Gaza

A massive data center in Taylor is moving forward

A judge has dismissed a lawsuit in a case centered around the construction of a data center in Taylor on land that had been set aside for a park. We’ll hear from KUT Williamson County reporter Kailey Hunt, who has been following the story and speaking with the folks looking to put a halt to that development.

A group of volunteer musicians, the Viva Palestina Orchestra, is raising money for aid in Gaza by playing Palestinian music.

Need to yell out your feelings? How to join the next meeting of Scream Club Austin.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 8, 2025: Massive data center in Taylor will move forward, despite deed promising land would become park

Central Texas top stories for October 8, 2025. Some Travis County voters may not be able to find themselves in the system yet. A state district judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Blueprint Data Centers and its project in Taylor. Austin activist Greg Stoker is back home. About $21 million in funding is on the way to local child care providers in Travis County. The Texas Volleyball team will face Tennessee tonight.

This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.

KUT Morning Newscast for October 8, 2025: Parents are planning to protest at AISD headquarters tomorrow night

Central Texas top stories for October 8, 2025. Protestors are planning to show up outside Austin Independent School District headquarters tomorrow night. Greg Stoker, an Austin activist detained by Israeli forces, is back home. Travis County Tax Office officials say they are facing a backlog due to technical issues with the state’s registration and election management system. Bastrop County’s Office of Emergency Management says the Hole 18 Fire is still about 15 acres in size and now 90 percent contained.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 6, 2025: Austin activist Greg Stoker released from Israeli prison

Central Texas top stories for October 6, 2025. An Austin activist who was detained in an Israeli prison has been released. A Travis County judge postponed a hearing in a lawsuit against the Sunrise Navigation Center set for today. Today is the last chance to register to vote in the November 4th election. Visitors to National Parks in Texas may find a lack of services as the federal government shutdown goes on. The Longhorns dropped out of the AP top 25 college football rankings. Barton Springs Pool will be closed tomorrow for most of the day.

This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.

Bastrop asks Elon Musk for tunnels to connect city trails

ACL Fest is just one day away, but if you’re looking to take in EVEN MORE live music this weekend, KUTX Program Director Matt Reilly will stop by to talk with us about the shows happening tonight and outside of the festival gates.

Also, we’re talking tunnels! Bastrop is looking to have Elon Musk’s Boring Company build a pedestrian tunnel connecting the area’s trail system. The Texas Newsroom’s Lauren McGaughy will dig into it and give us the lowdown about what’s happening in Bastrop.

Plus, we’ll have an update on an Austin veteran and activist who is believed to be in the custody of Israeli forces after attempting to deliver aid to Gaza by flotilla.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for October 1, 2025: Austin activist on flotilla heading to Gaza detained by Israeli military

Central Texas top stories for October 1, 2025. Israeli forces have detained an Austin activist who’s part of an international protest to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid. It’s a busy time at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Texas Volleyball is on the road tonight against the Georgia Bulldogs. Austin FC hosts Nashville SC tonight in the final of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for September 30, 2025: An Austin man is one of dozens of activists attempting to break the Israeli blockade on Gaza

Central Texas top stories for September 30, 2025. The former soldier is part of a civilian-led humanitarian mission to Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory. Travis County’s budget is growing, along with property tax bills to pay for it. Tomorrow is an ozone action day in Austin.

This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.

KUT Morning Newscast for May 1, 2025: Whooping cough cases are rising in Texas.

Central Texas top stories for May 1, 2025. Whooping cough cases are on the rise in Texas. Texas Senators approved a bill that could shut down a church’s homeless navigation center in South Austin. Texas Governor Greg Abbott says he’ll pull state grant funding from San Marcos if the city passes a resolution related to the war in Gaza. 

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?

The growing union drive in tech

Extreme weather brings flooding and evacuations to an area near the Trinity River. We’ll find out how folks are coping with all that water.
Police remove protestors trying to set up camp on the UT Austin campus.
A new book takes a look at the Republic of Texas – an armed secession movement in the Davis Mountains of West Texas. It happened nearly 30 years ago. Could we see it again?
Also, as union membership grows across the Lone Star State, what does that mean for tech workers and why they face challenges unionizing?

