KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts
KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
When it comes the electric grid, every megawatt counts during peak demand. Industrial batteries have long been seen as a potential game-changer for energy storage. We’ll have details about how they’re coming online in the Lone Star State.
A new vaccine for COVID-19 will be in pharmacies soon. An epidemiologist lays out what you and your family needs to know.
Plus, Dungeons & Dragons on death row, the latest headlines, and a school finance revolt in North Texas.
Students get grades, but so do Texas schools – and with a change in evaluations, administrators are concerned.
Critics say a state lawsuit against Planned Parenthood is an attempt to completely wipe out what was once a prime provider of abortion services in Texas.
How people experiencing homelessness are trying to cope with life-threatening temperatures.
The end of pandemic restrictions against migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. prompted a lot of speculation about how the situation at border would be affected. We’ll take a look at what’s actually changed on the ground.
Also, what put a once-sleepy town in the shadow of Dallas on the fast track to becoming one of Texas’ biggest cities.
Ken Paxton, the impeached attorney general, is headed for a Houston courtroom today on his 2015 securities fraud charges.
An update on wildfires across the state as firefighters brace for another tough day of heat and wind. We’ll hear where the fire threat is greatest and what to do to prepare.
Since 2020, Texas has emerged as the epicenter of “family annihilation” cases, in which someone kills at least two kinds of family members.
A new documentary traces the careers of two of Texas’ most famous musical siblings: Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
And commentator WF Strong on what “Lonesome Dove “got right and wrong.
A regular session and now two specials – what will it take to get lawmakers to agree on a property tax cut plan? A closer look at why the two approaches are at the center of a political battle.
Sentencing begins in a federal courtroom this week for the gunman who killed 23 people at an El Paso Walmart in 2019.
How some Houstonians without adequate air conditioning are trying to beat the heat as the thermometer rises.
Plus, what science is revealing about a common bird of prey and frequent defender of many a Texas garden.
“It’s a fantasy,” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said of Gov. Greg Abbott’s objectives to lower property taxes. Patrick Svitek of the Texas Tribune joins with more on a growing divide between the state’s two top Republican leaders.
One top political observer says there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to school funding for rural districts.
Hurricane season is back. We’ll have the seasonal forecast from Space City Weather, plus how to prepare.
Plus, Cine Las Americas kicks off its 25th International Film Festival in Austin.
With just 19 days to go before the end of the 88th Texas legislative session, where do we stand?
A bill to raise the age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle made it out of a House committee – but as the Texas Newsroom’s Sergio Martínez-Beltrán reports, it may not get much further.
Hundreds of migrants line up in El Paso for processing in advance of a major change to immigration policy tomorrow.
What some believe is a banking crisis: Should Texans be worried, and should there be a different approach to regulation?
Also, the story of a teacher fired in 1975, and why it resonates with the politics of Texas today.
Early voting is underway statewide for the May 6 elections. What’s at stake? A roundtable of reporters survey the landscape.
New emissions rules from the EPA could mean some big changes coming to Texas coal plants.
Changes to a bill restricting purchases of property by citizens of China, North Korea, Russia and Iran aren’t good enough, says Texas State Rep. Gene Wu. He says it’s discrimination.
And an axe murder in a North Texas suburb in the 1980s is now the focus of a new HBO Max series. We’ll talk to the director of “Love & Death”.
Momentum is growing among Republicans to use the U.S. military to take on drug cartels in Mexico in the fight against fentanyl. How serious is such talk?
More ripple effects following a ruling by a federal judge in Amarillo that would effectively ban the abortion drug mifepristone.
The Dallas Federal Reserve finds young adults feel increasingly disconnected from work and school – but there may be more to the story.
And with more electric vehicles hitting the road in Texas, how will the need for pluggable power affect the state’s electric grid?
Calls for justice in Ciudad Juárez after dozen of migrants die in a fire at a detention facility. New details emerge about what happened just across the border from El Paso on Monday night.
Texas school districts banned hundreds of books last year. Now, the Legislature is looking to create standards that could pull even more books off the shelves.
Research increasingly shows that “forever chemicals” are making their way into our environment – especially in Texas, where they’re used in oil and gas extraction.
Plus an update from commentator W.F. Strong and a climate referendum in El Paso.
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.
