The Secret Ingredient with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Raj Patel, author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, Tom Philpott explore the future of the Green New Deal with  Naomi Klein, author of “On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal.”

Explore the future of the Green New Deal and what it means for Texas with Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez. Tzintzún is challenging John Cornyn for the 2020 US Senate seat for the State of Texas. She is the Co-founder of the Workers Defense Project and Jolt, and she talked with The Secret Ingredient team–Raj Patel, Tom...

“We need to change society so everybody can fit in and everyone can afford to live in a decarbonized society.” – Jim Goodman  In this episode of The Secret Ingredient host Raj Patel plays double-duty — he is not just a host, but joins Jim Goodman as a guest. The two discuss what A Green...

“The climate crisis is an emergency, it is a crisis and so we need to make major, major changes in our agriculture system.” Ben Lilliston is the Director of Climate Change and Rural strategies at the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy. He spoke with The Secret Ingredient team–Raj Patel, Tom Philpott, and Rebecca McInroy,...

The Secret Ingredient with KUT’s Rebecca McInroy, Raj Patel author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things, and food and agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones, Tom Philpott welcome back Rob Wallace an evolutionary biologist for his take on the link between global outbreaks of infectious disease and global agriculture. Rob Wallace is...

On this edition of The Write Up, host Owen Egerton sits down with novelist Louisa Hall, author of The Carriage House. Plus we’ll hear book reviews of Cats Cradle and Stiff!

Always Remain a Beginner Interviews on the Write Up come out more as conversations than a scripted line of questioning. The authors who are featured bring their own spirit and personality into the discussion and the conversation spins to wonderfully surprising places. Our episode with award-winning poet Carrie Fountain is a perfect example. Talking with...

K.A. Holt loves middle grade novels and poetry and has a gift for both. Her novel Mike Stellar: Nerves of Steel won praise from middle grade readers all over the nation. Her poetry shines in her collection Haiku Mama: Because 17 Syllables is All You Have Time to Read, written under the name Kari Anne...

On this edition of The Write Up we chat with novelist, playwright, and professor Kirk Lynn about the craft of writing, the adventure of theater, and the deep desire to abandon society and escape into the wild. We also discuss his debut novel Rules for Werewolves. Lynn began writing prose in college, but found the...

Novelist, screenwriter, critic and slam poet C. Robert Cargill sits down with host Owen Egerton at SXSW 2016 to talk about coming up in Austin, the history of scary movies, and advising on the set of Dr. Strange.

I’ve long been a fan of the beautifully dark and bitingly funny fiction of Amelia Gray. Her short story collections AM/PM, Museum of the Weird, and most recently Gutshot rank among my favorite books to pick up for a quick, smiling nightmare. Her novel Threats digs deeply into grief and melancholy, so deeply that the...

In this episode of The Write Up, we talk with prizewinning journalist and nonfiction writer Juliana Barbassa about her book Dancing with the Devil in the City of God: Rio de Janeiro on the Brink depicting the beauty, crime, pressures, and violent paradoxes shaping Brazil’s most vibrant city. Juliana Barbassa has lived and written all...

In this episode of The Write Up, Owen talks to George Saunders about craft, ecstatic empathy, and the afterlife in his new novel Lincoln in the Bardo.   George Saunders is an award winning and New York Times bestselling author of essays, short stories, novellas, and children’s books. His writing has appeared in The New Yorker,...

This Song — Mojo Nixon, Kat Edmonson, Aaron Behrens Welcome to the first ever “This Song” podcast! This week we have three amazing artists! Mojo Nixon:  The rock musician, DJ, lover of Elvis and natural born iconoclast talks about why “Sweet Soul Music” by Arthur Conley is the song that still makes him feel like […]

In  this episode of “This Song” we hear Brian Beattie talk about a song that blew him away and made a shelf in his brain, Kathy McCarty talks about a song that opened her up to the possibility that songwriting wasn’t just for people from the olden times, and Ray Benson explores a song that […]

On this episode of This Song, Elizabeth McQueen sits down with the members of Magna Carda and hears about each of their important songs--everything from the Soulquarians to Sir Duke.

