name and focus.
A plan for state officials to take over special education in the Austin Independent School District is being reconsidered. Becky Fogel of KUT in Austin shares more.
Record heat this summer statewide has led to widespread water leaks amid an already pressing need for repairs – but will a fund earmarked for fixes be enough?
With five deaths from fentanyl on average in Texas each day, a growing number of those deaths is among young people. The Dallas Morning news turns a monthlong spotlight on a growing crisis.
Texas prisons are under a statewide lockdown as officials search for contraband to stem a rise in prison homicides.
More than 700 new state laws took effect in Texas on Sept. 1 out of the almost 3,000 that were filed – meaning the vast majority didn’t become law. Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies tells us more.
Texas had the most book challenges of any state last year, according to the American Library Association.
Outlaw country, born in the 1970s, has long been dominated by men. But female artists have been making noteworthy contributions, especially recently.
Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune.
A body was found in a buoy barrier in the Rio Grande, prompting harsh criticism of Texas’ border strategy.
Four years after the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, people at the scene that day who are eligible for immigrant visas are still waiting.
The end of the pandemic emergency – and the end of pandemic relief funds – could mean a cut in childcare options in Texas. We’ll hear why.
A women’s soccer champion-turned Texas collegiate soccer coach weighs in on the U.S.’ prospects as the World Cup moves into the knockout rounds.
Plus the rise of songwriter William Beckmann, a Del Rio native.
As Texans brace for another week of extreme heat, there’s pushback against a new state law that nullifies local rules requiring mandatory water breaks for outdoor workers.
Austin has ended its policing partnership with the Department of Public Safety – but Gov. Greg Abbott is sending more troopers to the capital city.
Some legal experts say the Supreme Court’s student debt decision may have scrambled the issue of standing, or whether a plaintiff has enough interest in a particular matter to stand before the court to request legal intervention. UT Law professor Stephen Vladeck explains.
And a new documentary on Jesse Treviño honors the late San Antonio artist, long considered one of the city’s finest.
A lawsuit challenging Texas’ new prohibition on hormone blockers and other treatments for transgender youth.
Lawmakers failed to pass new rules on locating concrete batch plants – what do those pushing for change plan to do next?
A report shows modest economic growth in Texas, we’ll hear more. Plus – Texas slips in the rankings of business-friendly states. Why and what are the implications?
A hit, or a swing and a miss? A certain sport using bats and balls arrives in Texas for summer, but are Texans ready for professional cricket?
Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune.
Texas prison heat is an issue we’ve highlighted on this program for years. Why it’s not being solved quickly.
Abortion access is one of the top political issues in Texas. So how did state lawmakers manage to quietly pass a bill clarifying exceptions to the ban?
On the eve of July Fourth, we’ll give you a checklist to run through to make sure people, pets and property are all well taken care of.
And how the Supreme Court’s latest ruling on affirmative action will impact the processes at some Texas colleges and universities.
A tornado tore through the Panhandle town of Perryton on Thursday, leaving three dead, scores injured and many without homes – and forecasts say there’s more severe weather on the way.
Native American tribes are celebrating a big win before the Supreme Court in an adoption law case brought by a white foster couple from Texas.
What an expo in El Paso says about an aspect of border security that’s seldom talked about.
Remembering a giant of American novelists, Cormac McCarthy, and his ties to Texas.
And the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
Impeached attorney general Ken Paxton won’t face trial in the Senate until late summer, but the indictment of prominent donor Nate Paul may have big implications for Paxton’s fate nonetheless.
Hurricane season is upon us, and the energy industry is making preparations for potential storms.
A colonia in El Paso is pulling water out of thin air using solar distillation.
A new podcast, “Under Cover of Knight, ” examines a death in small-town Texas – and why the CIA and local law enforcement wanted folks to stop asking questions.
And a longtime Texas radio journalist remembers NPR’s Wade Goodwyn.
Property tax cuts and border security are on the agenda as the Legislature’s special session moves into week 2.
A bill to promote police transparency received support in the House and the Senate, but now it’s apparently gone missing. KXAN investigative reporter Josh Hinkle explains.
There’s a shortage of mental health treatment for people arrested in Texas who are deemed in need of treatment before trial.
And Texas-based American Airlines has grounded planes amid an ongoing pilot shortage. What does this mean for summer travel?
As Title 42 comes to an end, El Paso declares a state of emergency due to the influx of migrants.
The week ahead at the Texas Legislature, and two bills affecting transgender youth in Texas; one relating to medical treatment, the other, sports competition.
An investigation of a chemical fire in Deer Park outside of Houston, and what it says about warning signs and preparation for potential disasters.
Researchers revisit an educational debate from the Jim Crow era, and the contributions of the Black Texans at the center of it.
Almost a year after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, two injured fourth graders are still trying to recover. Edgar Sandoval of the New York Times talks with us about his profile of two children injured in the shooting – and the months since.
Yesterday’s half-hour grounding of Southwest Airlines departures was blamed on technical issues. Why the FAA and other investigators want a closer look.
Why some lawmakers are pushing to keep Texas crypto miners from cashing in on a tool to help the power grid survive during times of peak demand.