KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts

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

El Paso

10 years later, still no convictions in Twin Peaks biker shootout

A bipartisan bill on abortion has passed the Texas Senate and is making its way through the House. Why lawmakers agree it’s necessary.


It’s been a decade now since a deadly shootout involving rival biker gangs at a Twin Peaks in Waco. What an investigation reveals about how the case was handled.


Thousands of Brazilians live in Central Texas. How they’re feeling about those from their country being targeted for deportation.


Plus: We’ll take you to the Kentucky Club in Juárez, a beloved border bar and one of the last of its kind.

Remembering the ‘People’s Pope’

The Supreme Court halts deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. We’ll have the latest on the case involving migrants held in Texas.
He was called a “monster” by one of the survivors of the El Paso Walmart mass shooting. We hear from victims and relatives of those killed as the gunman is sentenced.
Pope Francis once made a high-profile visit to the Texas-Mexico border where he celebrated Mass on the banks of the Rio Grande. Residents on both sides of the river remember the People’s Pope.
How the tariff war with China could affect Texas.
And we talk to the South Texas author of the new novel “Futbolista”

A forgotten history of DeWitt County comes back to life

The man who’s admitted killing 23 in a racist mass shooting in El Paso in 2019 will be given a plea deal that does not include the death penalty. What’s behind that decision.
A federal judge temporarily prevents Texas A&M from enforcing a ban on campus drag performances, setting the stage for this week’s Draggieland.
A long-lost book detailing DeWitt County’s history before 1900 has resurfaced, more than a century after it was written in German.
And: A potentially deadly bird flu spotted early in Texas jumps species in the UK, prompting a warning from health officials.

What’s affecting El Paso’s air quality?

One person has now died in the Texas measles outbreak that’s up to more than 120 official cases.
Hit the road in many parts of Texas these days and you’re likely to see some Teslas. So how are those drivers feeling about the very public and controversial latest moves by CEO Elon Musk?
Teacher pay increases may come this Texas legislative session. But what form they might take is unclear.
The U.S. military isn’t completely avoiding the same cuts ripping through other parts of government right now.
Plus: There’s something in the air in El Paso – and it isn’t pleasant. A look at a change in air quality and when its expected to lift.

Why El Paso Mexican food hits different

In this bonus episode of the Tacos of Texas podcast, Mando Rayo, taco journalist joins the Texas Standard, to talk about El Paso’s unique flavors.

The programming featured in this bonus episode was originally aired on the Texas Standard in February, 2024.

As we gear up for the next season of Tacos of Texas, we want to hear from listeners like you! Visit kut.org/tacosurvey to send us your thoughts about what you’d like to hear on the next season of the show. And stay tuned for Season CINCO of Tacos of Texas. 

¡Vamos!

Texas Senate passes bill creating school voucher-like program

A bill to let families use taxpayer dollars to cover private school tuition was approved by the Texas Senate, but the debate over the bill’s not done. Next stop: the Texas House.
El Paso has still not recovered from government vacancies dating back to the height of COVID, with growing concerns about how that’s affecting basic services in one of Texas’ biggest cities.
The WNBA season may be months away, but teams are making big moves – signing free agents, making trades and shaking up coaching staffs ahead of 2025.
Spring gardening season is around the corner, but experts say now is not the time to trim your oak trees. February marks the start of oak wilt season, a deadly disease that can devastate trees across Texas.

Trump’s first executive orders focus on immigration

Much of Texas is dealing with dangerously cold temperatures and conditions that make travel hazardous. How the state is coping – plus a look at the power grid.

President Trump declared an emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border and issued several executive orders on immigration. We’ll delve into the details.

A look at the life and legacy of Cecile Richards: The former president of Planned Parenthood, and a major force in Texas and national politics, has died of brain cancer at 67.

Plus: Texas Standard intern Yoali Rodríguez reports on the designers working to make El Paso a new fashion hub.

Cold snap grips West Texas and the borderlands

What possible cuts to Medicaid under the new Trump administration could mean in Texas, which already limits coverage.
A cold front is blowing through El Paso, bringing high winds and freezing temperatures.
Princeton’s growing pains have led to tension in its mayoral runoff election.
Most of those involved in high-speed chases by state troopers going after suspected smugglers are teens and young drivers. An interview with one of those behind the wheel.
And: We’ll take a look at the two Texas teams that made it into the college playoffs, the Texas Longhorns and the SMU Mustangs.

House Speaker Dade Phelan bows out of leadership reelection bid

Facing a challenge from fellow Republicans, Dade Phelan says he’s dropping his bid for re-election as Texas House speaker.
Texas has some of the most expensive insurance in the nation, forcing homeowners to pay more for less coverage.
Desert bighorn sheep return to the Franklin Mountains of El Paso, a major milestone in restoring the species.
While the area around the UT Austin Tower buzzes with activity, a quieter sanctuary to the north – the Turtle Pond – offers a break from the hustle. The Texas Standard’s Laura Rice takes us to this peaceful pocket and explores how it’s evolving amid campus changes.

