City Cast Austin

In our second “Mayoral Mondays” episode, host Nikki DaVaughn interviews Austin mayoral candidate Doug Greco. A former public school teacher and chief of staff for a state representative, Greco recently stepped down from his role as Executive Director and Lead Organizer with Central Texas Interfaith to run for mayor. You can find our first Mayoral Monday episode, an interview with Jeffery Bowen, here, and other candidates’ interviews will come out from now through early voting. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

In today’s Friday News Roundup, Kelsey Bradshaw fills in as host to discuss the $2 billion budget recently adopted by Travis County Commissioners, and a potential forthcoming contract between the City of Austin and the Austin Police Union, which puts a new twist on the fight over the police department’s so-called “G files.” Also on the list of topics up for discussion: How LGBTQ-plus Texans spammed a Texas Department of Public Safety email address with ‘Bee Movie’ scripts in retaliation for anti-trans policies. Bradshaw is joined by Maggie Quinlan of the Austin Chronicle and City Cast Austin’s executive producer, Eva Ruth Moravec. Plus, stick around after the roundup for our Don’t Go Gently tip for this weekend. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

Texas Longhorn football is entering a new era with its first SEC game against Mississippi State this weekend, and Austinites, you need to get down to campus for this scene. Tailgating has changed now that several surface parking lots around the Texas Capitol are now buildings, and it’s forbidden on the nice, new grassy mall, but there are still lots of options for pre-partying, especially around Darrell K. Royal Memorial Stadium. Host Nikki DaVaughn breaks down everything you need to know about tailgating, and spells out how tailgating here is just different, with Megan Grigsby, of UT Tailgaters, who co-hosts a Longhorn-focused podcast and tailgates at every game, home and away; and Laura Hall, the director of commercial parking and special events with the Texas Facilities Commission. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

As the deadline to register to vote in Texas approaches, host Nikki DaVaughn is talking to Valerie DeBill, Vice President of the League of Women Voters of the Austin Area. There’s still time to register to participate in the November election, both as a voter and a voter registrar, and DeBill shares her best tips to help Travis County residents prepare. As she explains, if you don’t vote, the lawmakers won’t know you exist. And stay tuned for our special weekly segment, A Mile in Their Boots, featuring a bonus interview with Lucero Valle, a local photographer and the Greater Austin Hispanic Chamber of Commerce’s 2024 Businesswoman of the Year. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

Today, host Nikki DaVaughn chats with Amanda from Austin Food Adventures about some of the cozy fall dishes you can find in Austin this season. Even if it’s not cool yet, it will be sometime soon, we promise! So we’ve got the details on what to eat right now, including Amanda’s absolute favorite Austin chicken pot pie, matzah ball soup, ramen, noodles, and panadería. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

Who is Jeffery Bowen, one of five Austinites seeking your vote in just a few weeks to be the next mayor? Today, host Nikki DaVaughn kicks off City Cast Austin’s mayoral candidate series with an interview with Jeffery Bowen. A small business owner, Bowen signed up to run just hours before the deadline, and has served on the Austin Neighborhood Association and the Austin Board of Adjustment. We talk to Bowen about why he’s running, what his priorities are, and what he sued the city of Austin over — and won. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

Why is Travis County suing the state of Texas? Who can we thank for the dramatic and sad video of Barton Springs Pool’s repairs? And Tuesday is HAAM Day — what exactly is it, and where and when can you see live music? (Answer: Everywhere, and literally all day). We get into all of it today on the Friday News Roundup, with host Nikki DaVaughn, Hey Austin newsletter editor Kelsey Bradshaw, and our guest, Rikki Hardy of HAAM. And stick around after the roundup for our Don’t Go Gently tip for this weekend. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

We recently explored why dating in Austin sucks for straight singles. But as you may know, the Austin area has one of the country’s largest concentrations of LGBTQ-plus people, and dating is just as hard for us. For today’s episode, host Nikki DaVaughn is joined by Mase Kerwick, a multi-disciplinary storyteller and one of the hosts of Queertowne, a weekly podcast. We discuss it all — how to find love in our ever-changing city, including Mase’s advice on where to meet other queer Austinites, and the clubs we wish we could bring back. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE

Austin has long touted itself as the “Live Music Capital of the World,” but for many years, there wasn’t much of a safety net to help local artists survive and thrive. That’s all changed now, in large part because of Austin Texas Musicians, which organized musicians behind a push to create The Live Music Fund, the first-ever sustainable public funding for music in the U.S. using hotel occupancy taxes. Host Nikki DaVaughn, a local musician herself, is joined by Patrick Buchta, the CEO of Austin Texas Musicians, about how local organizations like his are empowering musicians. And stay tuned for our special weekly segment, A Mile in Their Boots, featuring a bonus interview with Kathleen McElroy, a professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. This is the last of five episodes we’re doing about the music community in Austin, brought to you by our exclusive launch sponsor, Tecovas. Tecovas knows more than handmade boots and fine Western wear — they’ve got an ear for great music, too. From legends of the past to rising stars on the scene, they love supporting musicians and music fans right here in Austin. So if you’re headed for a good time on the stage or in the crowd, go in good boots from Tecovas. You can find the rest of our Austin in Stereo series here: Episode 1: How Can We Save Austin’s Live Music Venues? Episode 2: Can Rising Musicians Still Make It in Austin? Episode 3: Why ‘Love Island’ Is Crucial to This Austin Songwriter Episode 4: Why Suzanna Choffel Says Austin’s Music Community Is Magical Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE 

Fall means flu season, and as Austinites make plans to roll up our sleeves and get the flu vaccine, don’t forget to get the latest COVID vaccine, too. The latest FDA-approved mixture fights a new Omicron strain of COVID that spread through Austin this summer and is recommended for anyone over the age of 6. Last month, host Nikki DaVaughn spoke to Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin Public Health’s medical director and health authority, about the latest strain, as well as other vaccines Austinites shouldn’t skip. We’d like to thank Tecovas, who makes our favorite Western wear in town, for being our exclusive launch sponsor. Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter. Follow us @citycastaustinYou can also text us or leave a voicemail. Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE