Mental Health

Chronic wasting disease ravages Texas Parks and Wildlife facility

A federal judge is considering holding Texas in contempt of court over ongoing problems in the state’s foster care system. Bob Garrett of The Dallas Morning News joins us with the latest.

Chronic wasting disease, for which there is no known cure, has been detected in a Texas deer breeding facility. The Standard’s Michael Marks tells us more.

Amid concrete and skyscrapers, a community garden brings green space to North Austin. Texas Standard intern Breze Reyes reports.

And: What could the fish be telling us? Why a Texas researcher is capturing their sounds.

Everything you need to know about cedar fever

Arguments are set for today in a challenge to Texas’ near-total abortion ban. Eleanor Klibanoff of the Texas Tribune with more about a major abortion case before the state Supreme Court.

A securities case before the U.S. Supreme Court could destroy the U.S. government, according to some critics. We’ll try to sort the hyperbole from the facts.

A Texas-based international relations expert weighs in with more on the extended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.

They call it cedar fever season – only there’s no fever, and for some, the suffering lasts more than a season. Top tips for dealing with a Texas scourge.

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Tracing the foodways of Black Seminoles

The Supreme Court finally has its own ethics code for justices following a series of scandals – including a Texas billionaire showering gifts on Justice Clarence Thomas. Will this new code of conduct make a difference?

Bison once ruled the Great Plains of North America before being hunted almost to extinction. We’ll hear about how Indigenous people in Texas are supporting their slow rebound.

For descendants of Black Seminoles – a group whose members included former slaves and the Seminole native people – finding foodways through Texas and Mexico takes care and intention.

And: Colleges can no longer use race as a determining factor in admissions, thanks to a Supreme Court decision earlier this year. What’s the upshot? It may surprise you.

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Children’s Grief


Children often have it the hardest in terms of personal loss, and kid gloves can only go so far. In this penultimate episode, Ike interviews Laura Olague and Kathy Revtyak of the Children’s Grief Center of El Paso to discuss ambiguous grief, secondary loss, bereavement, coping processes and more.

We might be getting a bit better at understanding – and reducing the stigma around- mental health.

During this very busy month of October, we are taking some time to notice that it is also a month focused on mental health. The first week in October was Mental Illness Awareness Week. October 10th was World Mental Health Day. And all of October is World Mental Health Month and Depression Awareness Month. All of these special designations are of course meant to educate people about – and remove the stigma around – mental health concerns. Central Texas neuropsychotherapist Bella J. Rockman LPC, MA told KUT’s Jennifer Stayton recently over Zoom that she thinks we are actually doing pretty well.

What are the most haunted places in Texas?

With the U.S. House of Representatives still without a leader, two Texans drop out of the race for the speakership. What happens next?

The White House is launching a new program for Ecuadorians who are trying to migrate to the U.S. We’ll have details on the change is and why it’s happening.

Miles and miles of Texas are usually traversed by car – but one writer says the train is the ultimate way to go.

Also, with Halloween on the horizon, we have the backstory on some of the spookiest places to visit in Texas.

Public school teachers in Texas are protesting vouchers. They’ve enlisted plumbers to help.

A federal judge strikes down a redistricting map in Galveston County, saying it violated the rights of Black and Latino voters, and gives the county until Oct. 20 to fix its maps.

Public school teachers plan to travel to Austin to fight a plan to use taxpayer money to pay for private tuition. Who’ll teach the students when the teachers are gone? You might be surprised.

As Texas’ population swells, so does empty office space. We’ll dig into what that signals.

And: We continue our month of Tracking Texas Cryptids with the spooky story of La Lechuza.

Mental Health in Texas Public Schools

Texas schools can present a tough environment, yet the voices that most need to be heard rarely make it to the ear of policymakers. Ike and Andrew Hairston of Texas Appleseed talk the 88th Texas Legislative Session, lived experience with mental health, and how we can potentially make learning atmospheres more conducive for healthy development.

San Antonio ISD could close as many as 17 schools

San Antonio ISD could close nearly one-fifth of its schools as it deals with aging buildings and falling enrollment. But it’s not just San Antonio – this reflects a larger challenge facing many school districts across Texas.

A mystery at the Tarrant County Appraisal District has led to an office shake-up that may leave some taxpayers holding the bag.

What’s happening to the Texas economy? The Standard’s Sean Saldana’s been getting some clues from the Dallas Fed’s new Beige Book entry.

And: What’s to become of Benito, a giraffe in a Juárez park at the center of a controversy?

Community Resilience in Youth

September is Suicide Prevention Month, and over the last several years, data has emerged indicating an alarming increase in the suicide rates for Black youth. In the third episode of Mind of Texas, host Ike Evans navigates a hard conversation with Krystal Grimes, MS, LPC, Director of Inclusion & Resilience at Bastrop County Cares and Rue Dashnaw, a youth community leader to reveal how resilience has emerged within Bastrops bleak backdrop of selfharm and suicidal ideation.

 

Austin State Hospital: Then & Now

The second installment of Mind of Texas dives headfirst into Austin State Hospitals oral history project with UT professor emeritus Dr. King Davis and historic preservation coordinator D.D. Clark to learn what state hospital archives teach us about mental health and equity today.

In part two, peer support specialist Parker LaCombe chimes in with her experiences on state hospitals and mental health field – both in terms of receiving and offering services.

KUT Morning Newscast for July 27, 2023

Central Texas top stories for July 27, 2023. Heat warnings for high school sports and band practices. Ascension Seton nurses start bargaining sessions. Push back on new mental care facility.

Minority Mental Health: Women Knowledge Workers in Higher Education Show Themselves Out

In the series premiere of Mind of Texas, host Ike Evans explores Dr. M. Yvonne Taylor’s research into how the gendered and racialized organizational structure of large universities affected women in a way that made their Great Resignation a uniquely painful one.

In the second half of this rich conversation, Ike and Yvonne are joined by Black Austin Matters host Dr. Richard J. Reddick alongside one of Yvonne’s actual research subjects, who assumes the alias “Sunshine” for a hands-on recollection of the dual pandemics, the Great Resignation, and what the future of knowledge work in Texas may look like.

Trailer: Mind of Texas

Texas is a big and diverse state. And so are the minds of the people in it. Mind of Texas is a new podcast focused on mental health in our society, particularly among people of color. The podcast launches on July 12 with new episodes available on the second Wednesday of each month. Hosted by Ike Evans of UT’s Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, the program brings you in-depth discussions on mental health in Texas. You’ll hear from researchers, industry professionals, and even folks in the throes of coping with Texas’ complexities themselves. We hope you’ll join us each month for Mind of Texas.

KUT Morning Newscast for June 22, 2023

Central Texas top stories for June 22, 2023. Austin Energy power outages. Central Texas storms. Austin FC wins over Dallas. University of Texas mental health care expansion.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for June 6, 2023

Central Texas top stories for June 6, 2023. Hotter-than-normal weather coming. First phase of Austin light rail gets formal approval. Travis mental health diversion center moves forward. Avoiding property fraud in Williamson. Austin Police officer faces another indictment. Ozone Action Day.

What happened to the bill closing the ‘dead suspect loophole?’

Property tax cuts and border security are on the agenda as the Legislature’s special session moves into week 2.

A bill to promote police transparency received support in the House and the Senate, but now it’s apparently gone missing. KXAN investigative reporter Josh Hinkle explains.

There’s a shortage of mental health treatment for people arrested in Texas who are deemed in need of treatment before trial.

And Texas-based American Airlines has grounded planes amid an ongoing pilot shortage. What does this mean for summer travel?

KUT Morning Newscast for May 25, 2023

Central Texas top stories for May 25, 2023. Mental health programs for teens in the summer. Deadly algae bloom safety. UT baseball drops a tournament game.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for May 24, 2023

Central Texas top stories for May 24, 2023. Austin light rail one step closer to reality. Bill to reduce civilian police oversight likely dead. 90-day eviction protection over in San Marcos. Texas Senate adds vouchers to education funding bill. Parents encouraged to talk with kids about mental health. Summer Meal Program for kids. Texas baseball.

How the ‘We Buy Ugly Houses’ company preyed on desperate and elderly sellers

Migrant crossings at the border with Mexico are reported to be dramatically down after the end of Title 42.

Adolescent medicine doctors at Dell Children’s Medical Center in Austin are out amid calls from politicians for an investigation of gender-affirming care at the hospital.

A bill to preempt new local regulations on a variety of issues including labor and the environment moves quickly toward an expected passage in the Texas Senate.

And what’s the story behind those “We Buy Ugly Houses” signs? A ProPublica investigation reveals that the buyers behind the signs took advantage of elderly homeowners.