East Austin

Coffee shop Mercado Sin Nombre recognized by Michelin Guide

Austin ISD has some changes to its school consolidation plan. KUT’s Kailey Hunt brings us the latest updates.

The Michelin Guide this week honored more Texas restaurants, including Mercado Sin Nombre, a small, outdoor coffee and breakfast shop in East Austin recognized for making quality food at a quality price.

Halloween is the perfect time to embrace the darkness. KUTX’s Laurie Gallardo talks with Texas Standard’s Angela Kocherga about the goth scene in Texas and the Latine community.

Plus: Exploring one more horror movie filmed in Central Texas: “Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation” with Matthew McConaughey.

Austin Taco History

Let’s take a deep dive into the history of tacos and Mexican restaurants in Austin, from the early 1900s to the effects of the 1928 Master Plan and the Tejano establishments still standing to the next generation of taqueros and taqueras. Guest is Alan Garcia, the creator of the instagram page ATX Barrio Archive.

If you’d like to support the Tacos of Texas podcast and other podcasts like it from KUT & KUTX in Austin, please visit supportthispodcast.org. Thank you for your support!

KUT Morning Newscast for June 23, 2025: Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes THC ban

Central Texas top stories for June 23, 2025. Texas Governor Greg Abbott vetoed a bill to ban products containing THC. Texas’s health system is ranked very low compared to other states. Musicians and music venues are at risk of losing unclaimed grants. Homes in Austin are selling for less but taking longer to sell compared to this time last year. A new pedestrian bridge is coming to East Austin. Today is the last day to give your input on Austin’s 2026 General Obligation Bond.

KUT Morning Newscast for October 22, 2024

Central Texas top stories for October 22, 2024. Work is underway after seven train cars turned over early this morning following a freight train derailment in East Austin. Travis County saw more in-person voters Monday than on the first day of early voting in the last three November general elections. The Austin City Council is set to vote this week on a long-term labor contract with the city’s police union. Officials in Mexico are joining local leaders to push for expanding passenger rail from Texas into Mexico.

Smart Growth or Dumb Growth?

(Episode 4) When a new mayor came to power, he found what he thought would be a compromise — a way to bring new businesses and build housing for all the people coming to Austin without threatening the city’s ecological gems. It turned out to be more complicated than that.

We Planned This

(Episode 1) 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.

What was the grandstand on the shores of Lady Bird Lake in East Austin used for?

Decades ago, the public event space was full of life. Now it’s rundown, like an old relic.

KUT Morning Newscast for August 22, 2022

Central Texas top stories for August 22, 2022. Central Texas under a Flood Watch. Affordable housing bond election. First day of fall classes at UT Austin and Texas State. Hays County school resource officers. Free CapMetro rides to Travis County cooling centers. East Austin Barrio Landmarks Project. Austin FC v Minnesota United.

KUT Weekend – October 5, 2018

Beto O’Rourke’s talking about racial injustice — and black voters are listening. How court decision could affect Austin’s revamping of its laws around homelessness. What ever happened to Austin’s long-running Aqua Fest?

12th & Chicon: Live Broadcast Wrap-up

In October, KUT embarked on a project to tell the story of a neighborhood in transition: the area around 12th and Chicon streets in East Austin. Decades ago, it was a center of black life in the city, but over the past few years, the forces of gentrification have taken hold. We opened a bureau there to maintain a presence in the neighborhood and allow residents to see KUT reporters on a daily basis and help us determine the stories that needed to be told.

12th & Chicon: Surviving the Development

KUT’s Jennifer Stayton spoke with Nefertiti Jackmon, executive director of Six Square, and Natasha Madison of the 12th Street Merchants’ Association at a live broadcast during Morning Edition from the Urban Co-Lab on 12th and Chicon streets. This is an excerpt from the entire broadcast which can be heard on another episode of this podcast.

12th & Chicon: Preserving the Community’s History

On the East Side, development and rising property costs continue to force the African-American community out. With such rapid migration, how have the neighborhood’s history and culture and the city’s African-American population been preserved? LaToya Devezin, the community archivist at the Austin History Center, spoke to KUT’s Jennifer Stayton about the work of local archivists to preserve the community’s history.

12th & Chicon: Churches Adapt to Changes

The loss of long-time East Austin residents is changing the look of some congregations. The handful of remaining churches are learning to embrace the diversity and changes within their communities, but some are left with no choice but to pull up their roots and move to a new location.

12th & Chicon: Allowing Denser Housing

Neighborhoods in East Austin are not immune to the difficult deliberations over housing density, affordability, and when a “tear-down” truly needs to be labeled historic. City council and the Historic Landmark Commission are challenged with weighing the rights of a homeowner and the desire to preserve Austin’s history.

12th & Chicon: Preserving History

Ebony Acres, a historically black neighborhood in East Austin, is at the crossroads of preservation and development. With some homes slated for demolition, some neighbors are trying to slow the tides of change.

12th & Chicon: Mentoring, Connecting with Students

Nearly a quarter of students at Kealing Middle School are considered at-risk of dropping out, which is why the PTA runs a mentorship program. Meet mentor Gabriel Russell, a student at Huston-Tillotson, and Joshua Morgan, a Kealing student. They’re involved in the Kealing Men program. Several local and national programs have cropped up focusing on improving outcomes and academic achievement for young men of color.