The Austin Independent School District is planning to cut hundreds of jobs in its upcoming budget , including teachers, librarians and campus law enforcement. CapMetro’s Bikeshare system has been shut down since a fire Memorial Day weekend, with no timeline for resuming service. A forensic investigator is examining whether lithium-ion batteries caused the blaze at a CapMetro facility. We’re coming up on the final weekend of the Kerrville Folk Festival. Let’s take a trip out to the Texas Hill Cou...
Jun 04, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 108
New research finds 10% of Texans under 6 were recently uninsured , the highest of any state in the country. We’ll have the latest data. We continue our Series of Lasts: stories from the final days of some Austin ISD campuses . Bring your appetite and some Kleenex as we sit for one last school lunch at Ridgetop Elementary. Margaret Gómez, the longest-serving Travis County commissioner in history, is retiring after 53 years working for the county. And: The Austin African American Book Festival kic...
Jun 03, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 107
A father who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a traffic stop in San Marcos has been reunited with his family . Gerardo Reyes, who spent more than two months in detention, might still face deportation. Parents and staff from the Austin Independent School District are urging state legislators to increase funding for schools. We’ll hear from some of the folks who spoke out this week. Lou Diamond Phillips has been acting for decades, but his breakout role as Ritchie Valens i...
Jun 02, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 106
Have you encountered an e-moto on the streets of Austin? The high-speed electric bikes are capable of reaching motorcycle-like speeds, and the City Council is looking at stricter regulations . Austin Current’s Sam Stark tells us more. The school year is over, but there’s no break for the many things the Austin Independent School District has to consider — including a budget deficit. How the money problems got so bad, and how they’re hoping to address it. The dog days of summer are creeping up on...
Jun 01, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 105
The Texas Education Agency has rejected Austin ISD’s proposal for three middle schools that have received consecutive failing grades — putting the entire district at further risk of a state takeover. The Austin City Council has approved guidelines for the construction and operation of a new natural gas plant after the project was OK’d in a secret vote. Thousands of Austinites received a call or text this month urging them to seek shelter or evacuate immediately, but many weren’t even sure the me...
May 29, 2026•33 min•Season 2026Ep. 104
Delta-8, a hemp product you might’ve seen for sale in gas stations and strip malls across Texas, could soon be treated as an illegal drug, putting it in the same category as heroin and LSD. What this would mean for the businesses that sell them and the people who use them. It’s the last day of school for students in Austin ISD, meaning it’s the last day many seniors will ever set foot on campus. Before that, a group of them went back to trace their steps at Dawson Elementary before the school cl...
May 28, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 103
Primary runoff election night ended with some big changes for the Austin area and across the state . We’ll bring you the latest on last night’s results and the races we’ll be watching this November. After a shooting spree this month by three teenagers ended in Manor, Austin Police say they could have caught the suspects sooner if they had license plate readers . Now, Mayor Kirk Watson is considering proposals to bring this kind of technology back to the city. This week in Texas music history : a...
May 27, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 102
It’s been nearly six years since a majority of Austinites voted in favor of creating 20 miles of state-of-the-art light rail transit across the city. But since that vote, the total length of the future rail system has been chopped in half. Despite that, the price tag for the project has continued climbing. Some folks who voted in favor are now suing to stop it from happening. An update on Project Connect. Data from a Travis County mental health diversion pilot is showing some promising early res...
May 26, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 101
The Austin Independent School District expects a $181 million deficit in next school year’s budget — but it still hasn’t released a proposal for what cuts will be made. Austin revised its rules on how city police can interact with federal immigration agents — and city leaders are divided on what the change actually means . The Austin Animal Center is often overcrowded. But a new program at the Travis Unit state prison is getting dogs there training and socialization to help them get adopted. And...
May 22, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 100
A high school senior in Austin has been released from ICE custody and reunited with his family after a judge’s order — in time to walk in his graduation ceremony next month. The city of Austin has faced another blow in its efforts to keep painted street murals and crosswalks . Also, the popular Pease Park troll, Malin, has burned down. We’ll share what we know. The end of this school year will feel very different at the 10 schools in the Austin Independent School District that are permanently cl...
