The Austin Common Radio Hour

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury sits down with the candidates running for City Council in District 5 (south Austin). You'll hear interviews with Ryan Alter, Bill Welch, Ken Craig, Stephanie Bazan, Aaron Velazquez Webman, and Brian Anderson II.

Our multi-part series on local climate action continues with an episode dedicated to energy & energy democracy. Guests include Luke Metzger (Environment Texas), Hanna Mitchell and Yesenia Rivera (Solar United Neighbors). Links mentioned in this episode include: **Shining Cities 2022 -https://environmentamericacenter.org/sites/environment/files/Shining_Cities-2022.pdf **Cleaner Cheaper Power For Texas Communities -https://environmenttexas.org/reports/txe/cleaner-cheaper-power-texas-communities ** People's Utility Justice Playbook -https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/download-our-peoples-utility-justice-playbook/ ** Solar Co-ops in Texas -https://www.solarunitedneighbors.org/texas/ ** Going solar in Austin -https://austinenergy.com/ae/green-power/solar-solutions/solar-solutions

Our multi-part series on local climate action continues with an episode dedicated to climate equity & food justice. Guests include Larry Franklin (The Austin Common's first-ever Food Justice Fellow), Tane Ward (equity consultant who worked on Austin's Climate Equity Plan), and Celine Rendon (former community engagement specialist for the City of Austin Office of Sustainability).

Our multi-part series on local climate action continues with an episode dedicated to one of our country's major sources of greenhouse gas emissions - electricity. In particular, we discuss the decades of work by local activists to get Austin's publicly-owned electric utility on a path to zero emissions. There's just one problem... the Fayette Power Project, Austin's last remaining coal plant. Guests include Kaiba White (Public Citizen Texas), Amber Mills (MOVE Texas), Annie Fierro (Sunrise Movement), and Makenna Jonker (City of Austin Electric Utility Commission). Want to learn more about what we discussed in this episode? Check out our list of links below... ** Public Citizen's Stop Burning Coal Petition -https://publiccitizen.salsalabs.org/keep-your-promise-atx-stop-burning-coal/index.html ** The Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign - https://coal.sierraclub.org/ ** MOVE Texas - https://movetexas.org/ ** Sunrise ATX - https://www.instagram.com/sunriseatx/ ** City of Austin Electric Utility Commission -https://www.austintexas.gov/content/electric-utility-commission

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, we kick off our multi-part series on local climate action. Guests include Laura Jay (C40 Cities), Shane Johnson (Sierra Club), and Luis Miranda (Ground Game Texas and Sunrise El Paso). Want to learn more about what we discussed in this episode? Check out our list of links below: * Austin Climate Equity Plan - https://www.austintexas.gov/page/austin-climate-equity-plan * C40 Cities Climate Action Planning Guide - https://bit.ly/3PhBvfo * C40 Cities List of Cities With Climate Action Plans - https://bit.ly/3FCwlGw * Zero Energy Project List of Cities With Climate Action Plans - https://zeroenergyproject.org/all-cities-with-climate-action-plans/ * Ground Game Texas El Paso Climate Charter - https://www.groundgametexas.org/en/campaign-el-paso * Sunrise El Paso Podcast - https://open.spotify.com/show/2RHL40BRHdWXYhhIa6siCb?si=9205a1e915bd4a28

We're back with another election episode! In this week's episode, Austin Common Radio Hour host Amy Stansbury talks with Julie Oliver (of Ground Game Texas) about Prop A, which if passed, would effectively decriminalize marijuana in Austin and ban no-knock warrants by police. Don't forget to vote! Election Day is May 7th and early voting lasts from April 25th to May 3rd.

Our series on the March 2022 Texas primaries continues with an episode focused on several Texas Legislature races impacting the Central Texas community. In particular, this episode features candidates running in Texas House District 51 Democratic primary, including Claire Campos-O'Neal, Cody Arn, Maria Luisa “Lulu” Flores, Matt Worthington, and Cynthia Valadez-Mata.

Early voting for the Texas primaries starts on February 14th & Election Day is March 1st. The ballot is pretty long, but if you care about climate change, health care, and criminal justice reform, there are two really important local races on your ballot - the Travis County Commissioners Democratic primary(Precincts 2 & 4). To explain it all, Austin Common Radio Hour host Amy Stansbury sat down with all the candidates running (Brigid Shea, Bob Libal, Margaret Gómez, Susanna Ledesma-Woody). Not sure which precinct you live in? You can look that up here -https://www.traviscountytx.gov/maps/gis-comm-pct. PS - In case you want to skip ahead in the episode to listen to the candidates running in your precinct, here are some useful time stamps... Start to 10 minutes - an intro civics lesson on the primaries & what a county commissioner even does 10 to 1:02 - Precinct 2 election 1:02 to the end - Precinct 4 election

On January 25th, Austinites living in District 4 (north/east Austin)will have the chance to elect a new City Council member. (Greg Casar, the current District 4 Council member, is leaving his seat early to run for Congress.)Austin Common Radio Hour host Amy Stansbury sat down with 5 of the candidates running to replace Greg - Isa Boonto, Monica Guzmán, Jade Lovera, Melinda Schiera, and José "Chito" Vela. Give it a listen and get all your election questions answered!

