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.
music
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.
KUT Morning Newscast for June 27, 2023
Central Texas top stories for June 27, 2023. Nurses’ strike begins. Musicians rally for better SXSW pay. Summer mosquito danger.
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.
What’s the oldest music venue in Austin?
It seems like a simple question, with a simple answer. But there’s more to it.
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:
The Texas Standard’s favorite stories of the year
After a year covering miles and miles of Texas, what did our producers pick as standout stories? With a new year dawning, we asked our team of producers and reporters to hand pick some of the standout stories we’ve shared over the past 12 months. From amateur astronomers making celestial discoveries to a reconsideration of labor leader Cesar Chavez, and a mysterious tradition involving a certain Sam Houston. We offer a collection of unforgettable voices and tales from 2022 today on the Texas Standard:
Texas’ top musical moments of the year
From the highlights to the blue notes, what happened in the world of Texas music in 2022. A Texas country music legend says goodbye to the road that goes on forever; our conversation with Robert Earl Keene. Also a renaissance for one of the best know Texas artists of all time: the impact of Beyonce’s 7th album, an homage to house and disco music. And Adrian Quesada turns up the volume on a rediscovered musical genre with his Boleros Psicodélicos. A lonestar-studded review of the year, today on the Texas Standard:
Largest teacher prep program in Texas at risk of losing accreditation
A long awaited report on Maternal Mortality in Texas is now two months delayed and may not be available for the next legislative session. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: amid a statewide teacher shortage, the biggest teacher accreditation program in Texas now facing the possible loss of accreditation. We’ll hear more. And after several local ordinances to decriminalize marijuana pass on the November ballot, a pushback from many local officials. Also a singer from El Paso who’s new release, Frontera, is turning a spotlight on latino voices in country music. Our conversation with Valerie Ponzio, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:
The Great War (of buying Taylor Swift tickets)
For fans of a certain musician, a certain recent ticket-buying experience was a certain nightmare. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
Texas Standard: November 25, 2022
Had your fill yet? No need to loosen the belt…we’re serving up something different today. As many Texans dash about in search of gift-giving deals on this Friday, we’ve made out a list of some of our favorite books this past year. From tales of trailblazing women clearing the way for the final frontier of space to an examination of re-wilding as a way to get back to a balance with nature and make cities more livable. A memoir from a music superstar and the hidden histories of gay power in high places. Just a few of the reading selections we’ve been perusing today on the Texas Standard:
Texas Standard: November 24, 2022
It’s a day marked by feasts and celebrations: Thanksgiving Day across Texas and the US. Our producers, reporters and others behind the scenes share some of the stories they’re grateful for over the past year. From efforts to preserve an historic Freedmen’s cemetery in North Texas, the Black Women kayakers breaking down racial barriers in recreational sports, the work being done to save turtle hatchlings along the Texas coast, to the efforts to preserve the voices and stories of San Antonio’s historically vibrant West Side music scene. These stories and much more today on a Thanksgiving edition of the Texas Standard:
Tardeadas
Move over Sunday brunch! Today we are vibing at a Tardeada in Seguin, Texas. Travel with us as we fill our panzitas with Tacos and our soul with good music y good afternoon vibes at Burnt Bean Co. The Pope of BBQ Ernest Servantes will guide us through a Sunday ritual of some sacred tacos of Texas. We talk tardeada traditions, memorias, and some of our favorite tardeada tunes y comida.