May 21, 2026•26 min
Early voting is underway for Tuesday’s primary runoffs, and we have a look at two races on some Central Texans’ ballots: state House District 49 and Hays County judge . Austin is working to rename Cesar Chavez Street after accusations of sexual abuse and assault. But some are struggling with those changes . Some good news and some bad news about a ranking of Austin’s parks. We’ve got more from a new report , including who rivals the city’s parks. And: A sneak peek at tomorrow night’s ATXplained ...
May 20, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 98
The Austin City Council is set to take up a controversial proposal this week about relying more on natural gas during times of high energy demand, and opponents worry about how it could affect climate goals. If you venture out to Lady Bird Lake this Memorial Day weekend, you might encounter an unfamiliar sight: a construction zone on the water. How a photography project is helping one woman reclaim her story of loss and perseverance. Television lovers rejoice: The ATX TV Festival is returning fo...
May 19, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 97
Three people are in custody following a weekend crime spree and manhunt in Austin that made national headlines. Police say the suspects, all juveniles, are tied to multiple shootings and stolen vehicles across the city. As grocery costs rise, a church near the University of Texas campus gives out hundreds of free burgers weekly to combat food insecurity. Texas Democrat James Talarico’s taco order is going viral after a stop at Taco Joint. More on the order heard around the country. Austin FC has...
May 18, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 96
Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations have been on the rise during the second Trump administration. And while enforcement in some parts of the U.S. has been messy and public, operations here in Texas are being carried out with a quieter, systematic approach . Today we’re taking a closer look at the situation here in Austin and Central Texas. We’re bringing you a one-hour special sharing the experience of a UT student who was detained by ICE; talking about the potential health effects fe...
May 15, 2026•51 min•Season 2026Ep. 95
A hearing this week that would’ve allowed for the review of evidence and testimony in lawsuits against Camp Mystic never came to be, and lawyers for the Hill Country girls camp where children and counselors died in last summer’s flooding were absent from the courtroom. Texas will soon have a new attorney general , with a pair of Democrats and Republicans vying to represent their party in November, but the issues they’re talking up in the runoffs might not be the ones that matter most at the ball...
May 14, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 94
A housing program for chronically homeless Austinites could be facing cuts because of budget deficits and clean-ups of local encampments. The potential loss of funding is raising questions about where unhoused Austinites will go if the program is gone for good. Sam Stark from the Austin Current joins us to talk more about this. With the cost of living on the rise, adult education programs are offering another path to earning more money. We’ll make a visit out to Austin Community College’s Eastvi...
May 13, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 93
An Austin ISD high school senior’s detention has shaken his classmates, church members and family awaiting his graduation. He’s being held in a South Texas immigration processing center. We’ll hear more about his story and the people awaiting his return. You’ve probably interacted with the Austin’s Art in Public Places program without even realizing it. The city of Austin and the public arts community are clashing over millions in funding for the program. Austin Current’s Andrea Ball will tell u...
May 12, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 92
The cost of childcare across the country is on the rise, outpacing the price of in-state college tuition in many states. While many local governments are working to figure out a solution, Travis County is ahead of the game. The pool at Barton Springs was first built around a century ago. But the springs that feed it have been around since long before humans ever arrived in Austin. More from our ATXplained series. Many Austin Energy customers were left without power after strong winds and heavy r...
May 11, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 91
The Austin Independent School District is set to cut more than 200 educator salaries as they work to address a multimillion-dollar budget deficit . District officials have also identified other ways to reduce the deficit, including cuts to the central office and projected revenue from real estate sales. The City of Austin has given the green light to almost a million dollars in taxpayer money toward a lawsuit alleging city and state police raided the wrong home in South Austin. We’ll hear more a...
May 08, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 90
The Austin City Council is considering a vote to renew its contract with a for-profit utility that provides natural gas to the city, despite long-standing dissatisfaction locally with gas rates. The IHOP near downtown Austin has finally been sold at auction. The pancake purveyor has remained steady despite rampant development all around it. Why it finally happened. We’re nearing the end of the school year, and some students in Austin ISD won’t be back on their campus next year amid school closur...
