I Love You So Much: The Austin360 Podcast

“Gentrified” creator Tia Willams chats with Austin360 radio hosts JB Hager and Whitney Stropp about the inspiration behind her five-episode series focused on the lives of three black millennials in East Austin.

Austin360 editor Eric Webb chat's with Kate Urquiola about how she and her husband Iker met at Austin's beloved ABGB waterhole. And got engaged there. And got married there, too.

Conrad Keely and Jason Reece of the band more-or-less Austin-based outfit ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead talk with Austin360's Joe Gross about their just-released 10th album, longevity and the band turning 25 this year. 

Austin famously relaunched the modern roller derby movement nearly 20 years ago, and today, two leagues dominate the sport. The Texas Rollergirls, which skate on a flat track, and Texas Roller Derby, one of only a handful of banked track leagues in the country. TXRD, as it is known, has a new season starting this month, and we brought in Jenna Johnson, a veteran member of the Cherry Bombs, to talk about what it takes to make it in derby, why the sport has grown so much in popularity and how this skater-owned league continues to thrive.

Austin American-Statesman music writer Deborah Sengupta Stith chats with Austin360 January Artist of the Month, Harry Edohoukwa, about the powerful songs on his debut album, “Fire on the Mountain,” how his Nigerian heritage influences his sound and why he doesn’t do party rap.  

Statesman restaurant critic Matthew Odam and Austin360 radio host J.B. Hager discuss the biggest stories from the year in Austin dining, along with top dishes from the year, and look back at the most influential restaurants of the decade.

On Dec. 14, local burger chain P. Terry’s held it’s quarterly Giving Back Days hit a new milestone: More than $1 million was donated given to nonprofit organizations across the Austin area. One of those is the Statesman Season for Caring, which features 12 families from local nonprofit organizations and helps hundreds of others throughout the year. We talked to P. Terry’s co-founders Kathy and Patrick Terry about why they give back to the community and the appeal of burgers, shakes and fries.

Music writer Deborah Sengupta-Stith chats with Austin360 December Artists of the Month, Vapor Caves. Andrew Thaggard and Yadira Brown, the duo behind the group  talk about how coming up in the ATX hip-hop scene shaped them as artists & more.

This week's episode is all about our absolute favorite thing in the world: Christmas TV episodes. Austin360 editor Eric Webb, features editor Sharon Chapman and Statesman breaking news reporter and pop culture maven Kelsey Bradshaw break down the holliest, jolliest content streaming right now.

What is it about Austin that you are most grateful for this year? We ask longtime locals, newcomers and celebrity chef Rachel Ray what they're most thankful for about this city we call home. 

Austin360 music writer Peter Blackstock sits down with two-piece folk band Little Marzan after their live Austin360 Artist of the Month set in November. Little Mazarn is made up of vocalist and banjo player Lindsey Verrill and bowed saw player Jeff Johnston.

We head to the shoe lab of Selena McCartney, owner of the Art of Shoes. After a long stint in New York working for Steve Madden, the San Antonio native is the shoe designer behind Katy Perry’s footware collection, and she also teaches shoe-making classes in East Austin.

Austin Film Society programmer Lars Nilsen talks to Joe Gross about the horror movies he loves.

James Beard award-winning chef Chris Shepherd has been exploring the myriad cultural and culinary influences of Houston since he opened Underbelly in 2012. The chef, who is appearing at the Texas Book Festival, has released a new cookbook entitled “Cook Like a Local” that celebrates Houston and its rich culinary scene.

Austin360 editor Eric Webb talks to actor Bruce Campbell ("The Evil Dead" films, "Burn Notice" and more) ahead of his Paramount Theatre visit Oct. 23. This episode contains some explicit language.

Statesman restaurant critic Matthew Odam chats with self-described taco journalists Mando Rayo and Jared Neece about their new show, "The United Tacos of America," premiering on Robert Rodriquez’s El Rey Network, in which the two visit eight cities around the country and explore the various food ways and cultures that have led to a taco proliferation.

 It's that time of year again: Two weekends of music in Zilker Park. Our music team talked about some of their favorite ACL moments of all time and the sets they’re most looking forward to this year.

