music

Milk or meat? For modern cattle ranchers, the answer may be both

Texas is moving quickly toward primary day – but where are the debates? Why there’s been a decline in an election institution.

What the families of Uvalde victims are expecting as a grand jury examines law enforcement’s response to the Robb Elementary shooting.

Why Collin County seems to be playing an outsized role in Texas politics right now.

On Texas ranches, you’ve got dairy cows and bovine raised for beef. But the distinctions may be blurring. We’ll hear about a different sort of “cattle crossing.”

And concerns about the bestselling video game “Palworld,” which looks like “Pokémon” but plays like something much more grim.

The new season of Song Confessional starts Feb 7th!

The new season of the Song Confessional podcast arrives on Feb 7th! Walker Lukens and Zac Catanzaro travel around the world collecting anonymous confessions from everyday people and then give them to songwriters and bands who turn them into new original songs. This season features new songs from artists like Golden Dawn Arkestra, Woodbelly, Buffalo Hunt, Pigeon John, and more !

Bonus Episode: HT Jazz Collective

In this bonus episode, Lisa and Rich catch-up with the Huston-Tillotson Jazz Collective after their performance at ACL. They share how Huston-Tillotson has cultivated a space that makes them feel at home, what playing jazz means to them, and what inspires them. 

Music Festivals

With temperatures (finally) cooling down, music festival season is ramping up across Texas. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Texas Extra: 50 years after ‘Viva Terlingua’

The album was recorded in a rundown dancehall 50 years ago. Today it’s like hearing a time capsule. Some consider “Viva Terlingua” the quintessential Texas record. But why?

Texas Standard’s David Brown had a conversation about this on our program last week. But for on-air we had to cut out a lot of interesting details and detours. We saved the best ones and put it all together for you as a podcast extra. Check it out — it’s beautifully produced by Texas Standard director Leah Scarpelli.

Bavu Blakes

In the latest episode of Black Austin Matters, Bavu Blakes shares his inspiring journey growing up and being surrounded by Black excellence. He reflects on the influential role his parents played in shaping his path as a scholar and being the only Texas Longhorn in the family while everyone else in his household graduated from an HBCU. The Scholar Emcee also highlights the invaluable advice he received from his then college professor, John L. Hanson Jr., and the incredible experience of performing alongside hip-hop royalty.

Carbon capture is coming to the King Ranch

High winds, unrelenting heat and lots of dry vegetation are feeding a Stage 4 wildfire warning across the state.

As heat remains a major story in Texas, the electric grid has managed to hold out in a summer of record highs.

New technology advances mean that geothermal energy may soon become a bigger part of the nation’s energy generation mix.

Some recent major rulings on gun laws and where we stand in Texas.

And the Energy Department is financing two carbon capture projects, including one at the famed King Ranch in Kleberg County.

KUT Morning Newscast for July 21, 2023

Central Texas top stories for July 21, 2023. Abortion hearings over Texas law ends. Austin ISD plans to hire more school police officers. Austin reduces lot sizes for houses in order to increase affordability.

KUT Morning Newscast for July 20, 2023

Central Texas top stories for July 20, 2023. Abortion hearing and testimony in Texas. Austin looks at SXSW pay for musicians. Hiring practices for Del Valle teachers.

Houston sues state over ‘Death Star’ law that will block local ordinances

Houston has sued the state to try and block the “Death Star” law that will block local regulations from being enacted at the city and county level.

Why several homes and businesses flooded during Hurricane Harvey may be passing up a last chance for compensation.

A new documentary, “Every Body,” turns the spotlight on people in the intersex community.

Plus, with digital streaming services upending the old model for making money in music, tech expert Omar Gallaga explores ways to support one’s favorite artists.

Texas Extra: An extended conversation with musician Jess Williamson about her new album

We’re experimenting with bonus episodes here at the Texas Standard and we’d love to know what you think. You can let us know here: https://www.texasstandard.org/contact-us/

This is a director’s cut version of our interview with musician and North Texas native Jess Williamson. There was so much we loved in this conversation that we couldn’t fit on tomorrow’s show — so you’re actually getting both a preview and an extended listen, beautifully produced by director Leah Scarpelli.

Here’s our 2020 conversation with Williamson: https://www.texasstandard.org/stories/jess-williamsons-album-sorceress-is-her-most-texas-record-yet/

Senate adopts rules for Ken Paxton impeachment trial

The rules are in: How Texas senators will manage the history-making impeachment trial of suspended Attorney General Ken Paxton.

Texas parks officials want to keep nearly 2,000 acres of parkland open to the public using eminent domain. Leaders in the county where Fairfield Lake State Park is located say not so fast.

First Twitter, now Reddit? The details are different, but another information-sharing site is seeing major owner/user conflict.

She has one of the most recognizable names in Texas history, but how much do you really know about Lady Bird Johnson? A new podcast explores.

Plus, the latest on severe weather across the state.

Texas Extra: Austin’s Oblivion Access fest curates the ‘weird end’ of the underground music spectrum

This Texas Standard podcast bonus features an extended Q&A with Oblivion Access festival co-founders Dusty Brooks and Dorian Domi. Oblivion Access is a four-day music and arts festival taking place June 15-18 in downtown Austin focused on dark, experimental and underground music. This musically-rich interview includes songs from festival headliners TR/ST, Have a Nice Life, Chat Pile, Drab Majesty, Godflesh, RXK Nephew, Earth, and Tim Hecker.

Insurers are bailing on homes in disaster-prone regions. Is Texas next?

The Texas Senate passed three new bills on border security – but with the House adjourned, does it mean anything?

The Texas Education Agency has taken over the Houston Independent School District, and already some major reforms are taking shape.

Two major insurance companies say they won’t write new homeowner policies in California, citing the costs of climate change. Could something similar happen in Texas?

Pro baseball is a favorite summer sport for many Texans, but a rule change is making it a little less lazy than it once was – for better or for worse? We’ll take a look.

KUT Morning Newscast for May 11, 2023

Central Texas top stories for May 11, 2023. Daniel Perry sentenced to 25 years. South Korean economic agreement with Taylor. COVID updates. Austin graphic artist dies.

Math, Music, and The Brain

There are some things that just feel like they’re true. For example, the idea that people who are gifted musicians are also good at learning math, or vice versa.

However, there isn’t any data that suggests that there are any links in the brain between these proclivities. As Dr. Art Markman and Dr. Bob Duke talk about in this edition of Two Guys on Your Head, we underestimate the role emotions play in what we believe to be true.

The rock stars and unsung heroes of Texas guitar playing

2 years after the insurrection on Capitol Hill the implications of the event and its aftermath for Texas and Texans. We’ll have more. Also on this January 6th, a look at concerns about extremism among some who previously served their country in the military. And order in the court? Despite discrepancies in representation between men and women in many fields, Texas bucking national trends with what some have called a golden age of elected female judges. And taco journalist Mando Rayo serves up some tips for home cooking. Plus the greatest Texas guitarists of all time, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:

A look back at the stories that shaped Texas in 2022

New laws that took effect, decisions from the courts that made history, the fight for social justice and more; it’s 2022 in review. With the Texas Legislature set to reconvene in just days, it’s worth looking back at how much Texas changed over the past 12 months, and what those changes may tell us about what’s to come in the new year. We’ll turn a spotlight on politics and a campaign season that didn’t turn out as expected, the economy, technology and much more as we reconsider the year that was across miles and miles of the Texas, today on the Texas Standard: