ATXplained

40

What about Austin has you curious?

Recent Episodes
  • Who was Austin’s first female lifeguard?
    Jun 5, 2025 – 12:30
  • Who is the 94 year-old Texan who calls every state lawmaker?
    Jun 2, 2025 – 8:49
  • What’s the history of segregation at Barton Springs Pool?
    May 22, 2025 – 10:25
  • Is it safe to live near an old East Austin ‘Tank Farm’?
    May 8, 2025 –
  • Why are there so many of the same kind of bars on Sixth Street?
    Apr 24, 2025 –
  • Why are there so many ‘Violet Crowns’ in Austin?
    Apr 10, 2025 –
  • Who has the oldest friendship in Austin?
    Mar 27, 2025 –
  • How long have movies and TV shows been filmed in Austin?
    Mar 13, 2025 – 8:35
  • Introducing 24 Hours in Austin
    Nov 22, 2024 – 52:30
  • Why are people dropping flour in weird patterns around Austin?
    Oct 17, 2024 – 16:06
  • Why hasn’t Bob Schneider ever had a Top 40 hit?
    Oct 3, 2024 –
  • How is Big Stacy Pool naturally heated?
    Sep 19, 2024 –
  • Were there ever alligators in Zilker Park?
    Sep 5, 2024 –
  • What’s the story behind this insert from a 1975 ZZ Top album?
    Aug 29, 2024 –
  • Why is there a display about Jasper Johns on the side of a Jason’s Deli in San Marcos?
    Aug 22, 2024 –
  • There used to be a pet cemetery in Pflugerville. What happened to the animals?
    Aug 8, 2024 – 10:09
  • Why do all the new skyscrapers in Austin look blue?
    Jul 25, 2024 –
  • Why do lifeguards at Austin’s pools blow their whistles like that? (archive episode)
    Jul 11, 2024 – 7:22
  • Why are there so many empty stores on The Drag near UT Austin?
    Jun 27, 2024 – 9:41
  • Can you raise backyard chickens in Austin even if your HOA says you can’t?
    Jun 13, 2024 – 11:13
  • Black houses are so hot right now in Austin. But are they hotter? (archive episode)
    May 30, 2024 – 8:04
  • Is Steiner Ranch really full of swingers?
    May 16, 2024 – 15:36
  • Where have Austin’s Indigenous people gone? (archive episode)
    May 2, 2024 – 11:13
  • Why do bluebonnets grow so well along MoPac?
    Apr 18, 2024 – 7:31
  • Does Austin have a rat problem? Maybe. But this reporter sure does.
    Apr 4, 2024 – 13:17
  • How does Thomas J. Henry make any money when he spends so much on ads all over Austin?
    Mar 21, 2024 – 11:32
  • A tower has loomed in Austin’s Clarksville neighborhood for 72 years. What does it do?
    Mar 7, 2024 – 13:34
  • Why are some Austin sidewalks red?
    Dec 15, 2023 – 8:18
  • What’s the oldest tree in Austin?
    Nov 9, 2023 – 14:00
  • What happened to the time capsule UT Austin buried at Centennial Park?
    Oct 26, 2023 –
  • What happened to Juarez-Lincoln University in downtown Austin?
    Sep 14, 2023 – 11:18
  • What are those towers for in West Austin and why are they all there?
    Sep 7, 2023 – 11:43
  • What’s the story behind the colorful Maria de la Luz Cemetery in South Austin?
    Aug 23, 2023 – 11:14
  • Why is Lala’s Little Nugget in Austin always decorated for Christmas?
    Jul 20, 2023 – 12:53
  • What’s the oldest music venue in Austin?
    Jun 8, 2023 – 12:14
  • Why does the Texas Legislature meet for only 140 days every two years?
    Jun 1, 2023 – 10:19
  • What are the weirdest laws in Texas?
    May 25, 2023 – 11:31
  • ‘Is Austin hiding their elderly?’ What’s the average age of its residents?
    May 19, 2023 – 6:08
  • Who is ‘Moody,’ and why is everything in Austin named after them?
    May 11, 2023 – 11:09
  • For mouth painter Jared Dunten, the trick is to just keep going
    May 4, 2023 – 12:22
  • What happens to all that stuff you throw in compost bins in Austin?
    Apr 19, 2023 – 7:41
  • How much of the stuff we put in the blue bin in Austin actually gets recycled?
    Apr 18, 2023 – 13:15
  • Why is the two-step danced differently in Austin than in other parts of Texas?
    Apr 6, 2023 – 4:29
  • What’s the story behind the abandoned house by Dell Medical School?
    Mar 30, 2023 – 10:28
  • What happened to Brian Vargo almost 50 years ago? His niece is still looking for answers.
    Mar 9, 2023 – 11:07
  • Is Austin’s Paramount one of only a few century-old theaters still operating in the country?
    Feb 16, 2023 – 11:49
  • Why do sidewalks in Austin suddenly end?
    Feb 9, 2023 – 12:05
  • What happened to the Zilker Park minitrain?
    Jan 24, 2023 – 9:17
  • How did H-E-B’s Combo Loco get its name?
    Jan 13, 2023 – 14:25
  • What was the grandstand on the shores of Lady Bird Lake in East Austin used for?
    Jan 5, 2023 – 9:26
Recent Reviews
  • paydro*
    Thank you so much
    With the exception of that tool from New York that eventually ran away from his students and our city - everyone involved in this program has provided some outstanding narratives. My wife and I grew up in different cities and actually met at A&M (go ahead, laugh) but it didn’t take long for us to declare Austin as our forever home. Literally. We bought a house and everything. I’ll never get tired of learning new things about our city. Thank you so much for this podcast, and keep up the great work!!
  • Hoodedfantasia
    I like to learn
    Thank you for teaching things about the city that I would never have known... still looking for this “cemetery” seeing as how I drive 183 every day. Also why do drivers here refuse to use there blinkers and constantly swerve out of there lane... it’s so terrifying. I drive a lot for work and sometime I have to swerve because I don’t know what they are doing....what is going on?
  • E. B. South
    Great inside view of local stories
    As a new Austinite, this show is helping me cross off the several questions I've had about this pretty idiosyncratic town.
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