Family, friends and fans of Daniel Johnston gathered in the Houston suburb of Katy on Saturday to pay respects to the renowned artist and songwriter, who died Sept. 11 at age 58.  Join Music Writer Peter Blackstock and Culture Writer Joe Gross as they recount Blackstock's experience memorializing Austin's iconic musician. 

Filmmakers and fans from across the globe will converge at the Alamo Drafthouse on South Lamar on Sept. 19 for Fantastic Fest, the world’s largest genre film festival. One of those movies is VHYes, directed and co-written by Jack Henry Robbins. His father, Academy Award winning actor Tim Robbins, produced and acted in the retro comedy shot entirely on VHS and Betamax. Tim chatted with Statesman multimedia producer Alyssa Vidales about VHYes, how home recording culture has evolved and what it was like to collaborate with his son.

"Angel Has Fallen" director Ric Roman Waugh discusses why he lives in Austin, what he wanted to do with this film and how PTSD can manifest in different ways for different people.

Ham sandwiches, Ding Dongs, flautas and the softest scoop of mashed potatoes. No matter if you brought your own lunch or ate from school cafeteria, the back to school season brings waves of food memories, at least for staffers at the Austin American-Statesman and supporters of the Lone Star Paralysis Foundation. Over the past few weeks, Statesman food writer Addie Broyles asked more than a dozen Austinites what they remembered about school food, and we learned that it’s so more than square pizza. Here are their stories.

This week’s episode is all about the babes. We check in with Jane Claire Hervey, Xochi Solis and Natalia Rocafuerte from the powerhouse collective, Boss Babes ATX, as they gear up for the fourth annual Babes Fest. Designed to amplify the voices of female and nonbinary creatives, the festival is set to go down Sept. 6-8.

In this week’s episode we pay tribute to an Austin icon. El Patio Tex-Mex restaurant is closing on August 9 after more than 65 years in business. Paul Joseph opened the restaurant in 1954, and his family has run it ever since. Home to UT royalty and students and Austinites famous and anonymous, El Patio left an indelible mark on Austin culture.

In this week’s episode, we’re letting our fan flags fly with Suzanne Scott. Suzanne is a media studies assistant professor at the University of Texas at Austin, where she specializes in researching all things fandom. We chatted about the evolution of fan culture, her new book titled “Fake Geek Girls: Fandom, Gender, and the Convergence Culture Industry,” and her own personal relationship with pop culture, including the Spider-Man character she cosplayed this July at San Diego Comic-Con.

In this week’s episode, we’re celebrating Austin’s culture of being hot and its intersection with the city’s fitness obsession. Gabrielle Munoz and Mark Wilson are both staff members at the Statesman who live active lives: Gabby’s a runner and Mark often goes out for bike rides and hikes on trails around town. We talked to them about how they adjust their workouts when Austin’s summer temperatures reach triple digits without sacrificing their active lifestyles.

Daniel Curtis’ life changed in 2011 when he dove into his backyard pool and slipped, became paralyzed instantly and woke up underwater and unable to swim to the surface for air. He was a chef at the time, and the food industry decided to hold a benefit for him that has turned into an annual event that has now raised nearly half a million dollars to help people with spinal cord injuries. Last year, Daniel joined me and former ILYSM co-host Tolly Moseley to talk about what people misunderstand about paralysis and how such a catastrophic injury has transformed his own life, in some ways for the better. The annual Pay it Forward with Daniel Curtis fundraiser returns on Aug 1 at the AT&T Hotel and Conference Center, so we are re-airing our interview with Daniel, who is now married and a dad to an 8-month-old. You can buy tickets and find out more about the event at pifdaniel.com.

The Zilker Summer Musical has been one of Austin's most beloved traditions for more than 60 years. Held across the street from Barton Springs, many an Austinite can share stories packing a cooler, laying out a blanket and enjoying a Broadway-level production under the stars, for free. Costume designer Jennifer Rose shares what it takes to pull off this year's musical, "The Little Mermaid."

Virginia Willis is one of the most celebrated Southern cookbook authors working today. She’s based in Georgia, but every year, she comes to Austin on a culinary tour with Central Market. Statesman food writer Addie Broyles chats with Willis about how Central Market’s cooking school compares to others around the country, what to do with all those tomatoes and peaches, and why summer is her favorite time of year to cook.