In this episode of “This Song” Elizabeth sits down with Chaz Bundick, aka Toro y Moi aka Les Sins,  and  Gordon Moakes, who played bass with Bloc Party and now plays with Young Legionnaire. He also has a podcast called Exploded Drawing, where artists talk about one of their favorite 90’s records. Both musicians spoke about […]

This week guest interviewer Bill Childs, host of Spare the Rock, Spoil the Child,  sits down with John Flansburgh and John Linnell from They Might Be Giants to hear about the impact of the Batman theme and a evolving charm of a song from a record inspired by the Pogo cartoon. Along the way they also chat about kid record […]

In this episode of “This Song” Elizabeth McQueen sits down with country music collaborators Brennen Leigh and Noel McKay to talk about musical experiences they had as kids that are still influencing their lives today. And she talks to drummer Lisa Pankratz about a classic song that inspires the way she approaches her music. You […]

In this Episode of “This Song,” host Elizabeth McQueen sits down with singer-songwriter Laura Marling and photographer Todd Wolfson to talk about songs that gave them a greater understanding of freedom and transcendence. You can hear Laura Marling’s Studio 1A performance here. You can download Laura Marling’s cover of Towne’s Van Zandt’s “For the Sake of the […]

In this episode of “This Song” host Elizabeth McQueen sits down with Max Frost and Nakia to talk about songs that helped them find their artistic voices. You can hear Max Frost’s studio 1A Performance from June 6, 2015 here You can see the video of Nakia singing with Sharon Jones here Subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher to get […]

In this episode of “This Song,” Taylor Wallace sits down with Holly Miranda to talk about how a song she heard as a teenager opened her up to being open. Elizabeth McQueen sits down with musician and “how did I get here”  host Johnny Goudie to hear about a song from his teens that made him long for […]

In this episode of “This Song” Elizabeth McQueen sits down with the members of Moving Panoramas. Leslie Sisson, Karen Skloss and Rozie Castoe all talk about songs that changed them and contributed to the sound of Moving Panoramas. You can here the Moving Panorama’s My KUTX DJ set here.   Subscribe via iTunes or Stitcher to get the new […]

In this episode of “This Song” host Elizabeth McQueen sits down with  Glen Hansard  to talk about a song and an extraordinary experience around that song that made him know, for sure, that he would be a musician.  She also talks to Gina Chavez about a genre she heard in Argentina that hit her in the center […]

In this Episode of “This Song”  host Elizabeth McQueen sits down with Kelsey Wilson from Wild Child to talk about how a Nina Simone song taught her about the power of emotion and freedom in music. Then she talks with Qi and Chaka from Riders Against the Storm about the thematic power of Ibeyi’s “River,” […]

In this episode of “This Song” Elizabeth McQueen sits down with Kevin Parker of Tame Impala to talk about how a Led Zeppelin song helped him see that rock and dance music weren’t necessarily separate from one another.  And Mark Creaney of Sounds del Mar explains how a live version of a song by the Band opened him […]

In this episode of “This Song” Elizabeth McQueen talks to Oddisee about Marvin Gaye’s  “What’s Going On,” a song that taught him that music can serve both the body and the mind.  She also speaks to Mike Harmeier of Mike and the Moonpies  about how hearing records by Ryan Adams and Wilco at the right time in […]

In this episode of “This Song” Elizabeth McQueen sits down with Amelia Meath and Nick Sanborn of  Sylvan Esso to talk about the joys of Soul Coughing.  Then, Taylor Wallace talks to Jack Anderson, Isaac Winburne and Andrew Fontenot of the band SIP SIP about their influences, which range from Kool and the Gang and Stevie Wonder, to […]

Twin Shadow explores the magic of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," and Michael Ramos explains how Green Onions connects him to the people he loves.

Wilco guitarist Nels Cline describes how John Coltrane's Africa opened a door to an entire world of music he never knew existed and Julian Lage explains his attraction to the authentic interaction between Bill Evans and Jim Hall on "Undercurrent."

The "This Song" podcast Team is taking the holidays off, which means you can finally get caught up on the episodes you missed!

Shawnee Kilgore and Joss Whedon explain how they're inspired by Ani DiFranco, the Grateful Dead and each other. And Daisy O'connor recalls how grudgingly going to see Gregory Alan Isakov perform in a friend's living room changed the entire course of her life.

Delta Spirit's Matthew Logan Vasquez explains how Bob Dylan's "To Ramona" helped him grapple with agnosticism, Michael Kingcaid from What Made Milwaukee Famous explains why Queen and David Bowie's "Under Pressure" showed him the importance of the Epic and Kevin Sekhani talks about how hearing Bowie's "Fame" made him feel feelings he hadn't felt before.

