As Texas lawmakers return home, what are the big takeaways from six weeks of overtime at the Capitol? We’ll take a closer look at what happened – and what didn’t.
Why some think Collin County could become one of the nation’s most highly contested political battlegrounds.
Antone’s, known as Austin’s home of the blues, celebrates its 50th birthday with a new box set with deep Texas ties.
Plus: A recap of the week in politics with The Texas Tribune.
Texas Legislature
Texas to ban sales of THC vapes starting Monday
State lawmakers are still debating whether to outlaw all THC products in Texas. But on September 1st, one of those products will become illegal, under a lesser-known measure that passed earlier this year.
This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 20, 2025: Members of the Texas House are debating a new congressional district map ahead of a vote expected today
Central Texas top stories for August 20, 2025. The map is designed to flip five U.S. House seats from Democrat to Republican in next year’s midterm elections. A federal judge is blocking a new Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom. Liberty Hill ISD plans to ask voters to approve increases to the tax rate this November to make up for a budget shortfall. The men serving as interim UT Austin president and interim UT System Chancellor are now confirmed for those positions. The Zilker Eagle is off the rails again because of a broken axle.
This podcast is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.
Muleshoe Refuge expansion plan scrapped
Texas Democrats are facing legal threats and potential action from the FBI for fleeing the state during the special session.
Concerns about artificial intelligence are coming to a head with the most recent round of college graduates. How it’s disrupting the job market.
A proposed expansion for the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge in the Panhandle had been in the works for years, but now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is backing away.
The 1991 Yogurt Shop murders in Austin remain officially unsolved. Our conversation with Margaret Brown, the director of a new HBO docuseries revisiting the tragedy.
Plus: It’s been a month now since deadly flooding ravaged the Texas Hill Country. We’ll check in on the recovery.
You can help make this podcast happen by donating at supportthispodcast.org.
KUT Morning Newscast for August 6, 2025: Nearly 200 homes in northwestern Travis County were damaged during the July 5th floods
Central Texas top stories for August 6, 2025. A new report says nearly 200 homes in northwestern Travis County were damaged during the July 5th floods. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says he’ll go to court to have Democratic lawmakers who’ve left the state thrown out of office. The absence of Democratic lawmakers could delay key legislation and possibly trigger another special session down the road. Georgetown Independent School District officials say the district’s poised to begin this school year with a budget surplus thanks to newly appropriated state funds.
KUT News Now is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public media. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.
KUT Morning Newscast for August 5, 2025: Texas Republicans are pushing for the arrest of Democratic lawmakers who’ve left Texas to prevent the passage of a redistricted congressional map
Central Texas top stories for August 5, 2025. Republicans, under pressure from President Donald Trump, are seeking to pick up as many as five seats in next year’s midterm election. Hundreds of companies across Texas that manufacture hemp products are waiting on pins and needles to see if the state legislature bans their business. Williamson County’s plans to bring a spaceport to the area appear to be temporarily grounded. Austin has a new tallest building in its skyline, according to its developers.
KUT News Now is made at KUT Public Media Studios. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public media. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.
KUT Afternoon Newscast for August 4, 2025: Texas House Democrats leave state to block proposed Republican congressional map
Central Texas top stories for August 4, 2025. Texas House members from the Austin-area are among the more than 50 Democrats who’ve left the state to prevent Republicans from passing a new gerrymandered congressional map. More than 100-million dollars have been raised to support recovery in the month since flooding devastated parts of the Hill Country. Austin City Council members are deliberating the budget this week. Liberty Hill is the latest community in Central Texas to receive an ‘International Dark Sky Community’ designation. Temperatures will be cooler than normal for most of this week.
This podcast is made at KUT and KUTX, which are public radio stations in Austin, Texas. You may have heard that Congress just took back the money it had allocated for public radio. Our organization stands to lose 1.2 million dollars. We’re asking our listeners now to help us make up this shortfall. If you want to help us out, you can make a donation at supportthispodcast.org.
Texas lawmakers begin special session focused on floods, maps
Lawmakers recently ended a regular session of the Texas Legislature, but on this Monday, they’re back. They call it a special session: 30 days to complete a long list of action items including a response to the Hill Country flooding, the regulation of THC consumables, and a rare mid-decade push for redistricting that has some Democrats complaining the fix is in for next year’s midterms.
A hold on billions of education dollars sends Texas public school administrators scrambling.
Also, European sanctions against Russia’s oil industry – will there be ripple effects in Texas?
And this week in Texas music history.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.
You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org
Conspiracy theorists said ‘cloud seeding’ caused the Texas floods. It did not.
Online rumors are blaming cloud seeding for the deadly Texas floods, even though the science doesn’t support it.
Along with flood recovery and THC regulation, Texas lawmakers are tasked with redrawing congressional districts in their special session. The connection to racial gerrymandering.
Volunteers and rescue workers have descended on the Hill Country to help with flood recovery – and unfortunately, so have scammers. What experts say everyone needs to know.
The impact of recent budget cuts on mental health programs in schools.
And: Robert Earl Keen is going to headline a concert to benefit flood recovery. Our conversation with him on the star-studded lineup and why he says he was compelled to act so quickly.
A Guadalupe River regular shares her family’s survival story
A bill in the Texas Legislature this past session would have created a grant program for emergency communication. It didn’t pass.
In the days since the deadly flooding, engineers have already modeled what happened on the Guadalupe River. What they say about how we should rebuild.
A harrowing story of survival: Our conversation with a woman at the center of the devastation and the person she says saved her family.
