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

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Trade tensions with Mexico could drive up tomato prices

For the first time since Texas’ measles outbreak at the start of the year, there are no new reported cases. We’ll get an update on efforts to contain the disease.
A new report in The Guardian reveals pressure from Immigration and Customs Enforcement leadership to ramp up arrests, even of people not originally targeted.
Flag football is helping to tackle a gender gap in youth sports, getting a boost in Texas from none other than the NFL.
A simmering trade dispute could make tomatoes more expensive at the grocery store.
And: The week in politics with the Texas Tribune.

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

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Why ranchers are ‘absolutely terrified’ of the New World screwworm’s return

A old law suddenly no more: a judge strikes down in-state tuition for undocumented students in Texas.
What changes can Texans expect for energy and the environment after this week’s conclusion of the 89th Texas Legislature?
After the Smokehouse Creek Fire scorched over 1 million acres, lawmakers also passed a slate of wildfire preparedness bills.
The devastating New World screwworm, eliminated from North America decades ago, are on their way back. The Standard’s Michael Marks talked to ranchers who remember what it was like to fight them.
And: Texas sheriffs could be required to help enforce federal immigration law.

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

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Fear at immigration court as ICE arrests migrants there for a hearing

The race to be San Antonio’s next mayor was narrowed from a field of 27 to two. What to know before the runoff election on Saturday.
Arrests outside of immigration court have happened in El Paso, Dallas and San Antonio. Why activists say this tactic encourages migrants to break the law.
Texas is set to become the next in a handful of states to ban lab-grown meat for human consumption.
It’s Texas vs. Texas Tech in the Women’s College World Series championship, with Game 1 tonight.
And: We’ll explore Lucas Schaefer’s “The Slip,” a new novel set in late ’90s Austin and propelled by a mysterious disappearance.

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 May 8, 2025: ICE deported an Austin woman and her three children. Two of them are U.S. citizens. 

Central Texas top stories for May 8, 2025. Local activists say an Austin mother has been deported to Mexico along with her U.S.-citizen children. The Austin City Limits music festival brought in more than half a billion dollars for the city’s economy last year. Texas lawmakers have passed a bill that would allow the use of helicopters to hunt aoudad sheep. It’s mosquito season in Austin. 

KUT Morning Newscast for March 21, 2025: Texas congressional representatives demand answers from national health officials on measles outbreak 

Central Texas top stories for March 21, 2025. As the measles outbreak in West Texas continues, Texas congressional representatives are demanding answers from national health officials. Landlords in Travis County filed more than 13-thousand evictions last year. Religious leaders in Austin have joined two federal lawsuits challenging an executive order by the Trump administration that allows immigration enforcement in previously protected spaces, including places of worship. Travis County leaders want to hear from residents about how they should spend about 75 million dollars on child care services this year. 

KUT Morning Newscast for February 13, 2025: Demonstrators gathered on UT campus to protest Trump’s immigration policies.

Central Texas top stories for February 13, 2025. Around a hundred demonstrators gathered on the UT Austin campus Wednesday afternoon to protest reported sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on campus. Say so far, City of Austin programs have not been affected by federal and state orders related to freezing grants and loans, but some programs could be affected in the future. Austin City Council might change to mailing parking tickets. A new child care facility is looking to help lower costs in the Austin area. 

KUT Morning Newscast for January 31, 2025

Central Texas top stories for January 31, 2025.  The City of Austin will look into changing the way it responds to mental health emergencies. The Mexican Consul General says at least 39 people from Mexico who are in the U.S. without legal status were detained in the Austin area over the last week. $42 million were approved for more affordable housing in Austin.

KUT Morning Newscast for January 30, 2025

Central Texas top stories for January 30, 2025. Advocates say recent immigration enforcement is sowing fear among undocumented migrants in the Austin area. Despite the rain, Jacob’s Well is unlikely to open for swimming this summer.

Texans weigh in on how to spend the state’s $24 billion surplus

If Texans were in charge of the state’s budget, how would they spend the money? A new survey from the Hobby School of Public Affairs sheds light on priorities.

