KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts

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

Storm

Food banks struggle to meet rising demand

What we’re now learning about what happened – and what didn’t – before the Hill Country floods. Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy has the details.

Plus: Flood survivors are asking lawmakers meeting in special session right now to tap the state’s $24 billion rainy day fund to help them meet their immediate needs.

Even without a pandemic, Texas food banks are facing shortages and surging need. The CEO of Feeding Texas joins us to talk about what’s driving the crisis.

Funds for adult education were first put on hold, then released – but there’s a big asterisk. The Standard’s Sarah Asch on a policy change that could affect adult ed.

Plus: Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn dishes on his latest list of the top BBQ 50 spots in the state.

KUT Morning Newscast for June 26, 2025: Lionel Messi will play in Austin for the first time

Central Texas top stories for June 26, 2025. State agencies can now develop their own telework plans, after Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law late last week. Austin area nonprofits are trying to re-home pets ahead of the 4th of July holiday. Lionel Messi will play in the Major League Soccer All-Star Game that is set to take place at Q2 Stadium in Austin. The City of Austin’s Watershed Protection Department wants people’s input on its Strategic Plan to Protect Austin’s Creeks and Communities.

Asleep at the Wheel celebrates 50 years with Texas tribute

A very busy Thursday for first responders and meteorologists with flood conditions and heavy dust for many Texans – and it’s expected to get worse before it gets better. We’ll have an update.


Houston, we have a problem, and it may be related to a spat between the president and the world’s wealthiest Texan.


The Dallas Fed offers an assessment of the Texas economy and the Standard’s Sean Saldana has the details.


Also, Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel talks about a new album focused on his favorite subject: Texas.

KUT Morning Newscast for May 29, 2025: One person dead and multiple water rescues after last night’s storm. 

Central Texas top stories for May 29, 2025. Last night’s storms left one person dead and extensive damage across the city of Austin. Thousands of Austin Energy customers are without power this morning due to last night’s storm. Two bills in the Texas legislature that could have brought Austin’s light-rail plans to a halt appear to be dead. A bill restricting how much land builders can set aside for homes in new neighborhoods looks poised to pass the Texas legislature. 

Health and Human Services Commission employees accused in data breach

Parts of Texas that seldom see snow may well see frozen precipitation blanketing beaches tomorrow. We’re keeping watch.

Seven employees of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission have been fired for improperly accessing, and in some cases, stealing, from the accounts of thousands of Texans receiving public assistance.

And: TikTok went dark for U.S. users on Saturday night, hours before a ban on the service was due to take effect. But on Sunday, the service returned, with a message crediting President-elect Trump, who said he would delay the ban. We’ll have the latest.

The latest updates on Hurricane Beryl after storm makes landfall in Texas

Hurricane Beryl has become the first of the 2024 season to make landfall in Texas, with major power outages reported across the Houston region as heavy rain and damaging winds move up from Matagorda. With floodwaters filling some streets in Galveston and 121 counties under a disaster declaration, we’ll have the latest on the storm.
The San Antonio Water System is under fire after shutting off water to four apartment buildings – affecting 600 units – after their property owners didn’t pay their bills.
And: Business owners and officials in the Rio Grande Valley seek to counter negative stereotypes about their communities by highlighting the region’s assets – and their first step is rebranding the RGV and its neighbors in Mexico as the “RioPlex.” Will it stick?

What’s next for Houston after deadly storms

We’ll have the latest on relief and recovery efforts in Houston days after deadly storms hit the region and left hundreds of thousands without power.
A new plan for mental health care in Texas and what some Texans say needs to be a shift in priorities.
The Texas delegation to Congress is set to up the stakes in a water fight with Mexico.
A small green beetle, the ash borer, has steadily decimated forests across the U.S. for more than two decades – and it’s recently spread to five new counties in Texas.
This week in Texas music history: recounting the spring of 1963, when Texas’ own Roy Orbison hit the road with the Beatles.
Plus, the antiquated music machines still playing back part of Texas history.

The state welcomed 475,000 new Texans in a year

Large parts of North Texas are cleaning up after severe storms swept the region, but weather dangers continue.
As sea levels rise, cities along the Texas Gulf Coast are sinking. A new report is raising red flags.
Boom times in Texas continue, with new census figures showing the Lone Star State growing faster than any other.
Should Texas’ senior senator, John Cornyn, be worried about a political challenge from AG Ken Paxton? Gromer Jeffers of the Dallas Morning News explains.
Plus: The week in politics with the Texas Tribune and more.

