KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts

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

Flood

Who really got things done at the Legislature?

As lawmakers get ready to return to the Capitol in a special session, a new report shows billions more are needed to address flooding.
Who are the most productive lawmakers in the Legislature? The Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey takes a closer look.
Remember when there were growing concerns about a population explosion? In a new book, UT economist Dean Spears is sounding the alarm about quite the opposite.
Plus: Director Ari Aster on his new western, set in an era of pandemic and protest.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

KUT Morning Newscast for July 16, 2025: Williamson County issues vouchers to assist with the cleanup after floods

Central Texas top stories for July 16, 2025. Williamson County officials say they have shifted to clean-up and recovery mode after deadly flooding swept through the area on July 5th.  Austin’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is hosting an Emergency Preparedness Pop-up event today where people can learn what to do before and after a disaster. In a state where natural disasters are common, emergency alerts are meant to break through the noise but often get buried under other notifications. Rent prices in the Austin area fell 8 percent in June. The Austin area HIV Planning Council is hearing feedback tonight from people living with HIV or AIDS. 

Climatologist explains what ‘1,000-year flood’ actually means

With the Hill Country devastated by deadly floods, many are asking: What’s a 100-year or 1,000-year flood, and are these terms outdated?
A closer look at how first responders from Mexico are helping in Kerr County.
A new report from the University of Texas at El Paso warns of growing job losses in Juárez’s maquiladora industry.
The health of America’s youth has “significantly worsened,” according to a new study. What’s driving the decline?
And: Fire up the grill – Valley pitmaster and YouTube star ArnieTex shares his new cookbook.

Trucking industry faces new border bottleneck

More rain pummels the waterlogged Hill Country, putting a pause on search efforts and bringing a new wave of weather warnings to the region. We’ll talk with James Hartley of KERA, who’s been in Kerrville this weekend.
Stuffed animals are strewn across flood-ravaged Texas. People are trying to get them to their owners.
The Trump administration is enforcing an English-language requirement for commercial drivers, and some Mexican truckers are losing their licenses.
Plus: Why is it so tough to get disaster alerts right? Wall Street Journal reporter Drew FitzGerald has been digging into the systemic failures.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

KUT Morning Newscast for July 11, 2025: Cedar Park residents hold a vigil for the flood victims from the Austin area

Central Texas top stories for July 11, 2025. Texas House and Senate established flood and disaster committees ahead of the special session. Cedar Park residents held a vigil to honor the lives lost in the Austin area floods last week. The Central Texas Food Bank opened satellite sites to help those affected by flooding. Education advocates are relieved several changes to a federal student aid program did not make it in the final version President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” 

Processing the range of emotions surrounding Hill Country flood tragedy

The Texas Newsroom finds that responders to the Hill Country floods called for a public alert early Friday, a warning some say came hours too late.
The upcoming special session of the Legislature, which originally looked like it would focus on regulating THC, now includes several emergency preparedness topics.
And: Gillian Rodriguez with the Texas Counseling Association in the Hill Country has been pulling together resources to help fellow Texans process the range of emotions surrounding the devastating flooding.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

KUT Morning Newscast for July 10, 2025: After deadly flooding in Central Texas, questions are raised about the region’s emergency notification systems 

Central Texas top stories for July 10, 2025. As recovery efforts continue after flooding in the Texas Hill Country, officials in Kerr County have yet to answer questions about how the emergency alert system was used. The aftermath of deadly flooding in the Austin-area has raised questions about how effective the region’s notification systems are. Two of the state’s best-known brands, both born in Kerrville, are showing their support for Hill Country flood victims. Elon Musk narrowly wins fight against neighbors over Austin-area home. A program that assesses Austin’s air for biological threats will continue after federal funding uncertainty put it at risk. KUT’s Olivia Aldridge reports. 

A Guadalupe River regular shares her family’s survival story

A bill in the Texas Legislature this past session would have created a grant program for emergency communication. It didn’t pass.

In the days since the deadly flooding, engineers have already modeled what happened on the Guadalupe River. What they say about how we should rebuild.

A harrowing story of survival: Our conversation with a woman at the center of the devastation and the person she says saved her family.

Hope House, a home for the profoundly disabled, was damaged by the storm in Liberty Hill. The loss they’ve suffered and the hope they hang onto.

And: Remembering a similar disaster on the Guadalupe back in 1987. We’ll talk with a local leader who helped in those rescue efforts.

You can help make this podcast happen by donating at supportthispodcast.org.

Officials in Kerrville begin to assess damage as floodwaters recede

In Kerr County, local officials say they have all the resources, equipment, food and personnel they need, but with constantly changing numbers of people still missing, search and rescue teams continue to slog thru the debris of what is almost certain to go down as one of the deadliest natural disasters in state history.

The Texas Newsroom’s Paul Flahive reports on the deep cultural imprint of Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old Christian girls camp that sits along the banks of the Guadalupe River – directly in the path of deadly flooding.

Contaminated water, mosquito-borne illnesses, and piles of debris are raising new concerns in flood-affected areas.

Also: How to save precious items damaged by floodwater.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

The latest on catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country

Rescue and recovery efforts continue following devastating Guadalupe River flooding that has killed at least 75 people. More than two dozen campers and counselors died at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, and 10 campers remain missing.

Flash flood warnings are in effect for many parts of Texas, and officials fear that the waterlogged soil may lead to more intense flash flooding ahead.

To the east, closer to Austin, rescue teams are trying to locate untold numbers of missing residents who received little warning as floodwaters ravaged communities on Saturday.

What happened, what could have prevented the tragedy, and where do we go from here?

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Deadly floods swamp South Texas, shatter records

Torrential rain in South Texas leads to dangerous flooding, trapping people in their homes. How the Rio Grande Valley is recovering.
A new DEI directive led the Pentagon to purge certain historical figures from web pages. Why that decision has now been reversed.
Some churches are looking to re-purpose buildings and land to help residents who need affordable housing.
As measles cases surge in West Texas, some parents are giving children dangerous amounts of vitamin A, wrongly believing it can cure or prevent the disease.
Plus: What are the best ways to protect the state’s dwindling water supply? From recycling to desalination.

KUT Morning Newscast for January 15, 2025

Central Texas top stories for January 15, 2025.  The City of San Marcos has completed a project to protect its residents against flood damage. The City of Leander is asking its residents and local businesses to save water. The Eanes Independent School District will be closing one of its six elementary campuses as part of an effort to save money. 

The latest updates on Hurricane Beryl after storm makes landfall in Texas

Hurricane Beryl has become the first of the 2024 season to make landfall in Texas, with major power outages reported across the Houston region as heavy rain and damaging winds move up from Matagorda. With floodwaters filling some streets in Galveston and 121 counties under a disaster declaration, we’ll have the latest on the storm.
The San Antonio Water System is under fire after shutting off water to four apartment buildings – affecting 600 units – after their property owners didn’t pay their bills.
And: Business owners and officials in the Rio Grande Valley seek to counter negative stereotypes about their communities by highlighting the region’s assets – and their first step is rebranding the RGV and its neighbors in Mexico as the “RioPlex.” Will it stick?

Meet Emma, the AI assistant answering the phones at Amarillo City Hall

Just in time for high summer, a surge in COVID cases? What officials are saying about a new subvariant.
It could be a very wet 72 hours of so for much of Southeast Texas and beyond as meteorologists focus on what could be the first big storm of hurricane season coming together in the Gulf of Mexico.
In Amarillo, phones at City Hall are answered by Emma – a first-of-its-kind virtual assistant powered by AI, built specifically for the city.
Why some analysts are pumping the brakes on predictions of a looming oil glut thanks to electric vehicles.
And: why some Texas Democrats say schools could be key to their success in November.

Who pays for Texas highways?

After spring storms drenched Southeast Texas, the state is offering to buy out flooded homes. Why some are saying no thank you.
Early voting is underway for primary runoffs, and Gov. Greg Abbott’s battle over school vouchers continues as he backs candidates against those who oppose his plan.
A look at how the military trains for tunnel warfare.
Domestic production of EV batteries is ramping up in the U.S. – but EV sales have been down in recent months as consumers opt for hybrids or gas-powered cars that often cost less and offer more choices.
And with summer travel season ahead, have you wondered who’s paying for Texas highways?

What does Azerbaijan want with Texas politicians?

After weeks of rains in East Texas, hope for a shift into recovery mode is on hold with more rain tap for today and much of this week.
Strong winds, hail damage, what next? Sangita Menon of KUT News looks at the next steps of navigating insurance.
What does Azerbaijan want from Texas? Christopher Hooks of Texas Monthly shares how the indictment of U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar may be just the tip of the iceberg.
For decades, the Tower Life building defined San Antonio’s skyline. Changes are on the horizon after the building’s recent sale – but tours are being offered first.
Also: A new report on the pace of global renewable energy shows how Texas and the U.S. stack up.

Xcel Energy target of multiple lawsuits after Smokehouse Creek Fire

A pilot program for guaranteed income in Harris County is put on hold by the Texas Supreme Court.
Could residents of Corpus Christi become the first in the state to drink treated seawater from the tap? Some say a desalination plan’s needed to meet growing water demand, but many locals say the downsides are too serious to swallow.
The northern Panhandle is recovering from the devastation brought by the Smokehouse Creek Fire, caused by a downed electric pole belonging to Xcel Energy. Now, Xcel is the target of multiple lawsuits from people who lost assets during the blaze.
Also, efforts to get people living in flood zones out of harm’s way – could Harris County’s approach teach the federal government a thing or two?

Could Texas’ electric grid finally connect to other states?

A grand jury in Uvalde will consider possible charges over law enforcement’s failed response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.

An Air Force general who was stationed at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph faces a court-martial over charges of sexually assaulting a subordinate.

The Texas power grid is famously separate from the rest of the country – but a plan has been quietly moving forward to connect it to a grid operating in the southeastern U.S.

And: Shipping lanes are shifting routes amid attacks in the Red Sea. What are the ripple effects in Texas?

‘Flamin’ Hot’ shares the spicy story of a snack food phenomenon

Legislation on the governor’s desk known as the “Death Star” bill takes aim at local ordinances statewide. Will cities strike back?

In a place known for years of drought, heavy rain has forced evacuations in Amarillo and Hereford.

We’ll meet Houston’s Benchawan Jabthong Painter, winner of the James Beard Award for best Texas chef. Her secret recipe? Cooking with grandma in Thailand.

The new movie “Flamin’ Hot” tells the story of a janitor at Frito-Lay who set the snack world on fire. We’ll talk to the film’s director, Corpus Christi native Eva Longoria, and stars Jesse Garcia and Annie Gonzalez.

Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.

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