How NPR's Funding Cuts Affect Your Favorite KUT Shows

For lots of Austinites, the swag one gets for donating to our local NPR station, KUT, is a status symbol. Grackle-adorned totes and socks are practically a currency — this city loves the news station and its sister station, KUTX, which often showcases Austin musicians. But do Austinites love KUT enough to save it? The station is trying to raise $1.2 million (https://www.kut.org/politics/2025-07-...) to shore up what it lost when Congress rolled back funding (https://www.npr.org/2025/07/18/nx-s1-...) for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS. Host Nikki DaVaughn is joined by KUT's General Manager, Debbie Hiott, who also sits on NPR’s board of directors (https://www.kut.org/station-informati...) , to talk about how the cuts will affect local programming, staffing, and more, especially at a time when local news deserts are expanding (https://www.medill.northwestern.edu/n...) .



Learn more about the sponsors of this July 24th episode:




•
Babbel (https://get.babbel.com/eg_podcast_fla...) - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST


• Framebridge (https://www.framebridge.com/)


• Cabana Club (https://cabanaclubaustin.com/)


• Austin Watershed Protection (https://raintoriveratx-austin.hub.arc...)




Want some more Austin news? Then make sure to sign up for our Hey Austin newsletter (https://austin.citycast.fm/subscribe-...) . 



And don't forget– you can support this show and get great perks by becoming a City Cast Austin Neighbor at membership.citycast.fm (http://membership.citycast.fm/) . 



Follow us @citycastaustin (  / citycastaustin  )



You can also text us or leave a voicemail (about:invalid#zCSafez) . 



Interested in advertising with City Cast? Find more info HERE (https://citycast.fm/advertise/)