As we embark on the new year, many are expecting higher costs for the health care they need to live their best lives. That’s after Congress failed to extend subsidies to the Affordable Care Act during last year’s government shutdown and ahead of the new year deadline. We’ll talk about how Austinites and Texans will be affected in 2026. The City of Austin and a former APD officer are being sued for excessive force. Austin has struggled for years to change the culture at APD’s training academy. We...
Jan 06, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 3
Crime statistics for Austin trended downward in 2025, with the city experiencing the lowest number of murders this decade. We’ll talk about the trends, both locally and nationally, and discuss why the sentiment that crime is rising still persists. Also, the city has released an updated design plan for a revamped Sixth Street. What will it look like and when will that work begin? Plus, the first full week of January means it’s Free Week in Austin. Some of the city’s finest musicians will be putti...
Jan 05, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 2
The start of 2026 brings a bevy of new laws across the state, with a focus on taxes. Other new legislation focuses on artificial intelligence and how sheriff’s offices will work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. New toll lanes have opened on 183 North, and the additional access could mean increased traffic on your drive home. Looking to cut back on distractions in the new year? We’ve got some techniques that you can use to keep your focus strong in 2026. The full transcript of this episo...
Jan 02, 2026•23 min•Season 2026Ep. 1
It’s the final day of 2025, and we’ve been taking some time to listen back and reflect on the year that was here in Austin. Austinites love supporting local shops and restaurants, but the hard truth is that running any kind of business is the city is a difficult and expensive pursuit. A look back at some local businesses that shuttered their doors for good this year. Plus: New Year’s festivities bring on annual traditions — have you got yours ready? Come and share some good home cookin’ with us....
Dec 31, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 71
This year, Austinites reached out to 311 with 285,000 requests, covering everything from garbage and loud music to animal bites and scooters. We’ve got more about those requests — and some coyotes. KUT News launched a new desk in 2025: the Art Beat. We’re talking about the year in arts in Austin, including the return of a beloved outdoor gallery and the venues that are planning for the future. The Texas Longhorns wrap up their football season tomorrow against Michigan. It’s not the ending fans a...
Dec 30, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 70
It’s the last week of 2025, and we’re reflecting on the year of news here in Austin, including: Resolution in a decades-long cold case known as the Yogurt Shop Murders. The summer’s deadly flooding in Austin and Central Texas. School campuses set to shutter across the city. We’re also taking a look at the status of Austin’s housing market heading into the new year. Plus: Another favorite track from 2025, and a look at some of the artists we lost this year. The full transcript of this episode of ...
Dec 29, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 69
It’s been a busy year, and KUT’s multimedia team has been capturing the moments that defined Austin in 2025. So which ones stood out most? Visuals Editor Deborah Cannon takes us through the year in photos. The Paramount Theatre is known for hosting unforgettable events — but have you ever wondered how audiences find their seats in the rush before showtime? What it’s like to work as an usher. The year is winding down, but we still have songs for ya! Technical director Rayna Sevilla shares her top...
Dec 26, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 68
An Austin doctor is using vinyl records to help patients cope with serious illnesses and difficult treatments. KUT’s Olivia Aldridge has a look at how music is helping in the healing process. Texans have access to some of the best bird-watching opportunities in the country. We’ll go behind the scenes of an annual census of the area’s bird population. You may have spotted him stopping for photos with fans outside the Paramount Theatre or the Continental Club: Austin’s Santa on horseback, Samuel G...
Dec 24, 2025•29 min•Season 2025Ep. 67
A library in Caldwell has become a beacon of hope for adults looking to get their GED or further their education — and volunteers are helping make that possible. The Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch has the story. A look back at major developments in the business world this year and how they’re shaping the Austin area. A Minnesota-based program that creates music inspired by stories of children in need worked with a 9-year-old Austin boy with a fatal genetic disorder on a piece that was performed by ...
Dec 23, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 66
Records in the divorce case for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton have been unsealed after a judge’s order. We’re talking with the Texas Newsroom’s Lauren McGaughy to find out what that means for the case. Travelers at the Austin airport will soon have more options. KUT transportation reporter Nathan Bernier has the details on the newest flights coming to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport. Plus: a look inside the Press Room in Hyde Park , which is home to a vintage letterpress and a vast co...
Dec 22, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 65
Austin has reached a four-year, $63 million contract deal with the city’s firefighters , ending months of negotiations with the Austin Firefighters Association. Calling all bird enthusiasts: Texas Standard’s Raul Alonzo explains what a bird count is , why it matters, and how you can take part. KUTX’s Confucius Jones, one half of hip-hop podcast The Breaks, shares his favorite song of the year . Plus: If you’re looking for TV shows to watch over the holidays, Jennifer Morgan, the ATX TV Festival’...
Dec 19, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 64
Austin faces a high-stakes choice on funding parks over I-35 , with city leaders split over how to move forward. It all centers on the question of which highway decks the should city commit to paying for. Catching up with longtime musician Robert Earl Keen , who’s gearing up for his Christmas shows here in Austin. Plus, from KUTX: Maile Carballo checks in with the latest music news, and Ryan Wen rounds up his favorite songs of 2025 . The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signal is availa...
Dec 18, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 63
The state of Texas is collecting information on transgender Texans using data from driver’s licenses — and it’s not clear what exactly that information is being used for. The Texas Newsroom’s investigative reporter and editor, Lauren McGaughy, has the story. The Trump administration is looking to make changes to federal policy that could affect how homeless service providers do their work here in the Austin area. We sit down with Kate Moore from the Ending Community Homelessness Coalition to lea...
Dec 17, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 62
The National Weather Service is forecasting warmer and drier-than-normal conditions for the Austin area this winter — but high-impact storms are still possible. What city officials and Austin Energy are doing to keep potential winter storm outages to minimum . Austin music legend Joe Ely has died at 78. Jeff McCord, KUT and KUTX’s former music director, reflects on the life of Texas-born singer-songwriter. We’ll also hear from another KUTX-er Marnie Castor gives us her favortie song coming out o...
Dec 16, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 61
Austin Public Health has experienced some federal and city budget cuts this year, and the failure of Proposition Q means some of those holes won’t be filled. We look at the public health landscape in Austin. The old Faulk Central Library in downtown Austin became the Austin History Center, and has been redone after a renovation that was eight years in the making. What’s new in a place that showcases what’s old. Plus: We hear from the Black Austin Matters podcast and their guest, Pastor Gaylon Cl...
Dec 15, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 60
A new “bathroom bill” approved by Texas legislators has been in effect across the state for just over a week, requiring people to use public restrooms aligned with the sex they were assigned at birth . But there are still questions about how the law will be enforced, and here in Austin, a lot of it depends on which building you happen to be in. Dr. Maggie Rivas-Rodriguez, the guiding hand behind the Voces Oral History Project, is stepping down after a quarter-century of documenting the stories o...
Dec 12, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 59
The light-rail transit line long promised to Austinites could soon clear a major hurdle – and that could give new momentum to a project that’s been dragged down through legal and political resistance. The latest on where the project is headed. Months after a Texas A&M professor was fired for discussing gender identity in a literature class, transgender college students in Texas are working out how to make their voices heard. Some are finding solace through expression in their community. Plus...
Dec 11, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 58
A former Austin Energy employee has been accused of defrauding the city utility of nearly $1 million over the course of six years by falsifying credit card payments to contractors and paying fake vendors that had addresses tied to him or his relatives. The YMCA in downtown Austin wants to expand and renovate , adding housing, restaurants and office space – but some nearby residents are concerned about how the project could affect the neighborhood. We’ll hear about the proposal and next steps. Th...
Dec 10, 2025•Season 2025Ep. 57
Austinites and many others across Texas insured through Blue Cross Blue Shield could lose in-network access to Ascension Seton facilities on Jan. 1 unless the two sides can agree on a new contract. Austin has been a testing ground for autonomous vehicles: Zoox, Texla’s Robotaxi, Waymo. However, Waymo has now issued a software recall after videos showed some vehicles passing stopped Austin ISD buses. Plus: 2025 is nearing its end, and what a year it’s been for the Austin music scene. We take a li...
Dec 09, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 56
Austin nonprofit LifeWorks has helped nearly three dozen young Austinites stay housed through a cash-assistance pilot program . We hear the story of one person who said the money helped her at a critical time. In Williamson County, folks are looking into where its cities get their water and how they could better work together. Plus: A look into holiday tunes and unwrapping our favorite present: tamales. Chef Rick Martinez brings us to the table at a holiday tamalada. If you host or or plan to at...
