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

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We’re tracking Texas cryptids all October

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.

What you need to know about viewing the upcoming solar eclipses from Texas

Though Attorney General Ken Paxton has been acquitted on all impeachment charges, whistleblowers say they’re not giving up. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom shares more.

It’s rare for an eclipse to be visible at the same location within several years, much less a few months – but the skies over a portion of Texas will be ground zero for observing both an annular and a total solar eclipse.

At the Rescue Mission of El Paso, plenty of food is coming in – but it’s not to feed people experiencing homelessness. Instead, those people are feeding others. Texas monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn shares the mission of Hallelujah! BBQ.

What Texans need to know about the impending government shutdown

In six days, the federal government runs out of money. Can a shutdown be averted? What’s at stake if lawmakers can’t come up with a plan for short-term spending by Oct. 1.

In Fort Worth and Tarrant County, families are falling into homelessness as pandemic relief funding is running out.

Five things to know before federally guaranteed student loan payments resume next month.

A plan to close nearly 20% of San Antonio ISD’s schools is being pushed in the name of equity. Camille Phillips of Texas Public Radio takes a closer look.

Plus, a crisis for Texas Gulf Coast shrimpers.

What’s changed for migrants on the border after Title 42’s end?

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.

The bipartisan appeal of psychedelic research into treating veteran PTSD

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?

What can Texas teach California about dealing with homelessness?

As temperatures rise, so does gun violence. What does this mean for a Texas already struggling with climate change?

A new study on police response times in Texas’ biggest city and what it hints at for other departments elsewhere in the state.

Send in the clones – after Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter, are any of the alternates gaining traction?

California doesn’t often turn to Texas for policy tips, but more and more lawmakers from the Golden State are taking a closer look at how Texas cities are handling homelessness.

And a new book on the sitcom’s role in shifting attitudes toward the LGBTQ community.

Marfa art exhibit honors the railroad’s Chinese laborers

Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Texas, but the worst of the freezing rain may be behind us. Mose Buchele of the Disconnect podcast and KUT Austin joins us with more on the power situation.

A new poll suggests a disconnect between the headlines and what Texans really think of the state’s public schools.

Our focus on the push to cut property taxes in the Texas Legislature turns to how schools are funded in Texas.

And an effort to turn attention to a largely forgotten story of how Chinese labor helped to build West Texas.

KUT Morning Newscast for January 26, 2023

Central Texas top stories for January 26, 2023. Austin Fire Department prescribed burn. Austin City Council eviction relief. Austin ISD begins superintendent search. Austin homeless strategy division meetings. Hutto gets a movie theater.

How Austin is bringing healthcare to people experiencing homelessness

That light at the end of the tunnel, is it a sign that a rail strike can be averted or a freight train headed for the U.S. economy? With an economy already reeling from a multitude of challenges, president Biden gets the wheels rolling in congress to head off a potential nationwide rail strike. We’ll look at the potential impact for Texas and the prospects that a strike can be avoided. Also one of the last fully independent public institutions of higher learning set to join the UT system. What does Stephen F. Austin State University stand to gain or lose in the process? Also a closer look at the Texas economic forecast and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: November 22, 2022

Texas has more residents without health insurance than any other state; now a Wall Street Journal investigation shows how obstacles are put in front of patients who would be eligible for financial aid. We’ll have more. And the US supreme court mulling a case out of Texas that involves Native Americans and foster care. Also, a new report on a nursing shortage in Texas. And what the city of Dallas is trying to do to cut down on street encampments. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

 

Texas Standard: September 1, 2022

Employees of Child Protective Services quitting over the state’s policy to investigate families providing gender affirming care to transgender teens. Reports say the agency charged with protecting children in Texas is on the brink of collapse, we’ll hear more. Also, a small voyage for a boat, a giant leap for the long leaky Battleship Texas. We’ll have more on plans to save an historic ship. And two of the most prominent pop stars in the world, both hailing from Texas, both deciding to remove an offensive word from their lyrics. One critic says it elevates the conversation about ableism. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: July 29, 2022

An offer for a prisoner exchange with Russia to secure the return of Texan and basketball star Brittney Griner. Prisoner swaps are usually negotiated in secret before a deal is reached, but the announcement of what the U.S. calls a substantial offer to secure Griner’s release has raised hopes, and some eyebrows as well. Former White House national security expert William Inboden takes a closer look. Also what’s being done, and what isn’t, when it comes to soaring temperatures in Texas prisons, most of which lack air conditioning. And got a new phone or some other device? The settings you need to change pronto. Those stories and a lot more today on the Texas Standard:

KUT Morning Newscast for July 27, 2022

Central Texas top stories for July 27, 2022. Texas’ “trigger law” banning almost all abortions is set to go into effect next month. Austin City Council will vote on new management for the city’s homeless shelter. AISD’s offering free menstrual products to students. Fire mitigation efforts. Austin’s Red River Cultural District looks for a new executive director.

Texas Standard: February 7, 2022

A Texas official takes on listener questions about new vote-by-mail rules. Also, the energy implications of last week’s winter storm and the lingering psychological impacts of the winter storm of 2021. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: February 4, 2022

A frigid Friday and ongoing warnings in much of North and Central Texas to stay off the roads. In the run up, this week’s winter storm was characterized by many as the first real test of the power grid following last years rolling blackouts. But was it? And do traumatized Texans feel more assured? We’ll explore. Also a butterfly sanctuary in South Texas closes its doors indefinitely following death threats and more from partisan conspiracy theorists. Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: October 4, 2021

Demands for the ousting of a non-partisan county elections official for failing to be sufficiently Republican? Donald Trump took Hood County by 81%, but local Republicans want the election official there fired. We’ll hear why some think this could be a microcosm of Texas politics at the moment. Also with so much growth among Latinos in Texas according to the last census, where are they in the new redistricting maps? And recent viral images of border agents rounding up black migrants on horseback and the reverberations of racial violence in Texas. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 20, 2021

A rough and tumble year in Texas politics is set to get even tougher as Texas lawmakers gather today to redraw the states political maps. As redistricting takes center stage again in Texas, a major change in how those maps will be redrawn has many worried communities of color and interest stand to lose their strength without federal oversight. We’ll hear more. Also why so many companies, eager to position their brands, are avoiding weighing in on Texas’ new abortion law. And a new documentary on a woman who changed the face of the Supreme Court, but is seldom thought of as a native Texan. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: September 1, 2021

A new abortion law takes effect in Texas. Not only does it effectively prohibit abortions after five or six weeks, it deputizes private citizens to enforce it. We’ll hear about the implications. Also a look at some of the less well known provisions taking effect as Texas law today ranging from homelessness to the Star Spangled Banner. Plus Boca Chica we have a problem… friction between SpaceX and the folks who live near the south Texas launch site. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: August 24, 2021

They walked out over a voting bill. Now, as Texas House Democrats return and the session resumes, what comes next? Republicans say Senate Bill One is needed voting reform. Democrats say it further disenfranchises against marginalized Texans. But right now, that bill appears to be on the fast track again, we’ll have the latest. Also 650 plus new laws coming to Texas in September, including one that allows anyone who legally owns a gun in Texas to carry openly without a permit. We’ll take a closer look at what this change means for Texas, fake COVID-19 vaccination cards, plus COVID-19 questions from listeners and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:

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