How shutting down the Department of Education will affect the rights of students with disabilities.
Dallas-based company Colossal Biosciences says it’s successfully created three genetically engineered wolf pups resembling the long-extinct dire wolf.
How the state makes it hard for journalists to track the deaths of abused and neglected children.
Military veterans helped elect President Trump. Now many are protesting his administration’s deep government cuts.
And: As state agencies implement return-to-office mandates, workers report cramped conditions, insufficient parking and more.
texas
Baylor bets big on E-sports with first-ever program director and coach
A second child has died of measles in Texas as cases continue to rise. How this latest outbreak compares with that of the ’90s.
Baylor has just hired its first-ever E-sports director and coach: Adam Stanley of Brewton-Parker College, a small private college in Georgia and powerhouse in E-sports.
Hosting the Final Four of the college men’s basketball championship has been a big boon to San Antonio. We’ll hear more as the Houston Cougars get set for their championship game against Florida tonight at the Alamodome.
And: A homecoming for Texas actor and comedian Michael Yo as the Moontower Comedy Festival gets underway in Austin.
Texas Extra: My KUTX
March was all about music for Texas Standard. We debuted our latest Texas Standard special – “Rap to the Ranch: The Ballad of Mason ‘Bric’ LaDue.” And we celebrated ten years of the show with a top 10 list of our favorite music interviews and stories from the past decade.
The first weekend in March, the music partner of our home station KUT actually let the Texas Standard team take a turn as guest DJs! Our playlist is very different from our top 10 list because these are *personal favorites in one way or another.
Please note, for podcast purposes, we couldn’t play the whole song – so you’ll just hear little teases. Here’s the playlist:
1. Asleep At The Wheel – “Bob Wills Is Still The King” (feat. Clint Black) [David Brown]
2. The Black Angels – “You On The Run” [Alexandra Hart]
3. Selena – “Tus Desprecios” [Raul Alonzo]
4. Freddy Fender – “Before the Next Teardrop Falls” [Kristen Cabrera]
5. Jess Williamson – “Chasing Spirits” [Leah Scarpelli]
6. David Halley – “Loose Diamond” [Shelly Brisbin]
7. Khruangbin – “The Infamous Bill” [Casey Cheek]
8. Scarface – “Good Girl Gone Bad” [Wells Dunbar]
9. Amanda Shires – “Mineral Wells” [Gabrielle Muñoz]
10. Margo Price – “Hands of Time” [Rhonda Fanning]
11. Black Pumas – “Colors” [Laura Rice]
Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas. You can support this work at supportthispodcast.org.
Trump’s new tariffs could hit Texas businesses hard
One of Texas’ top economists weighs in on the impact of Trump’s tariffs, what looks like the end of a U.S.-led free trade era, and what it could add up to for Texas.
It looks like John Cornyn may have a serious challenger for his seat in the Senate: Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The latest AI trend has users generating images in the style of animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Studio Ghibli works, sparking debates over copyright and artistic integrity.
Our March Madness bracket for the best song about Texas comes right down to the wire. Your vote could decide it all.
And: We’ll hear from Zell Miller III, Austin’s inaugural poet laureate.
Whistling while you work
Growing up in Texas, WF Strong found that whistling played a important role in his life. But there are many ways to whistle. He explores a few of them.
Deadly floods swamp South Texas, shatter records
Torrential rain in South Texas leads to dangerous flooding, trapping people in their homes. How the Rio Grande Valley is recovering.
A new DEI directive led the Pentagon to purge certain historical figures from web pages. Why that decision has now been reversed.
Some churches are looking to re-purpose buildings and land to help residents who need affordable housing.
As measles cases surge in West Texas, some parents are giving children dangerous amounts of vitamin A, wrongly believing it can cure or prevent the disease.
Plus: What are the best ways to protect the state’s dwindling water supply? From recycling to desalination.
30 years after her death, Selena’s legacy only grows in Corpus Christi
A Texas House committee is set to debate school choice legislation this week, reviving a contentious issue that’s repeatedly stalled in the lower chamber.
Since San Antonio’s annual César E. Chávez March for Justice began in 1997, musicians Los Inocentes have composed ballads telling his story.
An investigation into child abuse deaths in Texas reveals a system that often left children in unsafe homes while closing cases too soon. Texas Public Radio’ Paul Flahive shares more about his new series, “When Home is the Danger.”
And: The Standard’s Raul Alonzo returns to Corpus Christi to reflect on the impact of Selena, 30 years after the Tejano icon was killed.
This Is My Thing: Cake!
Kim Vidrine loves her group of friends and she loves cakes. So six years or so ago, she created Cake Club as a way to celebrate both.
How a Houston man spent 18 years in jail without a trial
How hot is it in Texas prisons? After many questions about deadly heat, a new discovery: the facts as presented may have been fake. Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy of The Texas Newsroom with the discovery of falsified records in an ongoing scandal about heat-related deaths behind bars.
A Houston inmate jailed for 18 years who never got his day in court: How did that happen, and could there be more?
