KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts

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

Olympics

Travis Heights housing project scale draws some concerns

An affordable housing complex planned for the Travis Heights neighborhood is one step closer to becoming a reality. Neighbors around the proposed site say they aren’t opposed to the idea – more so the scale of it. We’ll hear more about the complex and the neighborhood it could be built in.

The Austin Independent School District is looking to save money and exit some contracts for schools that are slated to close. We’ll dig into how much money they’re looking to save, and how they could do it.

We’ll also hear the story of Dr. James Polk – not the president, but the Austin music legend.

And with the Olympics in full swing, we’ll tell you about an opportunity to get in on the action yourself.

What we learned from new Uvalde school shooting records

The city of Uvalde releases a trove of records from the Robb Elementary school shooting after pressure from the media. What are we learning?
As tensions escalate in the Middle East with Israel anticipating a strike from Iran or its proxies within days, how could this affect Texas, its role in oil exports and prices? Matt Smith, energy analyst at Kpler has more.
Across the Permian Basin, the discovery of plugged oil wells breaking down and leaking.
All aboard? Amtrak set to restore Gulf Coast train service.
Plus, 41 Texans have picked up medals in the Olympics and U.S. women’s soccer brings home the gold after beating Brazil.

Amazon expands Prime shipping to rural areas, challenging USPS

More than 400 people ended up in emergency rooms with carbon monoxide poisoning after Hurricane Beryl, many from generators.
Five years later, victims of a mass shooting in El Paso wait for the state to prosecute the gunman.
Why Texas ranks last when it comes to healthcare access and affordability, especially for women.
Is there a link between the rising number of teachers without certification in the state and declines in student achievement? New research seeks to answer that question.
And: Amazon Prime’s two-day shipping is moving into rural areas to boost sales – a direct challenge to the U.S. Postal Service.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 2, 2024

Central Texas top stories for August 2, 2024. Lisa Davis is one step closer to becoming Austin’s next police chief. A community in Southeastern Travis County will finally be getting clean drinking water in their homes for the first time. Venezuelans are protesting in Austin and in places worldwide tomorrow in response to president Nicolás Maduro refusing to provide clear evidence that he won last Sunday’s elections. This is the last day to tell the city what you think should be built on top of I-35 after TxDOT lowers the main lanes through Central Austin. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services is out with its annual ratings for U.S. hospitals. A couple of local school districts are hosting back-to-school events tomorrow. More Longhorns bringing medals home from Paris.

What’s ahead for U.S. gymnastics at the Olympics

A faculty committee at UT Austin found that university leaders violated their own rules when calling police to respond to protests over the war in Gaza at the end of the spring semester. Audrey McGlinchy of KUT News shares the latest.
Five years after the mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, a new memorial is unveiled to honor the 23 people killed.
Serious questions have been raised over a private contractor providing healthcare services to prison inmates in many states, including Texas.
And: Texas was well-represented at the men and women’s gymnastics team and all-around events at the Paris Olympics. A look at what’s ahead for the athletes.

KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 1, 2024

Central Texas top stories for August 1, 2024. An investigation has found extensive problems in Texas youth prisons. New Title IX rules are blocked in more than two dozen states, including Texas. The City of Georgetown reports more mosquito traps testing positive for West Nile Virus. A new clinic in East Austin is about to open its doors to patients. Outdoor warning sirens are once again operational in San Marcos. Gas prices have turned lower, but possibly not for long. Former Longhorn rower Kate Knifton helped lead Team USA to its best Olympic finish in the Women’s 4 racing event since 1992.

Fifth Circuit rules Texas can keep buoys in the Rio Grande for now

Gov. Greg Abbott receives at least a temporary victory in a fight with the Biden administration over border buoys in the Rio Grande.
NPR’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán has the latest on the reduction in the numbers of people crossing the border from Mexico into Texas, and the political spin in a volatile election season.
As Texas senators hold hearings into the response to Hurricane Beryl, we’ll hear about a group of people especially vulnerable in those many days without power.
WF Strong has some ideas for a competition that would be open to all – the Texas Olympics.
And: Meet the two Brits taking Texas by storm on social media.

What VP Kamala Harris said at her Houston stop

The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee comes to Houston talking teachers, Donald Trump and Joe Biden. Andrew Schneider of Houston Public Media was at Kamala Harris’s speech to the American Federation of Teachers. We’ll hear what she had to say in her sprint toward the convention and Election Day.
How El Paso could teach the rest of Texas a thing or two about the future of managing water.
In the Panhandle, a federal plan to expand a wildlife refuge tenfold. Not everyone’s happy about it, either.
Corn or flour? Taco journalist Mando Rayo on some choices we Texans must face.
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry from Typewriter Rodeo.

Southlake teen Sam Watson sets speed climbing records ahead of Paris Olympics

Kamala Harris consolidates Democratic support, shattering fundraising records. How does this change things for Texas Republicans?

After the death of veteran Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who takes her place for the remainder of her term and on the ballot for her open seat?

Sam Watson, an 18-year-old from Southlake, holds the three fastest times ever in speed climbing and will be competing at the Paris Olympics.

The Rio Grande Valley faces an unprecedented water crisis as drought intensifies.

And: a new push to change how Texas imposes the death penalty.

Sports in the Time of COVID

The Winter Olympics are going on — so is the Super Bowl. Some aspects of both of those huge sporting events look very different these days, others look exactly the same. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Texas Standard: July 12, 2021

As some Texas Democratic lawmakers make their way back to Texas are there signs that the special session quorum break may be breaking up? How much longer can Texas democrats hold out? Also what some are calling a constitutional crisis looming over the budget. And with the rapid spread of the Delta Covid variant and back to school pressures, what we know and what we don’t know about the spread among kids. And more listener parents weigh in on what they plan to do about the return to school. All of that and then some today on the Texas Standard:

The Texas Olympics

The Olympics — as we were all just reminded — are a fantastic display of athleticism of all sorts. For many of us, watching the games is a reminder of just how we could never do that thing that we’re watching other people do.

But watching got commentator W-F Strong thinking there’s quite a lot Texans seem to be pretty good at. And he thinks maybe there should be a competition that would be open to all while taking advantage of our state’s unique geography.

Texas Standard: August 11, 2021

ICU bed capacity is slim to none in most parts of the state. What that means on a practical level and why adding more beds isn’t really the solution. And as COVID-19 cases continue to surge across the state, the messages about the protection of getting vaccinated and wearing masks continue. But do we need to change what we’re saying or how we’re saying it? And how safe is it to go to a concert right now? Musicians and venues weigh the risks. Plus we’ll take a closer look the infrastructure bill in Washington and how much money could come to Texas. And we’ll examine national identity and sports as we talk with a Texan who competed at the Olympics under the Puerto Rican flag. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

What Sport Do You Play?

The 2020 Olympics (taking place in 2021) have, as usual, been filled with stories of challenge, triumph, disappointment. Kari Anne Holt has been watching it all. And that was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Texas Standard: July 21, 2021

The special session walkout: a stalemate? Or could this add up to a new political math in Texas longer term? A new group of younger Texas democrats willing to sharpen their message and their elbows, see the walkout as energizing the base and perhaps changing the political mix longer term. But are they right? We’ll explore. Also, Texans going for the gold in Japan…though the cloud of COVID-19 hangs over the Olympics, a view from a Texan in Tokyo covering the games. And in a Texas city known for its distinctive sound, a distinctive new installation aimed at the ears. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: March 25, 2020

They are the toughest measures yet to deal with Coronavirus in Texas. What’s the real world significance of new stay in place orders in cities across the Lone Star State? We’ll take a closer look. Also, the tenth biggest economy in the world asks Washington for help. What Texas wants to do with that disaster money. And how even NASA’s trying to shelter in place, while preparing for liftoff. Plus maintaining faith amid quarantine, how communities are staying together while keeping their distance. All those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

Olympics

The 2018 Winter Olympics are officially underway in South Korea. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Texas Standard: August 11, 2016

Maybe you thought the battle in the so-called transgender bathroom wars was winding down. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton isn’t giving up, and he’s got ten other states behind him. We’ll explore. Also a program that provides tuition for veterans, unique to Texas, is costing universities more and more every year. The question, how to pay for it? Plus, an uptick in Texas kids skipping vaccines. And yes, the Olympics. We’ll talk technology (think 3-d printed shoes) and the evolution of drug testing, it’s come a long way since amphetamines.
All that and more on today’s Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: August 8, 2016

Maybe you didn’t make it to Rio for the Olympics, but the Zika virus has made it here. Mosquitoes and money, lots of money, we’ll explore. Also for the first time since 1904, golf makes it to the Olympics. And, Nike QUITS the golf business. We’ll look at those mixed messages and the sport’s popularity in Texas. Plus why stolen shopping carts are a big deal in Houston. And how a Texas oilfield explosion has pushed one family into get this, it’s called “the Laws garbage can”. All that and more for you today’s Texas Standard:

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