KUT & KUTX Studios -- Podcasts
KUT and KUTX news and music podcasts for Austin, Texas and beyond
The Texas Supreme Court overruled an order allowing a Dallas-area woman access to an abortion. What does that mean for future cases?
Why a Texas researcher is excited about the federal approval of a gene-editing procedure.
We’ll hear from Texas author Theo Boyd on why she’s writing about a tumultuous period in her life, and what she wants others to take away from her story.
And why some say ramped-up efforts from the Army to find soldiers who fail to report for duty still aren’t enough.
A plan to boost payments to retired teachers will be up to Texas voters next month. We’ll have the backstory and details on Proposition 9.
Five thousand union workers walked off the job at the Arlington General Motors plant, which builds some of GM’s most profitable vehicles.
College football pay to play? Not OK, says the NCAA. Yet an investigation of recruitment shows how officials look the other way – and it’s happening a lot in Texas.
And just in time for Halloween, something wicked is coming to Garland: A celebration of Texas’ role in the horror film genre.
We’re tracking Tropical Storm Harold, which is set to bring considerable rain and wind to large parts of South Texas. Meteorologist Matt Lanza of Space City Weather join us with the latest.
House managers preparing for the impeachment trial of Ken Paxton have published nearly 4,000 pages of documents as the Senate gets set to decide the fate of the currently suspended attorney general.
And though polls show more people turning away from organized religion, many migrants in Texas are forming communities around churches.
For the first time in Texas history, the House voted to impeach the state’s highest law enforcement official, setting the stage for a trial in the Senate for Attorney General Ken Paxton.
The drama comes as the Texas Legislature gets set to end its 88th session today. But already, with some of the Gov. Greg Abbott’s top priorities still unfinished, there’s plenty of reason to think we’ll be going into overtime.
Memorial Day travel in Texas is back to pre-pandemic levels – a harbinger of summer?
Also, a big change could be coming for those registering a motor vehicle in Texas.
With a big rise in COVID-19 cases in New Mexico and pediatric cases up in El Paso, experts raise red flags for Texas. In time for the holidays, growing warnings about COVID-19 in Texas as the President announces new steps amid the spread of a new variant. We’ll have the latest. Also, with the infrastructure bill, the push for electric vehicles in one of the nation’s top gasoline consuming states, you know the one. Plus a conversation with the mother of a Texas elementary school student pushing for changes in how the stories of Indigenous people and Native Americans are taught. And a college football outlook and more today on the Texas Standard:
Texas by the numbers: new census details for the Lone Star State kick off a new round of redistricting with major political implications. 5 of the 10 fast growing municipalities in the country are in Texas, according to the new census numbers, and Texas stands to pick up two more seats in Washington as a result of all the growth. We’ll do the numbers and discuss what that means for the state’s political maps. Also the pickup truck capitol of the world, poised to become ground zero for building the electric pickups of the future? And the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and much more today on the Texas Standard:
A key provision of the Texas open meetings act struck down by the state’s highest criminal court. We’ll look at what it means for government transparency. Also, the state’s school librarians read the fine print of a bill to hike teacher salaries, and they’re pushing back. We’ll hear from the state’s top librarian. Plus the timeless voice of tejano superstar Selena. Was it one voice, or two? All those stores and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
The calendars have switched over to 2019 and that means some new Texas laws are or will soon go into effect. We’ll tell you what you need to know. Also, Mexico’s new president is making the entire border with the U.S. into a special zone to encourage would-be migrants to stay put. We’ll ask one expert whether the plan will work. Plus, jobs these days often involve sitting at a desk and getting food is as easy as pushing a button… How our hunter-gatherer bodies aren’t adapting. And have you ever seen an albino cockroach? It may not be what you think. All that and more today on the Texas Standard:
About a month ago, my son went off to college with my Jeep, and I needed to get another vehicle. I had been truckless for a few years – a rare condition in my life – and I decided I wanted to fix that right away. For a long time, I had wanted a King Ranch Edition Ford pickup, with those fine leather seats, carrying the classic brand of the ranch I hunted on as boy. So now, I had the chance – and the reason – to buy one.
With two kids in college, it was no time to splurge on a new one, but I thought I might find a previously-owned truck that would satisfy my longing. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to search for just what I wanted: a one-owner vehicle in near-mint condition being sold by an owner who had elaborate maintenance records and a pristine Carfax report. I found what I was looking for in San Antonio, 300 miles from where I live down in the Valley.
So I contacted the owner and we made a gentleman’s agreement as to price over the phone, and I headed up to look at it. I loved it – beautiful truck, dark brown with tan trim. Meticulously maintained. I said, “Let’s do it.” So, he pulled out the title to begin the paperwork and I was surprised to see that his name was William B. Travis.
I said, “I guess you know, you’re kind of famous.”
He said, “Yes, I do have a famous name. And I have the whole name, too. I’m William Barrett Travis and I’m also a descendant.”
I was astounded by the coincidence. I thought, “Here I am, a specialist in Texas lore and legend, about to buy a King Ranch pickup from a descendant of the commander of the Alamo, and he still lives in San Antonio. How cool is that?” In the favorite word of my teenage son, “Awesome!”
We finished up the paperwork and payment, and he walked me out and gave me a detailed tour of all the unique features of the truck and directions on how to get back to the expressway to head home. I could tell he was a little sad to let go of the pickup. They’d had many good years together. I said, “I promise I’ll take good care of her.”
So, I drove my new truck (new to me, anyway) back to the Valley. It was good to be riding high in the saddle once more, driving into a blustery coastal wind without breaking a sweat.
In fact, I drove my King Ranch Edition pickup with its Alamo lineage, back through the actual King Ranch, while eating a Whataburger and listening to Willie Nelson’s “On The Road Again.”
I have just have one thing to say: “Out-Texas Me That!”
The only thing that would have made it better is if a Southwest Airlines jet had done a flyby at 200 feet and given me a wing salute.
As Texans headed out for the long holiday weekend, a surprise ruling in a Texas courtroom over a Texas challenge to DACA. DACA is the Obama era program protecting young immigrants brought here illegally from being deported. Now a judge in Texas, considered sympathetic to the state’s claims to stop DACA, refuses to pull the plug. Why does Attorney general Ken Paxton think he’s closer to victory? We’ll find out. Also, labor day signals the final sprint in the race to election day. We’ll size up the top races across Texas. And a resurgence of unions? In the Lone Star State? The numbers say yes. All of that and a whole lot more today on the Texas Standard:
Pundits may argue about whether political bumper stickers have any impact on the way people vote. But you would probably agree that seeing those stickers – well, some stickers – on a car in front of you can provoke strong feelings. That was the inspiration for this Typewriter Rodeo poem.
When you meet someone new you often take note of what they’re wearing, their hairstyle, and the kind of taco they order. But if you’re lucky enough to get a peek at what kind of car they left in the parking lot, you can learn a whole lot more about them.