Inauguration ceremonies at the capitol lift the curtain and set the stage as the 88th legislature gets underway in earnest. We’ll have more on the inauguration of the Governor and the Lt. Governor. Also a prison hunger strike and allegations of retaliation. And the constitutional sheriffs movement and why advocates of police reform are concerned a vow to uphold the law is being twisted into something that subverts the law. Also 50 years of BBQ. The barbecue editor of Texas monthly on what’s changed in those decades, and it might be a lot more than you think. Plus, commentator W.F. Strong in celebration of Texas grammar, a Politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard:
Is there a Speaker in the House? Texas’ role in the drama over who will lead the majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. No state sends more republicans to Congress than Texas, but those republicans are at loggerheads over who to pick as House speaker, and it’s brought Congress to a standstill before the next session’s even underway. Sean Theriault of UT Austin explains what’s happening and why. Also new travel restrictions as a Covid outbreak spreads in China. How concerned should Texans be, and will the restrictions really help? And W.F. Strong looks back on an historic sunken treasure discovery and more today on the Texas Standard:
A date that will live in infamy, and a new designation for Corpus Christi as a World War II heritage city. We’ll have details. Other stories we’re covering: as the thoughts of many Texans turn to winter preparedness, concerns grow over the power grid and staffing problems for the agency that oversees it. Also a Politifact check of a claim about gun homicides. And remembering a Lubbock-born Texas iconoclast who transformed the creative landscape. Michael Hall of Texas Monthly looks back on the words and music of Jo Carol Pierce who passed away last week. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
A state commission votes to extend the life of a Texas department under federal investigation for civil rights and abuse violations. More on what comes next for the embattled Texas Juvenile Justice Department. Plus this week Texas voters elected the first South Asian and Muslim state legislators. We’ll talk with Salman Bhojani, Representative-elect from District 92 in North Texas. Plus Fort Hood set to be renamed for a four star General from South Texas, the first Hispanic to reach that rank. Also On this Veterans day, the story of Harold Brown, one of the first Black military aviators. Plus the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Governor Abbott extends a COVID-19 disaster declaration for Texas as a majority of states move the other direction. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: a stay of execution for a Texas death row inmate turns the spotlight on a tactic used by police to extract confessions…not all of them true. Also as election day approaches the nuts and bolts of voting machines: often at the center of disinformation claims. And how bout them…ticket prices? If you want to see the Astros in the world series it’s gonna costa ya, big time. We’ll hear how much. And the barbecue capitol of Texas heats up for an event that’s truly smokin. All that and much more today on the Texas Standard:
After the shooting at Robb Elementary, Uvalde came together. Now, concerns that Uvalde’s becoming a town divided by tragedy. Coming up, our conversation with the mother of a 10 year old killed in the mass shooting at Robb Elementary and her concerns that as questions continue to swirl around accountability and gun violence, some in the community just want to move on. Also the biggest grant in the history of the university of North Texas leads to potentially groundbreaking research on Alzheimers. And a Politifact check of claims by a Texas congressman about immigrants from Venezuela. Those stories and much more today on the Texas Standard:
Hours away from a new law that amounts to a near total ban on abortions in Texas and a new legal challenge to that law. As Texas’ version of a post Roe vs. Wade trigger law takes effect, reproductive rights groups are suing the state attorney general. We’ll hear about the strategy and the prospects. Also, 5 years after Hurricane Harvey there are ongoing attempts to buyout the homes of people living in land that repeatedly floods. So how’s that working out? We’ll hear the latest. Also actor and comedian Mo Amer on a new Netflix series some say is the first of its kind to really capture the feel of a modern Houston. Plus a Politifact check and much more today on the Texas Standard:
There’s more fallout from the FBI’s raid at the home of former president Donald Trump. What are Texas republicans saying? We’ll explore. Plus having a baby in west Texas is getting more dangerous. We’ll take a look at maternal care west of the Pecos. All that plus our weekly fact check, the latest headlines, and Tom Landry. Today on the Texas Standard:
At the hearings on the January 6th insurrection, the spotlight turns to the some potentially key figures from Texas. We’ll have the latest. Other stories we’re tracking: an 85 billion dollar ten year transportation plan for Texas. What it includes and what it leaves out as the state tries to deal with a growing population. And with that growing population, a boom in new home construction. But why so many delays in finishing projects? Plus water levels low on many Texas rivers and questions about whether businesses catering to river recreation will sink or swim. And the Mexican activists fielding calls from Texans seeking abortions. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:
As the investigation continues in a migrant smuggling tragedy, border officials in El Paso sound an alarm over migrant deaths due to water. Coming up: a Texas pre-Roe abortion ban blocked by a Harris county judge. We’ll have the latest. Plus a conversation with the eldest daughter of Norma McCorvey, the Texan better known as Jane Roe in the landmark Roe v Wade case. And a first of its kind in Texas, diplomas for newly minted podiatrists. We’ll talk with the inaugural dean of Texas’ first school of podiatry and why its location is so critical. And the GOP platform call for Texas to secede: could Texas do that? A Politifact check and more today on the Texas Standard: