KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts
KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
A deal over school vouchers at the Legislature – or high political theatre? As Gov. Greg Abbott declares victory, others have their doubts. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of The Texas Newsroom shares the latest.
You’ve heard of solar farms, but how well do animals share that land? Why agrivoltaic farms are popping up all over Texas.
And our spooky season isn’t over. The Texas Standard’s Kristen Cabrera explores the story of the arguable king of the Texas cryptids: the Chupacabra.
Central Texas top stories for October 31, 2023. First freeze of the season. Williamson County election error. Early voting turnout. State parkland proposition. Education Austin on school vouchers. Austin ISD special education deadline. Austin parkland requirements. Día de los muertos.
Early voting is now underway in Texas – but what’s on the ballot? We’ll get caught up on the 14 constitutional amendments Texans are being asked to weigh in on, ranging from property taxes to education, infrastructure and more.
First it’s Exxon mobil scooping up Pioneer, now Chevron acquiring Hess. Is it a new era of mergers and acquisitions in the oil field – and if so, why?
Final resting places are also surprisingly active sites for a certain group of hobbyists. The Standard’s Raul Alonzo has more with “Cemetery Birding” author Jennifer Bristol.
And the Texas Rangers are off to the World Series after defeating the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the ALCS.
Central Texas top stories for October 24, 2023. Vote by mail registration deadline. Proposition 9. Integral Care layoffs update. Dead tree removal. Texas Rangers win the pennant.
A federal judge strikes down a redistricting map in Galveston County, saying it violated the rights of Black and Latino voters, and gives the county until Oct. 20 to fix its maps.
Public school teachers plan to travel to Austin to fight a plan to use taxpayer money to pay for private tuition. Who’ll teach the students when the teachers are gone? You might be surprised.
As Texas’ population swells, so does empty office space. We’ll dig into what that signals.
And: We continue our month of Tracking Texas Cryptids with the spooky story of La Lechuza.
Dozens of Texas school districts have sued to stop changes in the A-F grading system used to evaluate schools.
The manager of the state’s power grid is out with a new forecast for winter. How prepared is Texas for another statewide freeze like 2021?
Israel, Hamas and disinformation on social media: Tech expert Omar Gallaga joins us with more.
New numbers in the race for mayor of Texas’ biggest city.
And a new book written by longtime Texas conservationist George Bristol, “Texas State Parks: The First 100 Years,” tells the story of how the state’s parks began.
From guns to religion, free speech and more, a very loaded docket awaits the Supreme Court as it begins a new term.
Why a race for Houston’s top financial officer is getting so much attention.
A plan to consolidate schools in San Antonio could leave behind almost 20 empty buildings – and the district needs to figure out what to do with them.
As the dollar strengthens, other currencies weaken. But there’s a notable outlier: We’ll look at why the Mexican peso seems to be doing so well.
Also, as the spookiest month of the year gets started, a look at why Texas is so full of mysterious creatures unconfirmed by science.
Gov. Greg Abbott has been ordered to remove a controversial buoy barrier from the middle of the Rio Grande.
Among the new laws now taking effect in Texas are new penalties aimed at cracking down on illegal voting. But just how much of a departure from the past is it? The Standard’s Sean Saldana has more.
Facing a trial to force his removal, Mark Gonzalez, a progressive DA in Nueces County, has resigned and announced a challenge to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.
And we’ll hear from Pedro Martín, the author and illustrator of “Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir,” a graphic novel about a road trip to Mexico already being called an instant classic.
The impeachment trial of Texas’ attorney general is set to begin on the floor of the Senate tomorrow, but supporters in Ken Paxton’s home county, Collin, are standing firmly behind him.
Meanwhile, almost half of Texans think Paxton should be removed from office, according to a new poll from the Texas Policy Project.
Lots of folks from other states are moving to Texas – but numbers suggest Texans are, by and large, staying put.
And there’s a push to change Texas law so that adoptees can access their original birth certificates.
The Feds push back in court over Gov. Greg Abbott’s deployment of buoys in the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass.
The City of Dallas has received $1.5 million in federal dollars for a major cleanup of contaminated sites. But will it be enough?
Researchers in El Paso are trying to tap another source of potential alternate energy, inspired by the prickly pear cactus.
There are growing concerns about challenges faced by deaf kids in the Texas foster care system.
Plus, San Antonio native Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post shares the latest on tonight’s GOP primary debate – and why former U.S. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas won’t be there.
Students get grades, but so do Texas schools – and with a change in evaluations, administrators are concerned.
Critics say a state lawsuit against Planned Parenthood is an attempt to completely wipe out what was once a prime provider of abortion services in Texas.
How people experiencing homelessness are trying to cope with life-threatening temperatures.
The end of pandemic restrictions against migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. prompted a lot of speculation about how the situation at border would be affected. We’ll take a look at what’s actually changed on the ground.
Also, what put a once-sleepy town in the shadow of Dallas on the fast track to becoming one of Texas’ biggest cities.
With an impeachment trial looming, suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton is facing new scrutiny from the feds in San Antonio, with a federal grand jury convened to hear from witnesses close to him.
Emergency steps are being taken due to a disease threatening the state’s $4 billion deer hunting industry. The Standard’s Michael Marks has more.
In the final month of the hottest season in Texas, DJ Susan Castle weighs in on the question: What’s the ultimate Texas summer song?
Also, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
An exemption to Texas’ abortion ban is on hold after an appeal by the state attorney general. What comes next?
Just how powerful are social media algorithms? Texas researchers test whether changes could help defuse political polarization.
Texas Public Radio’s David Martin Davies got in a kayak to take an up-close look at Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating wall in the Rio Grande.
And a warning that climate change could reverse demographic trends showing major population growth in places like Texas: Could there be a great migration northward?
A Texas redistricting challenge is being described as an important test of the Voting Rights Act.
Federal regulators are considering a rule that would force Texas to connect to other electric grids.
With Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial set to begin in the state Senate soon, attorneys for the suspended attorney general have asked for the case to be dismissed, citing the “prior-term doctrine.”
Understanding the new “right to farm” protections going into effect next month – and why they should matter to city dwellers, too.
Also, remembering Texas saxophonist Arnett Cobb.
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?
In a second special session, Texas House and Senate leaders reach a deal on property tax relief. What does it add up to?
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez has announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, making him the second high-profile Democrat – along with Rep. Colin Allred – to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz.
How Texas has become a ground zero for self-driving trucks, with word that driverless semi runs between Dallas and Houston could become a regular thing as soon as next year.
We’ll get the rundown on a legal battle between a group of nuns and a bishop in North Texas.
And a quick cooldown at a Texas ice house.
Has the Texas border become like the Iowa State Fair, a mandatory stop for Republican presidential candidates?
It’s a long, hot summer for Texas lawmakers as the governor calls another special session, focusing solely on property taxes.
Rethink35, the organization questioning another expansion of the interstate highway that cuts through Austin, has given up its legal battle – at least for now. Why other cities in Texas
are watching closely.
Also, how Muslims in Texas are celebrating a holiday often referred to as Big Eid.
Hundreds of nurses are on a one-day strike in Austin, in what’s expected to be the largest nurses’ strike in Texas history.
Texans know summer heat, but these temperatures can be dangerous. A doctor shares important information on protecting yourself and others.
Residents living in colonias on the border who lack clean, safe drinking water say they’re the target of predatory practices.
And musician Amanda Shires on her new album “Loving You,” a collaboration with the the late great Bobbie Nelson.
It started 5 months ago, and if all goes according to plan, it ends this week. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom joins us with his look ahead at the final days of the Texas legislative session. And what happens to the many proposals that didn’t pass? To understand, a knowledge of zombies might be beneficial.
Why have so many Democrats been lining up with Republicans on key items this session?
And you’ve heard the song “Whiskey River”? Though the song’s a fable, a new book shows how whiskey flows through Texas history more than you might expect.
Another Texas community is reeling after a mass shooting that killed eight people, this time at an outlet mall in Allen, outside of Dallas.
Following local elections across the state, we’ll have reports on some closely watched propositions in San Antonio, El Paso and Austin.
Fort Hood in Central Texas is formally set to be renamed Fort Cavazos for the nation’s first Hispanic four-star general. Hispanic and Latino civil rights groups are applauding the move but looking for more substantive change.
And the the University of Texas at Austin is getting a new school of civic leadership – but some questions are being raised by some students and faculty.