Spamarama was an Austin fixture for decades before the cook-off and celebration of all things Austin weird disappeared 12 years ago. This weekend, the event returns to the Moontower Saloon, and founder David Arnsberger joined me in the studio to talk about why Spam sparks such strong opinions, how he’s seen Austin change since starting the festival in the 1970s and why Spamarama was never really about Spam in the first place.

The latest release from Austin’s world class cumbia ensemble, Grupo Fantasma is an ambitious platter that covers everything from everything from Turkish psychedelia to Tex-Mex. We caught up with Greg Gonzalez and Beto Martinez from the band to talk about growing up on the border, the band’s recent trip to Colombia and why they named the new collection“American Music Vol. VII.”

In the Live Music Capital of the World, it’s not uncommon for fathers who regularly play gigs in the clubs at night to be on dad-duty during the morning and afternoon if their spouse has a full-time day job. We talked to two such Daytime Dads as Father’s Day approaches: Corey Baum, who plays urban country music as the leader of Croy & the Boys, and Andrew Nolte, a pianist and pop music composer who was our December 2018 Austin360 Artist of the Month.

Everything is changing, from Austin to how we watch movies. For over 30 years, Vulcan Video has seen both up close. The store announced that it's fundraising to stay open & rent movies to the Austinites who still love renting physical copies of films.  In this episode, we hear from Vulcan Video customers about why video stores are still relevant and revisit a podcast episode with general manager Jacob Knight.

Austin360 music writer Deborah Sengupta-Stith explores the current slime trend terrorizing moms across the country (the world?). Toy Joy brand manager Robby Petinatoto and 15-year-old Round rock-based slime entrepreneur Jay Kang break down the history and craze behind homemade slime.

Austin' James Beard Award winning chef Aaron Franklin sits down with Statesman food critic Matthew Odam and some cold beers to talk about his new steak cookbook, the Master Class series he's starring in, the third annual Hot Luck festival and more.

John and Kendall Antonelli came to the studio to talk about how they came to running Austin’s first standalone cheese shop and how being business owners and parents changed their relationship with the city. We talk about the many layers of what it means to “be an Austinite,” being a boss who isn’t afraid to be vulnerable and why their partnership grew stronger after they started working together.

Gracey Jarosek, 44, lives with her son Thres in Bastrop, Texas. Jarosek's husband died in a car wreck when her son was four years old. They’ve forged a special bond on the ranch.

Aubrey Marcus, founder and CEO of Onnit, talks about fear, self-judgment and the keys to total optimization. The Westlake High School graduate and former star basketball player started his quest toward self-improvement as a teenager and later founded his company on the mission to help people become the best versions of themselves. 

Statesman culture writer Joe Gross talks to city hall reporter Phil Jankowski about Phil’s quest to rewatch every Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, one a night, before the premiere of “Avengers: Endgame.” He’s been live-tweeting them, too.

Pat Byrne recently moved to Austin from his native Ireland, where he won the Irish version of the TV show “The Voice” in 2012. Last year he released a new album, “Rituals,” that was recorded partly in Austin with producer Rich Brotherton, a longtime guitarist with Robert Earl Keen’s band. Now since the album’s release, Byrne has been playing songs from “Rituals” at Austin venues such as the Saxon Pub and the Continental Club as well as Gruene Hall in New Braunfels. The Austin360 Artist of the Month for April 2019 shares what it's like to create music influenced by both Austin and his hometown.

Austin-based rapper Abhi the Nomad chats with Austin360 music writer Deborah Sengupta-Stith about how his Indian heritage and living all over the world has shaped his music.

Dale Watson has been a a longtime presence in Austin, but he's found a second home of sorts in the town that gave rise to the 1950s heyday of Elvis Presley and other American music legends. Austin360 music writer Peter Blackstock chats with Watson about his new album, "Call Me Lucky," his annual Ameripolitan Music Awards show, and what it's like to split time between two musical cities.

For more than 15 years, Carol Huntsberger has owned Quality Seafood, the legendary fish market and restaurant that has been around for more than 80 years. She shares how she decided to park the Mary Kay career and transition to learning everything you need to know about fish to sell it to local restaurants and home cooks. Also in this week's episode, hosts Addie and Alyssa catch up about some of the other powerful women they encountered during this year's South by Southwest, and share audio clips with sometimes Austinite Zooey Deschanel, "Top Chef" host Padma Lakshmi, WWE icon Stephanie McMahon and cookbook author Anita Lo.