Marijuana is on the ballot in two more Texas cities

Areas around Austin, San Antonio and North Texas set records for the first day of early voting this week. But the story was different in El Paso.
A Democrat won a state House seat in Collin County last election cycle – but Republicans think they can flip it back.
What it means that decriminalizing small amounts of marijuana possession is on the ballot in more Texas cities.
A look at the impact of the ongoing IV fluid shortage on Texas hospitals.
And: We’ll ask whether it matters than an elected official in Harris County hasn’t clocked into work in about four years.

Are Chico’s Tacos actually tacos?

This might be controversial but those drowned tacos are actually flautas or are they? We’ll dig into this highly debated issue in Chucotown. Guest is Ivan Enriquez, owner of El Perrito Austin.

Texas Extra: Remembering DJ Steve Crosno

The El Paso radio and TV disc jockey made a lasting impact on the city’s music scene and contributed to the mixing of cultures that still makes far west Texas so special. This is an extended interview about an effort to document Crosno’s impact before his death in 2006.

Palestine fights Union Pacific’s move to leave town despite 1872 contract

Defense attorneys for the Walmart mass shooter, who’s already sentenced to life in prison, are asking for the court to take the death penalty off the table or drop the charges altogether due to alleged prosecutorial misconduct.
As we move closer to Election Day, The Texas Newsroom is exploring the role of religion in politics.
And: The city of Palestine, once a booming railroad town, is in a legal battle with Union Pacific to enforce an 1872 contract that promised the railroad company would stay “forever.”

Tropical Storm Francine bringing rain to the Texas Coast before it hits Louisiana

Tropical storm Francine is expected to become a hurricane. Texas will avoid a direct hit but Gulf Coast residents should still prepare.

Tonight’s presidential debate… the last debate changed the course of history. Could this one give one of the candidates the edge needed to win a tight race?

Plus, who will pay for El Paso’s climate action plan?

New immersive technology gives sports fans a next level experience in Texas.

And the search for an elusive creature AND the truth in Austin waterways.

What’s ahead for U.S. gymnastics at the Olympics

A faculty committee at UT Austin found that university leaders violated their own rules when calling police to respond to protests over the war in Gaza at the end of the spring semester. Audrey McGlinchy of KUT News shares the latest.
Five years after the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, a new memorial is unveiled to honor the 23 people killed.
Serious questions have been raised over a private contractor providing healthcare services to prison inmates in many states, including Texas.
And: Texas was well-represented at the men and women’s gymnastics team and all-around events at the Paris Olympics. A look at what’s ahead for the athletes.

Bighorn sheep being released in Franklin Mountains outside El Paso

The Santa Fe community is seeking answers and accountability for the 2018 school shooting as the accused shooter’s parents appear in court this week.
Houston police admit systemic failure in the processes that led to 264,000 cases being dismissed over eight years.
On the anniversary of the 1966 UT Tower shooting, a man who helped a fellow student that day shares a letter he’s kept for decades.
Bighorn sheep are returning to the El Paso area. A look at the challenges of re-establishing the herds.
And: What is a museum? We’re diving into the answer as we kick off a new series exploring the state.

What VP Kamala Harris said at her Houston stop

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee comes to Houston talking teachers, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Andrew Schneider of Houston Public Media was at Kamala Harris’s speech to the American Federation of Teachers. We’ll hear what she had to say in her sprint toward the convention and Election Day.
How El Paso could teach the rest of Texas a thing or two about the future of managing water.
In the Panhandle, a federal plan to expand a wildlife refuge tenfold. Not everyone’s happy about it, either.
Corn or flour? Taco journalist Mando Rayo on some choices we Texans must face.
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry from Typewriter Rodeo.

The buzz around the Bumble ad controversy

The border buoys case in court: Why the arguments surrounding Texas’ river barrier were not about immigration.
El Paso County residents are concerned a proposed highway expansion project could imperil the Rio Bosque – a marshy area along the Rio Grande that has been “re-wilded” to support native plants and wildlife.
What will soon be one of Texas’ biggest gas pipelines is raising both environmental and safety concerns from the residents along the path.
The new book “They Came for the Schools” takes us further into the story of the Carroll Independent School District’s battle over what’s on library shelves and in classrooms.
And: Austin-based dating app Bumble apologized this week for an ad campaign that some believed mocked the choice not to date, or to remain celibate. Tech expert Omar Gallaga shares more.

What you need to know about upcoming spring elections

Get ready to cast your ballots. Local elections are scheduled in Texas for May 4, with early voting beginning on Monday. Katya Ehresman, voting rights coordinator at Common Cause Texas, gives us the lowdown.
What a trial run of a four-day workweek in the UK tells us about how well such a shift might work.
Don Louis, a Texan who once hoped to score big in the NFL, has moved the goalposts – now aiming for the country music charts.
Plus: The week in politics with the Texas Tribune.

×