Dec 08, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 55
Across the city of Austin, medics are working and responding to emergency calls despite the budget challenges facing the city and Travis County . Voters in Austin resoundingly rejected a property tax increase that officials hoped could be used to supplement area first responders. Now, these departments are adjusting to a future with fewer resources. Plus, the Supreme Court is allowing Texas to use newly drawn congressional districts in next year’s midterm elections . The map was drawn to give Re...
Dec 05, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 54
We’re getting deeper into the holiday season and that brings flu season along with your yuletide festivities. Medical experts have said this flu season will be an active one . They’re reminding folks to get their flu shot before sickness ruins your holiday plans. Plus, the performance “Black Divas” is coming back to Austin this weekend. The piece focuses on Black maternal health issues . The show’s creator, Qi Dada, says she didn’t feel like there was any art to describe the struggle she was goi...
Dec 04, 2025•25 min•Season 2025Ep. 53
A college student flying to Austin was detained and deported by immigration authorities . She was trying to surprise her family for the Thanksgiving holiday. Now she’s having to finish her semester of college in a different country. Her lawyer says her deportation went against a federal court order. We’ll have more about the reason for her deportation and what the next steps in her story are. What do you imagine when you hear “dragon boat racing” ? Fire spewing out across Lady Bird Lake? Boats s...
Dec 03, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 52
The so-called “bathroom bill” aimed at restricting transgender Texans’ access to some restrooms goes into effect this week. Republicans in the Legislature have been trying to enact such a measure for more than a decade; opponents are worried its unclear guidance on enforcement could cause cause public harassment . There’s an upcoming benefit concert for Austin musician Rich Brotherton . We’ll hear from a few folks who know him well. Plus: It’s Giving Tuesday! Learn how you can get involved with ...
Dec 02, 2025•Season 2025Ep. 51
The Sobering Center in Austin has provided an alternative to jail or hospitalization since 2018. Now, it’s looking to help folks build a new journey beyond a one-night respite. After many delays, the HOPE Outdoor Gallery is finally back open . The new 6,000-foot space is working to maintain the try-anything vibe that made its original spot so very Austin. Plus: Businesses in downtown Austin are looking to attract more shoppers and more dollars to their stores this holiday season – and one way th...
Dec 01, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 50
The pits are lit, the speakers have been turned up to 11, and there’s a buzz across the Forty Acres. The Longhorn-Aggie Lone Star Showdown returns to Royal-Memorial Stadium today, and this season hasn’t gone as some Texas fans might’ve expected. Could a win over undefeated Texas A&M be enough to chalk the year up as a W? It’s been 15 years since the Longhorns and Aggies played in Austin. Is the rivalry between the state’s biggest schools still all it’s cracked up to be? A look at the tension...
Nov 28, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 49
Nearly five months after deadly July flooding, families in the Sandy Creek area of Travis County are still dealing with the cleanup and recovery of their properties and their lives. We’ll hear the story of one family that’s approaching a Thanksgiving that looks very different from years past. Plus: A roundup of UT sports ahead of Friday’s football showdown against the Aggies, and some Thanksgiving recommendations from the ATX TV Festival team . The full transcript of this episode of Austin Signa...
Nov 26, 2025•25 min•Season 2025Ep. 48
A future UT Austin academic medical campus – which is set to include an MD Anderson Cancer Center location – was set to be built on the site of the now-demolished Frank Erwin Center. But now the Board of Regents is considering a new location near the Domain. Cindy Walker might be the most successful Texas songwriter that most Texans have never heard of, with songs recorded by Roy Orbison, Bing Crosby and many others. A new tribute album celebrates Walker’s legacy and aims to help save her Mexia ...
Nov 25, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 47
The Austin Independent School District has passed a plan that will close 10 schools as it works to reduce a multimillion-dollar budget deficit and empty seats at many campuses. We talk more about the plan, the vote — which came after weeks of community meetings and protests — and what happens next. State officials recently released a heavily redacted stash of communications between Gov. Greg Abbott and Elon Musk . How public information is becoming a little less public. Lots of folks are heading...
Nov 24, 2025•23 min•Season 2025Ep. 46
The City of Austin cut $95 million from its budget , shrinking funding to parks, homelessness services and more after voters rejected Prop Q. We’ll get into how these cuts may impact you. With recent rain and an overnight flood watch in Travis, Williamson, and Hays counties, many residents are reminded of the July 4 floods and the ongoing efforts to rebuild. Plus, art groups seeking affordable studio space find sanctuary in a downtown Austin church. We’ve got more on how they secured the space a...
Nov 21, 2025•24 min•Season 2025Ep. 45