We know many state lawmakers are prioritizing a school voucher effort that would give money for private education directly to families – and the proposal has moved forward in the Senate.

Some Texas business are already feeling indirect impacts of deportation efforts.

And: With Texas attracting more data centers, -what’s being done to ensure the energy grid can handle it?

KUT Afternoon Newscast for January 27, 2025

Central Texas top stories for January 27, 2025. Immigration authorities say they’ve arrested people across the state of Texas as part of a national crackdown. Norovirus surged across numerous states heading into 2025. Our extended streak of colder-than-normal weather will be coming to an end.

Reflections from three Holocaust survivors in Texas

President Trump’s long-promised deportation raids get underway in Texas and in other parts of the country. Today, what we know about the weekend operations and what we’re learning.

On this International Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch brings us the voices and memories of survivors living in Texas.

And: The Texas Senate has unveiled a bill to create a school voucher plan. The Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey gets us caught up on the plan ahead of a public hearing on Tuesday.

KUT Morning Newscast for January 27, 2025

Central Texas top stories for January 27, 2025. ICE conducts immigration raids in Texas. Round Rock ISD is projected to have a surplus of about $8.2 million dollars this fiscal year. Norovirus surged across numerous states heading into 2025, including in Texas.

Will Corpus Christi’s water restrictions be enough to stem emergency?

A dramatic move at the Texas Capitol upends a decades-long tradition of power sharing as conservative Republicans succeed in banning Democrats from chairing legislative committees.

The end of the CBP One program for asylum-seekers following President Donald Trump’s inauguration has left many with questions about their future.

And: Growing demand and industrial expansion have left Corpus Christi facing a water emergency.

What Trump’s declaration of an energy emergency could mean for Texas

As Texans try to keep warm, volunteers are bundling up to help a particularly vulnerable population: sea turtles facing “cold stun,” a life-threatening condition.

We’re three days into the new Trump administration and trying to keep up with a slew of executive orders. Digging into the impacts on the energy industry, as well as what it means to issue a presidential pardon.

Peer support specialists can help fill the gaps in mental health care in Texas. But there are some challenges to keeping people on the job.

And: The Sundance Film Festival gives fans a sneak peek at movies before they hit theaters. We’re keeping an eye on a few with Texas ties.

Celebrated African American art and history exhibit arrives in Texas

With winter storm warnings out across the Lone State State, emergency management officials are warning Texans to stay inside if at all possible, avoid travel, and monitor calls for energy conservation. We’ll get a status update from Matt Lanza of Space City Weather, plus a look at what’s ahead this week.

With COVID-era protections like eviction moratoriums gone, Texans are feeling the effects.

And on this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we’ll hear about an award-winning collection of artifacts now on display in Houston documenting the African American experience: Our conversation with collectors Bernard and Shirley Kinsey about a project more than 50 years in the making.

2024 Senate race comes into focus as Gutierrez announces candidacy

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.

What the cold wrought

Texas is still picking up the pieces from another devastating February freeze. Some of the primary victims this round were trees big and small. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Answering your tree questions in the wake of the ice storm

Insurance claims are about to spike as Texans try to recover from storm damage – a Texas insurance specialist advises how best to move forward with claims: what to do, and what not to do. We’re also answering your questions about trees and ice damage.

We take a look at what winter storms have done to the state’s aviation industry.

The Standard’s own Sean Saldana shares new Texas job numbers and what they tell us about the state of the economy.

And the Texas Tribune’s James Barragán with the week that was in Texas politics.

Why Fort Worth ISD is canceling sex ed this year

Fallen trees and branches, downed power lines and more as Texas weathers the first statewide winter storm of 2023. The worst of the weather stretches along a line west of I-35, but most Texans are feeling the impact one way or another, with driving extremely hazardous and scattered outages leaving hundreds of thousands without power.

There’s been lots of talk about property taxes in this legislative session. How’d they get so high in the first place?

Fort Worth ISD scraps its plans for a sex education course after spending millions in the ramp-up. So why the reversal?

Also a PolitiFact check of gun violence claims.

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