Hope House, a home for the profoundly disabled, was damaged by the storm in Liberty Hill. The loss they’ve suffered and the hope they hang onto.
And: Remembering a similar disaster on the Guadalupe back in 1987. We’ll talk with a local leader who helped in those rescue efforts.
You can help make this podcast happen by donating at supportthispodcast.org.
After outages last year, CenterPoint promises a better tracker
This Memorial Day, we’ll hear the story of Florentino Cantú Jr., a Laredoan who saw military service as a ticket to a better life for his parents and 10 siblings.
Memorial Day is a day of reflection to be sure, but it is also the unofficial start of summer for many folks. We’ll be getting some tips on how Texans can make the most of it, from experiencing the great outdoors to keeping cool – plus some Texas summer songs that hit just right.
And: Hurricane season starts June 1, and CenterPoint Energy says it’s ready with a new and improved outage tracker. But after failures during Hurricane Beryl and last year’s derecho, is that enough to restore customer trust?
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support our work by becoming a sustaining member at supportthispodcast.org
An Austin book club has been reading the same novel for more than a decade
Texas gets a lot of flack for its culture wars – but some note a change at the Capitol this legislative session.
More than a year after the state took over Shelby Park in Eagle Pass during the peak of illegal border crossings, it has now reopened to the public – and residents have bittersweet feelings.
After a big push from the Trump administration, Mexico promises to make good on water treaty deliveries to Texas. But farmers fear it’ll only be a drop in the bucket.
And: “Finnegans Wake” by James Joyce is so dense and experimental, one reading group in Austin has been working on it for more than a decade – and they’re still not even close to done.
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can help make this podcast happen by donating at supportthispodcast.org.
Could SpaceX’s Starbase become an actual city?
Almost half of all Texas counties don’t have a hospital or birth center that provides obstetric care. A look at the challenges and what’s being done to support pregnant people across rural Texas.
How some Houston fourth graders are calling for changes at school by petitioning for reusable lunch trays and learning how to make their case to lawmakers.
More than just a launch site? The countdown is on for local residents to decide whether join a new town called Starbase.
Texans looked good at the Masters, but there was another narrative that had golf fans glued to their chairs. Golf journalist Kevin Robbins with the drama.
Living near oil and gas wells linked to childhood leukemia
Cases continue to rise in Texas’ ongoing measles outbreak. Experts say they know how to stop the spread. What’s preventing that?
One priority for Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick this legislative session is clawing back the state’s legalization of hemp-based products. Where that effort stands.
You’ll need a REAL ID to travel by air starting May 7. How to make sure you do.
New research out of Colorado finds that kids who live near oil and gas drilling sites face a higher risk of leukemia.
New to streaming: “Time Passages,” a personal documentary about memory and loss that manages to also be hopeful.
And: Texas euphemisms from commentator W.F. Strong.
West Odessa residents take water crisis into their own hands
A Houston-area midwife and two others have been arrested for allegedly performing illegal abortions, marking the first instance of criminal charges under Texas’ restrictive abortion law.
In West Odessa, the demand for water has outpaced the infrastructure. Now, a grassroots effort is underway to secure a more reliable water supply.
Dallas is working to make it easier and safer to ride a bicycle. Are there lessons for other urban areas?
And: the story behind the success of the faith-based indie studio that calls Austin home. We talk to the head of the Wonder Project.
Texas secures land for a new state park
A bird flu outbreak noted early in Texas is now a national issue, and concerns are rising about what the federal government plans to do.
From property taxes to THC and more, Lt Gov. Dan Patrick outlines the first batch of 40 legislative priorities for the current Texas legislative session.
Why a fight over mass transit it Dallas could wind up a matter for state lawmakers to untangle.
And: The state has finalized the purchase of a 2,000-acre tract along the Colorado River in Burnet County, next to Colorado Bend State Park.
After its buyout, has Whataburger lost its spice?
There’s a fight to lead the Texas House of Representatives, and two names top the list. Yesterday we heard about Justin Burrows; today we’re taking a closer look at his challenger, David Cook, who the support of the House GOP caucus.
How one Central Texas school district is trying to do something about chronic absenteeism.
And: Whataburger has long been celebrated as a Texas fast food icon, but after its sale to a Chicago-based company, many claim it just isn’t what it used to be. Omar Gallaga explains.
KUT Morning Newscast for November 13, 2024
Central Texas top stories for November 13, 2024. The City of Austin has a new park on what used to be a vacant field on the northeast side of town. Over 1,500 bills were filed yesterday as lawmakers get ready for the next state legislative session. Governor Greg Abbott said after Trump’s victory, the state might repurpose the money otherwise spent on his border mission Operation Lone Star. The City of Georgetown will offer some of its employees paid parental leave. A dry cold front is expected to make its way into the Austin-area later today.
KUT Morning Newscast for October 17, 2024
Central Texas top stories for October 17, 2024. The deadline to vote by mail for this fall’s election is approaching. The number of young people experiencing homelessness in the Austin area has more than tripled since 2020. Texas lawmakers are working on legislation that may restrict whether people can wear masks or other face coverings during protests. Join us for a night dip at Barton Springs during tonight’s supermoon!
KUT Afternoon Newscast for April 17, 2024
Central Texas top stories for April 17, 2024. What the next regular session of the Texas Legislature could mean for the state’s power grid. More lawsuits have been filed in the deadly Hays CISD bus crash. Texas State University needs more housing for students. The City of Austin wants to give more resources to re-envisioning how sexual assault cases are investigated. We are seeing another spike in prices at the gas pumps. The 47th annual O. Henry Museum Pun Off World Championships are coming up next month.