What’s next for pro-Palestine campus protests in Texas?

An even larger antiwar protest at the University of Texas at Austin takes place Thursday, now the official response to protesters taking center stage. Is a major constitutional battle looming over UT’s response to Wednesday’s campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war?
Why tiny rural Texas towns may be in the crosshairs for a new kind of cyberwar between the U.S. and its adversaries.
Historic Texas barbecue joints, fading into history? Texas Monthly’s Daniel Vaughn with details.
Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more.

From small startups to fossil fuel giants, Texans are rethinking the future of energy

What’s the connection between credit card fees and Texas? It’s a question at the heart of a case that could affect consumers nationwide.
In Texas’ energy mix, gas and oil are giving way to more and more alternate sources: think wind, solar and small-scale nuclear – and many of the projects are run by veterans of the fossil fuel industry.
Corpus Christi is making plans to deal with a lack of drinking water, but some locals are pushing back against one potential solution.
Also: North Texas is making plans to host World Cup games, but they’re racing against the clock.

Which Texas cities take the lead in ending homelessness?

The U.S. Senate has passed a major aid bill for Ukraine and Israel – but its fate in the House is uncertain.

Despite its dominance in politics statewide, the Republican Party in Texas ain’t what it used to be. What’s changed, why, and what it means for the future.

As the numbers of people experiencing homelessness rise nationwide, some cities are making progress. A new report examines what’s working and what lessons can be learned.

In Texas oil country, two longtime rivals are expected to merge this year in a $26 billion deal. What it adds up to.

Plus, a conversation with celebrated author and poet Sandra Cisneros.

New proposals would let ranchers kill two birds. But is one really a predator?

New laws on arresting migrants who cross the border into Texas illegally are just one of many changes related to border security from this year’s legislative sessions. Julián Aguilar of The Texas Newsroom takes a closer look at what passed, what didn’t, and what it means.

How do Texas voters think lawmakers did dealing with top-line issues in 2023? Jim Henson of the Texas Politics Project shares the findings of a new poll.

A Texas perspective of the struggle over campus free speech.

Democratic lawmakers in Congress are pitching a plan to stop hedge funds from buying rental homes.

And the Standard’s Michael Marks dives in on Texas ranchers’ ongoing fight against predatory birds.

Thousands of vulnerable Texans stand to lose food and health benefits

A plan to provide aid to Ukraine and Israel is on the ropes due to disagreements over border security. What comes next? Brandon Rottinghaus of the University of Houston has more.


Thousands of vulnerable Texans stand to lose food and health benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC.


An obscure element of the school financial system is leaving some districts with more money than they need.


And we’ll talk to Tyler Campbell, the son of NFL Hall of Famer and Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, who’s sharing his story in a new book.

KUT Morning Newscast for November 13, 2023

Central Texas top stories for November 13, 2023. Ceasefire march. Vigil for Austin SWAT officer. Christopher Taylor jury deliberations. Downtown Salvation Army shelter. Texas Workforce Commission federal grant. Kyle firefighter classes. Cool season crops. Texas college football update.

Celebrating a century of Texas state parks

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.

Israel and Palestine

In the first half of this edition of In Perspective host Rebecca McInroy of KUT Radio talks with: Dr. Amelia Weinreb, lecturer at the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Texas; Dr. Yoav Di-Capua, History Professor at UT and author of Arab Existentialism: A lost chapter in the intellectual history of decolonization; and Associate Professor in the Middle Eastern Studies Department UT and author of Place and Ideology In Contemporary Hebrew Literature, Dr. Karen Grumberg.

In the second half of the show McInroy turns to: Dr. Helga Tawil Souri, Professor of Media, Culture and Communication at New York University; Dr. Ussama Makdisi, Professor of History at Rice University and author of Faith Misplaced: The Broken Promise of U.S.-Arab Relations, 1820-2001; and Dr. Samer Ali, Professor in The Middle Eastern Studies Department at The University of Texas at Austin.