Food safety & tree protection tips as Texas awaits an arctic blast

Most parts of Texas are preparing for a big freeze as an arctic front moves in. We’ll have the latest on what to expect, plus how to prepare your trees to survive a Texas winter and tips on food and food safety in case the power goes out.

The U.S., U.K. and other allies have launched retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen; some fear it could expand global tensions and widen the conflict ongoing in Gaza. A UT expert on global studies weighs in.

Plus: The week in politics with The Texas Tribune.

Texas Spring

The weather does not always perfectly align with the changes in season. And, in Texas, those seasonal highs and lows are often very dramatic. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

Is Houston still affordable?

An orange haze, a vicious wind, in some places visibility cut close to zero – is an exiting dust storm a warning of more? With high winds expected to return later this week, what the layers of dust across Texas may tell us about changes to our climate.

A recent survey from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed roughly four out of five Houstonians are stressed out about recent price increases – raising the question of whether Houston still deserves its long-held reputation as one of the most affordable large cities in the country.

Tens of thousands protest against the president in Mexico amid concerns about threats to elections there.

A bill set to raise the penalties for illegal voting in Texas gets the green light from a Senate committee.

On Rare Disease Day 2023, we’ll hear how advocates for people with such diseases are pushing for change.

And an online hack targeting Asian Texans.

What the cold wrought

Texas is still picking up the pieces from another devastating February freeze. Some of the primary victims this round were trees big and small. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.

What zoos are doing to stay safe

Funding for public education is set to take center stage at the Capitol. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom joins us with what to expect this week as the Senate finance committee takes up education funding.

Some Texas lawmakers say student mental health is a top priority this legislative session. We’ll take a closer look at what’s being proposed.

Nearly two years after a major winter storm that knocked out power statewide, the city of San Antonio is facing a federal lawsuit that says its emergency preparedness plan is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Plus: After a series of animal disappearances at the Dallas Zoo, how are zoos and aquariums rethinking security?

Answering your tree questions in the wake of the ice storm

Insurance claims are about to spike as Texans try to recover from storm damage – a Texas insurance specialist advises how best to move forward with claims: what to do, and what not to do. We’re also answering your questions about trees and ice damage.

We take a look at what winter storms have done to the state’s aviation industry.

The Standard’s own Sean Saldana shares new Texas job numbers and what they tell us about the state of the economy.

And the Texas Tribune’s James Barragán with the week that was in Texas politics.

Marfa art exhibit honors the railroad’s Chinese laborers

Nearly 400,000 homes and businesses are still without power in Texas, but the worst of the freezing rain may be behind us. Mose Buchele of the Disconnect podcast and KUT Austin joins us with more on the power situation.

A new poll suggests a disconnect between the headlines and what Texans really think of the state’s public schools.

Our focus on the push to cut property taxes in the Texas Legislature turns to how schools are funded in Texas.

And an effort to turn attention to a largely forgotten story of how Chinese labor helped to build West Texas.

Why Fort Worth ISD is canceling sex ed this year

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.

What would property tax relief from the Legislature mean for Texas renters?

Winter storm and travel advisories across much of Texas with some forecast models indicating things could get worse. Victor Murphy of the National Weather Service with more on the icy situation that’s already led to many school closures and stranded motorists overnight.

Our closeup on property taxes continues as the Legislature sets its sights on cuts. The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldana has more on what this means for renters.

The Standard’s Shelly Brisbin on how advocates for Texans with disabilities are turning up the heat on lawmakers at the Capitol.

And 30 years after the Branch Davidian siege, we’re talking to Kevin Cook, author of the new book “Waco Rising.”

How to prepare for extreme winter weather in Texas

With just days to go before the start of the Texas legislative session, a long awaited report on maternal mortality finally sees the light of day. We’ll have details. Also, with 2500 migrants a day lining up to turn themselves in to the Border Patrol here, and numbers expected to rise, we’ll look at how local officials are hoping to manage the situation. My conversation with the El Paso County Judge. And after dozens fall sick, Louisiana Health Officials warn about Texas Oysters. We take a deep dive on what’s causing the problems and the impact on the industry. Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:

Texas Standard: March 22, 2022

Tornados, damaging winds and hail wreak destruction across Texas. Several state agencies still responding to storm damage in north and central Texas and tens of thousands are reported without power. We’ll have the latest on the weather front. Also, the head of investigations for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services resigns as questions mount over allegations of sexual exploitation at a shelter in Bastrop. Plus efforts to secure the return of a Houston native and WNBA star now held in Russia. Those stories and more today on the Texas Standard:

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