What do you get when you cross a mouse with a woolly mammoth? It’s no joke: A Texas company says it’s just the beginning.
Also, who owns Texas? The results of an investigation of land ownership.
And this week in Texas music history.
Rediscovering Texas farm worker history through photos
President Trump signs an order effectively dismantling the education department. What does it add up to for education in Texas?
The Las Vegas Sands Corp. folds, for now, on its push for a resort casino in Irving. We’ll hear why and what it says about the industry’s attempts to cash in on Texas.
Also, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.
Plus, a new cookbook challenges the notion that you’ve got to have meat for traditional Mexican dishes.
And after our series on the Texas Farm Workers Union, a listener comes forward with photos – adding faces to an almost forgotten story.
Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis talks about her 100-day Action Plan
Last November, then-new Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis released a 100-day Action Plan called “Building Officer and Community Safety and Trust.” Earlier this year, before that 100-day marker, KUT’s Jennifer Stayton talked with Davis about her plans for the Department.
Navy destroyer headed to the southern border region
A U.S. Navy destroyer armed with tomahawk missiles enroute to the gulf waters off the coast of Texas. What’s this all about?
Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy of The Texas Newsroom with word that the Texas government appears to be maintaining a list of people asking for information about changing the sex on their driver’s licenses. Who’s compiling this list and what is it being used for?
Five years after the declaration of a pandemic, what’s happened with vaccination rates?
And an AI service used by millions for free is about to go behind a paywall.
Plus, why Texas Monthly’s barbecue editor is busy making his list and checking it twice.
Texas’ fist women’s sports bar opens in Austin
As women’s sports gain more popularity, the first women’s sport bar in Texas is opening its doors. 1972 Pub is right across from UT’s campus in Austin and is committed to only showing women’s sports. The Texas Standard’s Sara Asch tells us fans are overjoyed.
KUT Morning Newscast for March 19, 2025: The state of Texas has been collecting information on trans people without their knowledge.
Central Texas top stories for March 19, 2025. A Red Flag Warning is in effect today for all of Central and South Texas until nine tonight, but what does that mean? The Crabapple fire north of Fredericksburg is now 90 percent contained. The City of Austin’s hosting an Emergency Preparedness pop-up today to help people prepare for wildfires and other weather-related hazards. For at least six months, the Texas DMV has been tracking drivers who have tried to change the sex listed on their driver’s licenses. Texas lawmakers are considering a bill to prohibit local governments from having guaranteed income programs.
The 100th meridian
If you examine any good map of Texas, you’ll notice a natural division of East and West Texas that runs from the eastern side of the Panhandle down to Abilene and San Angelo and on past Uvalde to Carrizo Springs and Laredo. To the west side of that line is arid and to the east is wetter and greener. And it becomes increasingly dry as you go west and increasingly humid as you go east. Texas Standard commentator W.F. Strong explains the history of this geographical marker.
This Is My Thing: Ceramics!
Michael Young dabbled in ceramic making back in the 1980s, then after a 35-year hiatus, he returned to the hobby. Now his dining room is a ceramics studio and he spends his time trying to create perfect polyhedrons from clay.
One of the main goals of the Legislature this year is lowering property taxes. It could affect funding the state’s public schools.
Lowering property taxes is one of the Texas Legislature this year. State lawmakers made moves towards this in 2023, including raising the state’s homestead exemption. But, for some, tax increases from local municipalities since then have cancelled out those savings. The Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey reports this issue may affect another big topic on the list of priorities this year: funding for the state’s public school.
Why Texas is so vulnerable to tariff impacts
Texas is in the crosshairs as tariffs against Mexico and Canada take hold. Why, what it means, and could short-term pain add up to long-term gain?
At the state capitol, a bill aimed at raising wages for workers who care for people with disabilities. Why some fear it won’t be enough to stem a critical shortage of such workers in Texas.
“Office Space” may have been a funny movie filmed in Texas, but there’s nothing funny about what a glut of unused office space is doing to the state’s metros. How one city’s trying to deal with the repercussions.
Speaking of movies, oh the horror! Why so few of the scary variety get critical acclaim, despite a growing public appetite.
Troops may return to Big Bend National Park
With a hot, dry summer looming, how some state lawmakers want to reduce the risk of wildfires.
It’s been decades since active-duty troops patrolled Big Bend. Now they may be headed back to the national park.
Nearly two years after one of the deadliest human smuggling incidents in Texas, a look at how victims’ families and survivors are coping.
And: We’ll check in with the Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey about the week ahead at the Legislature and what’s coming up for school funding.
What potential mass layoffs at the IRS could mean for your tax filing
Amid reports of mass layoffs at the IRS, what does the math look like for tax season?
More than a million Texas kids have been kicked off Medicaid rolls since 2023. What’s happening? We’ll talk with a reporter at Public Health Watch.
Texas school districts are racing to meet a deadline to move students getting special instruction for dyslexia onto full special education plans, a move many parents say is long overdue.
And: Is Houston in East Texas or Southeast Texas? Texas Monthly publishes its ultimate map of Texas’ regions. We’ll talk with the Texanist, David Courtney.