Central Texas top stories for October 17, 2025. With the U.S. Grand Prix happening in Austin this weekend, ABIA officials are expecting one of its busiest weekends in the year. The Texas football team is gearing up to play against Kentucky tomorrow. Art From the Streets, an organization that provides spaces and supplies for people experiencing homelessness to make art, is preparing for their annual sale.
Football
New exhibit captures the meaning of ‘The Selena Effect’
A new report from the Wall Street Journal raises questions about how a prominent Texas Republican got rich as a politician. The report puts the personal finances of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the spotlight, though his supporters are calling it a hit piece. We’ll talk with one of the reporters behind the story.
A football rivalry like few others, only this year the stakes seem especially high for the Texas Longhorns as they take on Oklahoma.
What is the “Selena Effect”? A new exhibit at Texas State’s Wittliff Collections explores what is behind the enduring impact of a Tejano superstar.
Also, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry from the Typewriter Rodeo.
Austin ISD proposes 13 school closures to curb $20 million budget deficit
Howdy out there, Austin! This episode is the first live radio broadcast for Austin Signal.
We’re discussing the proposed campus closures announced by the Austin Independent School District. More than a dozen schools would be shut down ahead of next school year as AISD works against a budget shortfall. We’ll dive into those details with KUT’s Katy McAfee.
Speaking of budget: If buying meat is in yours, you’ve probably noticed the price is on the rise. Will it fall anytime soon? Texas Standard’s Michael Marks joins us to talk more.
And KUT’s Jimmy Maas talks college football with UT’s loss to Florida and more in today’s sports wrap.
Williamson County deals with the ramifications of a proposed data center in Taylor
Up in Williamson County, a proposed data center is set to break ground in the city of Taylor. These kinds of centers have drawn all kinds of feedback for the resources and electricity demand required to power them. But the progress of this latest data center could be stopped in its tracks. Williamson County Reporter for KUT News Kailey Hunt joins Austin Signal for more on this. Plus, there’s a lot of news and emotions to take in daily as a human being. So, we make the time to take a moment for ourselves with the help of Marnie Castor. Learn a little and relax a little here on Austin Signal from KUT News.
Austin Butler, Darren Aronofsky talk Texas, filmmaking & ‘Caught Stealing’
President Trump is using the threat of legal action to push his policies forward in Texas and beyond.
We continue our series about new state laws taking effect with a look at one that prevents people from certain countries from buying land in Texas.
20 years after Hurricane Katrina, how the New Orleans residents who found a home in Houston reshaped the cultural landscape.
Actor Austin Butler and filmmaker Darren Aronofsky on their new film, “Caught Stealing.”
And the Standard’s Kristen Cabrera with part two of her report on the Rio Grande Valley’s brand new college football team, the UTRGV Vaqueros.
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 February 21, 2025: ACC plans to expand its partnership with Texas A&M’s engineering department.
Central Texas top stories for February 21, 2025. We’ll have below freezing temperatures tonight, Austin’s overnight shelters are set to remain open. ACC plans to expand its partnership with Texas A&M’s engineering department with a $1.5 gift from Samsung Austin semiconductor. The University of Texas head football coach is set to make more than $80million over the next seven years. The San Antonio Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 120 to 109 at the Moody Center. The Hill Country Conservancy finalized an agreement with the John Knox Ranch to protect 255 acres of land.
Inside the Conjunto Music Hall of Fame & Museum
At least five bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature so far to require Texas voters to show proof of citizenship. A look at the implications.
How education could take center stage in the upcoming 89th Texas legislative session.
Attorney General Ken Paxton files a motion to prevent testimony at the Capitol from death row inmate Robert Roberson.
And: Kristen Cabrera visits the Conjunto Music Hall of Fame & Museum for the Texas Museum Map project.
KUT Morning Newscast for December 06, 2024
Central Texas top stories for December 06, 2024. You can still vote to decide who will get the seat left on the AISD Board of Trustees. We’re expecting a warmer winter, but Texas could still see dramatic cold snaps. The Longhorns will go for their first Southeastern Conference Championship tomorrow. Texas Volleyball team will play NCAA Second Round against USC tonight. You can get your dog or cat spayed or neutered for free this week.
ArnieTex brings the flavors of South Texas to millions on YouTube
We’re taking a look at the Texans who have been picked for President-elect Trump’s new Cabinet.
How some Democratic candidates in parts of Texas won their races amid a big red wave.
There’s a demand for raw milk, despite its health risks, and more public officials are saying that folks should be able to have it if they want it.
After 13 years, UT and Texas A&M are back on the football field this holiday weekend. What to expect as the rivals meet again.
Plus: The Standard’s Kristen Cabrera goes behind the scenes with ArnieTex, a Rio Grande Valley grilling sensation with nearly a million YouTube subscribers.
KUT Morning Newscast for November 25, 2024
Central Texas top stories for November 25, 2024. A local utility agency is being sued over plans to build a pipeline on environmentally protected lands. Alex Jones is headed back to court today. The Glen Powell lookalike contest took place this Weekend in Auditorium Shores, here’s all you need to know about it. The Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies will play football against one another this weekend after a thirteen-year hiatus.
SpaceX backs out of Boca Chica Beach land swap
A Houston-area nonprofit that helped thousands find a new life in the U.S. disappears. A new investigation reveals surprising answers about what happened to the Alliance.
More international students than ever before are studying in the U.S., and among the top destinations are the University of North Texas and UT Dallas.
How a much-talked-about Department of Government Efficiency could affect the hundreds of thousands of federal workers in Texas.
In a surprise move, SpaceX has pulled out of a land swap deal with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
And: A few months ago, 17-year-old Tobi Haastrup didn’t know what a first down was. Now, the Houston player is one of the hottest prospects in college football.
Presidential campaigns make high-profile stops in Texas
With less than two weeks until Election Day, presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are both making high-profile stops in Texas today.
A nonprofit is helping Black farmers in Texas build a home-grown community.
Filmmakers share the story behind “Subtopia,” a new Texas-based mockumentary about HOA drama.
And: Remembering Sister Angela Murdaugh, a Franciscan Sister of Mary and certified nurse midwife who was named to the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.
The state is facing a middle-class housing crunch
Housing availability is too low across Texas – and the cost to buy a home is just too high. We’ll have the details of a new report that shows the middle class feeling the brunt of the housing crunch.
Seniors were some of the hardest hit during the power outages caused by Hurricane Beryl. What’s being done to protect them before the next storm?
FEMA applications for damage caused by Beryl have far outpaced any other recent storm in Harris County, even Hurricane Harvey.
What we know about how CEOs are using artificial intelligence to make high-level executive decisions – and when humans should step in and override AI’s choices.
And: UT and Oklahoma are now in the SEC. If you don’t really get why that matters, we’ll have the cliff’s notes as college football season kicks off.
Frito pie is a Texas original
The recipe is a mainstay under the Friday night lights and has morphed – and gotten more portable – since its debut in 1949.
This Is My Thing: Flag Football!
Richard Samuel has had two great loves in his life: art and football. He played football as a kid, in college, and then professionally in Europe before getting a job as a coach. All the while, he pursued art as a hobby. Then one day he realized that he should flip it — he opened a gallery and became a full-time, professional artist. Now flag football is his most-loved hobby. Host Michael Lee talks to him about all that and more on the first episode of ‘This Is My Thing.’
Is high school football on the decline in Texas?
A conversation with state Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a self-described progressive Democrat who’s running to challenge Ted Cruz for his U.S. Senate seat.
Three years after the big freeze that plunged most of Texas into darkness, a new bill aims to connect the state to neighboring electric grids. Mose Buchele of KUT in Austin has more.
A big change for the Texas STAAR tests: student essays graded by computer. How does that work, and how fair is it?
And: Is football still king in Texas? A Washington Post analysis looks at the sport’s rise and fall across the country.
Trailer: ¡Vamos Verde!
¡Vamos Verde! is a podcast that looks at the intersection of Austin FC and the community that surrounds it. Hosts Jimmy Maas and Juan Garcia talk to players, staff, fans, musicians, and artists to bring you an inside look at the culture of Austin’s only professional sports team.
The first episode comes out on Feb 29th, with episodes coming out every other Thursday through the end of the season.
¡Vamos Verde! is a production of KUT and KUTX Studios in collaboration with Austin FC.
Bitcoin miners came to rural Texas – and brought disruption with them
Critics say that Attorney General Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against five Texas cities over marijuana enforcement is all politics – but what does the law say?
In rural Texas, neighbors of bitcoin miners say the noise is causing migraines, sleepless nights and the flight of wildlife.
Texas freelance journalist Tamir Kalifa has won a top national prize for coverage of the shooting in Uvalde. We’ll meet him and hear how he approaches his reporting.
And: How Tex-Mex has become the MVP of the Super Bowl.
Remembering political trailblazer Eddie Bernice Johnson
The death of a giant in Texas politics: reaction to the passing of longtime political trailblazer Eddie Bernice Johnson.
A new year brings a new mayor in Houston. What John Whitmire plans to do to address the most pressing issues facing the city.
What 2024 heralds for one of the busiest thruways in Texas: the north-south corridor of Interstate 35.
An economist with the Dallas Fed shares red flags for Texas employment.
The San Antonio-Havana connection: A new cross-cultural art exchange between the two cities.
Also: Longhorn Nation recovers from a semifinal loss to Washington in the College Football Playoff.
La Pitada
554 miles from AT&T Stadium you will find a Dallas Cowboys celebratory tradition that is unique in Texas. You might expect it in Dallas or Arlington, but to find this three decade tradition thriving in a Brownsville neighborhood, is both surprising and heart-warming. It is called La Pitada. Texas Standard commentator WF Strong has more.