Leon Bridges explains how hearing Gary Clark Jr's "Bright Lights" changed everything for him. Then Cory Reinisch and Dustin Meyer from Harvest Thieves talk about the power of Uncle Tupelo, Led Zeppelin and the Weary Boys.

Benjamin Booker explains how songs by Nigerian artist William Oneaybor and the Caribbean band The Beginning of the End are all helping him shape the sound of the music he's writing now. Then Laura Patiño of Holiday Mountain describes how a song by M.I.A. helped her find her power as a woman and her voice as a musician.

Jose Gonzalez talks about the many ways Nick Drake's "Pink Moon" inspired his musical style as does drummer Trevor Wiggins of Leopold and his Fiction. Then Daniel James, lead singer and guitar player for Leopold and his Fiction, talks about how the Motown sound helped him find his own sound.

Ian Astbury of The Cult explains the powerful effect that David Bowie's "Life on Mars" had on him when he was 10 years old and P.T. Banks talks about how Paul Simon's "Everything Put Together Falls Apart," helped him understand life, substance abuse and death.

Jonathan Meiburg explains how Vic Chesnutt's "Big Huge Valley" helped him realize there was a whole world of music bubbling beneath the mainstream. Plus, he makes the case that Nina Simone is the "best popular musician of the 20th century, and maybe the 21st century too." Then Emily Cross of Cross Record describes the effect Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek" had on her while her partner Dan Duszynski explains how King Tubby expanded his ideas of what music could be.

What do John Aielli, David Bowie and Caracaras all have in common? Jonathan Meiburg from Shearwater has learned something from all of them. Hear about his many and varied interests in this first ever "This Song" extra!

Delbert McClinton tells the story of the first time he heard Big Joe Turner's "Honey Hush" wafting out of a window. From that moment on, he was driven to give everything he had to the blues. And Carrie Rodriguez tells the story of the first time she heard Bill Frisell and explains how it opened her up to the idea that traditional music need not be played in a traditional way.

Josh Ritter explains how delving into the catalogue of Roger Miller helped him let go of the rules and find his voice for his new record. Then John Carter Cash explains why the music of his grandmother, Mother Maybelle Carter, influenced his musical path even more than the work of his father, Johnny Cash.

Mark Mothersbaugh describes in vivid detail what is was like to see the Beatles for the first time on Ed Sullivan. Then Sabrina Ellis and Andrew Cashen from A Giant Dog and Sweet Spirit talk about the the riffs and raw power of Iggy Pop, the songwriting of Regina Spektor how they came to write songs together.

Butch Vig talks about how seeing the Who perform "My Generation" on the Smothers Brothers made him want to be become a drummer, and showed him the kind of energy he would later help others capture in the studio. Along the way talks about what it means to be a producer and about his new documentary "The Smart Studios Story."

Eugene Mirman explains why he chose to incorporate music into his latest release and stage show and talks about the music that inspires him...or doesn't. Then Elliot Frazier and Daniel Corborn of Ringo Deathstarr talk about how hearing Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine when they were kids helped them see that they could make music that was discordant, distorted and totally satisfying.

White Denim's James Petralli explains how the Grateful Dead's "That's It For the Other One" helped him realize how he wanted to approach both the guitar and the recording studio. Then Bayonne explores how The Beach Boys' "God Only Knows" showed him how powerful openness and vulnerability in music could be.

M. Ward explores how John Fahey's record "The Yellow Princess" showed him that an artist could say everything he wanted using only one acoustic guitar. Then Dana Falconberry explains how the songs she learned while playing with Redding Hunter in the band "Peter and the Wolf" changed her approach to music.

Bob Boilen, host of NPR's All Songs Considered, talks about the Beatles "A Day in the Life" which totally opened his mind up to the expansive capabilities of music and art. Then Austin artist Mobley explores how Kanye West's "808's and Heartbreak" showed him how important emotion and vulnerability in music could be.

Thao Nguyen from Thao and the Get Down Stay Down talks about her love for Lucinda Williams' "Drunken Angel" and the power of the "good hurt." Then the members of the Austin band BUHU talk about everything from the importance of good headphones to the placement of Dave Grohl's drumming to the necessity of love in music.

John Doe talks about how hearing Lead Belly gave him a glimpse of the weirdness and darkness that lay beyond the mainstream. Then Jeff Klein from My Jerusalem talks about how a song by The Replacements took him from Neil Diamond and hair bands into the world of music that he genuinely loved and that would eventually inspire him to make music of his own.