May 07, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 89
Austin’s SAFE Alliance will no longer provide exams for sexual assault survivors because of a funding shortfall. Other programs could also be on the chopping block. We’ll talk about how others are planning to assist. A swift local police response to the March shooting at Buford’s on Sixth Street was commended in the days after the tragedy. But overall, reaction times from Austin Police are trending upward — even though fewer calls are coming in. Ruben Ramos, better known to his fans as El Gato N...
May 06, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 88
A group of civil rights organizations filed a new lawsuit this week seeking to stop parts of the law that would let state police arrest people suspected of illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. We’ll have more about the law and why it’s been paused. Infowars, long home to Austin-based conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, shut down quietly over the weekend . It’s the latest in what’s been a years-long back-and-forth with the satirical publication The Onion over the property. An Austin Shakespeare...
May 05, 2026•22 min•Season 2026Ep. 87
Texas hemp businesses can keep selling their cannabis flower and concentrate products for now, after a Travis County judge blocked key parts of the state’s new hemp regulations while a lawsuit against those rules and increased fees plays out. There was just one bidder for the contract to take operational control of three struggling Austin ISD middle schools. The move is being made in an effort to avoid a state takeover. Acacia Coronado, Austin Current’s education reporter, joins us to talk about...
May 04, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 86
Voters in Georgetown will decide this weekend whether to sell off parts of their water system . The parts up for consideration lay outside the city limits, and the election comes as Georgetown is looking to manage rising costs. Construction at the Austin Surf Club near the airport has come to a stop, and now contractors have filed millions in liens against the developers. Its may first, but before we leave April too far behind, we’re chatting with Ryan Wen of our sister station KUTX about his to...
May 01, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 85
The inaugural KUT Festival is happening this weekend in Austin. It was scheduled to take place on the UT campus, but now a majority of the events are taking place elsewhere. More about the changes and the back-and-forth between UT and KUT leadership. Beef prices are sticking near record-high prices, an issue that’s been exacerbated by severe drought in some of the country’s main cattle producing regions. That’s forced some Texans to great creative about how they get their meat. Austinites have m...
Apr 30, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 84
It’s been almost two months since a deadly shooting outside a bar on West Sixth Street, and local officials are looking at the emergency response to that tragedy, including concerns about autonomous vehicles. Here in Texas, one of the country’s largest legal cannabis markets is fighting for its life, with exceptions allowing the sale of smokeable hemp slated to expire this week. This year, the Austin Film Society’s Doc Days Film festival is highlighting the effects of Space X on the South Texas ...
Apr 29, 2026•25 min•Season 2026Ep. 83
It’s day two of a special legislative hearing on the Camp Mystic tragedy. Investigators told lawmakers this week that camp operators were “complacent” when it came to safety protocols at the summer camp. Lindsey Wilson, director of the city’s Equity and Inclusion office, shares details about the Fair Housing and Economic Mobility Conference taking place Wednesday, April 29. Kendall Antonelli of Antonelli’s Cheese Shop stops by and introduces us to some of her favorite cheeses. And: Learn how som...
Apr 28, 2026•26 min•Season 2026Ep. 82
The Austin Independent School District is being investigated by the Texas Education Agency for celebrating its annual Pride Week. Attorney general is a powerful role; governors, senators and even vice presidents got their start as AG. Is Ken Paxton next? Have you ever wanted a handy one-stop guide to everything Austin? KUT’s Field Guide is bringing you even more ways to know the city. And an update on Athena’s surviving owlet , and why he might’ve been left for dead. The full transcript of this ...
Apr 27, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 81
Accessing reliable sources of water is becoming more difficult for some Central Texans — and more expensive. In Kyle, residents facing high water bills are carefully considering any way that they can limit their costs. An Austin firefighter battling terminal endometrial cancer is eligible for workers’ compensation, but the decision this week granting her those benefits came after a long fight with the city . Plus: We’ll chat about the work being done to bring together Central Texans of all relig...
Apr 24, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 80
Texas can force schools to post the Ten Commandments in classrooms following a ruling this week from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — but for now, the Austin school district does not have to comply because of ongoing litigation. Highland Park Elementary School has become a powerhouse in the sport of archery, and they’re going after another national title. Plus: Are there wild elk lurking in South Austin? ATXplained investigates. The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is avai...
Apr 23, 2026•24 min•Season 2026Ep. 79