Earlier this month, global leaders met in Scotland for the COP26 summit to discuss the biggest problem facing our planet - climate change. The two-week long event just wrapped up, but before it ended, Austin Common Radio Hour host Amy Stansbury sat down with two Austinites who made the trip to participate in this historic event. Topics of discussion include the role of cities in fighting climate change, overcoming climate dread, and polices at the local level that are helping to reduce emissions. Guests include Roshan "Rosie" Khan from the Rainforest Partnership and Travis County Commissioner Brigid Shea.

On November 2nd, Austinites will have to vote on two very important ballot initiatives - Prop A & B. Prop A is about the size of Austin's police force & Prop B is about a potential park swap. Both of them could have a profound impact on the future of our city (and are also kind of confusing). Host Amy Stansbury breaks it all down in our latest episode. Guests include Cleo Petricek, Chas Moore, Bill Spelman, and Mark Littlefield. PS - There's a lot that can be said about Props A & B. To learn even more, check out our complete election guides here -https://theaustincommon.com/election-guides-november-2021/

Austin is in a bit of a housing affordability crisis. But, it's a crisis that's impacting parts of the city in very different ways. In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury continues with our multi-part series on housing affordability by taking a look back in time at Austin's long history of housing discrimination. Guests include Dr. Kevin Foster (acting chair of the Black Studies Department at the University of Texas at Austin) and Eliot Tretter (author of “Austin Restricted: Progressivism, Zoning, Private Racial Covenants And The Making of a Segregated City").

In the first six months of 2021, the median home sale price in Austin rose by $100,000. So what's behind the crazy increase? And what is being done to try and make housing in Austin more affordable? In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury kicks off a multi-part series on housing affordability in Austin by focusing on the numbers. What does affordable housing even mean? How much affordable housing stock does Austin have? We answer it all with this episode. Guests include Linwood “Woody” Rogers of HousingWorks Austin and Jennifer Carey of Open House Austin.

Austin has 10 City Council members who are elected to represent you. But who are these people? What do they do all day? In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury gets to know one of them, City Council Member Vanessa Fuentes from District 2. Topics of discussion include health inequities in southeast Austin, the city's budget, and a behind-the-scenes looks at how City Council meetings work.

Did you know? Up until last year, Austin was the largest jurisdiction in the country without a Public Defender's Office. In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury gets to know Travis County's first-ever Chief Public Defender, Adeola Ogunkeyede. Topics of discussion include criminal justice reform & what it's like to provide high-quality legal defense services in the middle of a pandemic.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury dives deep into Austin's homelessness policies. Topics of discussion include life after the passage of Prop B, designated campsites, & the city's new Summit Plan. Guests include Bill Brice of the Downtown Austin Alliance and João Paulo Connolly of the Austin Justice Coalition.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury dives deep into the upcoming City of Austin elections, sharing everything you need to know about Propositions F, G, and H. Topics include the possibility of switching to a strong mayor system of government, adding an additional Council district, and starting a Democracy Dollars program. Guests include Jesús Garza of Austin For All People, Joah Spearman of Austinites For Progressive Reform, and Jessica Palvino of Democracy Dollars ATX.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury dives deep into the upcoming City of Austin elections, sharing everything you need to know about Propositions C, D, and E. Topics include police oversight, Austin's mayoral elections, and ranked choice voting. Guests include Nathan Ryan & Liz Coufal of Good Politics, Council Member Greg Casar, and Amanda López Askin of Doña Ana County.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury dives deep into the upcoming City of Austin elections, sharing everything you need to know about Propositions A & B. Topics include the Austin Firefighters Association & the city's homelessness ordinances. Guests include Matthew Mollica of ECHO, Cleo Petricek of Save Austin Now, and Marina Roberts and Seneca Savoie of Homes Not Handcuffs.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury looks into the ways that the Austin Police Department responds to mental health emergencies and speaks with local activists and experts who are working to develop a non-police response for Austinites experiencing mental health crises. Guests include Marisa Aguilar of Integral Care and Karen Ranus of the National Alliance on Mental Illness Central Texas.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury sits down with state Representative Vikki Goodwin to discuss what the Texas Legislature is doing in the wake of the recent winter storm & how you can get involved in the process.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury sits down with producer John Hoffner to answer all your questions about ERCOT, the winter storm in Texas, and what the heck happened to our electric grid. John Hoffner has worked in the energy industry for his entire career (specializing in renewables), including 14 years at Austin Energy.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury continues our series on policing with a look at local crime data & statistics. Guests include UT Professor (and former Austin City Council Member Bill Spelman), as well as Chris Harris of Texas Appleseed.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury continues our series on policing with a look back at the history of policing and police reforms in Austin, Texas. Guests include Chris Harris of Texas Appleseed, former Austin City Council Member Bill Spelman, Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition, and Kathy Mitchell of Just Liberty.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury kicks off a series about policing in Austin, explaining exactly what changes were made to APD's budget this past summer and sharing an update on what work has been done since. Guests include Chas Moore of the Austin Justice Coalition, Kathy Mitchell of Just Liberty, and City Council Member Leslie Pool.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury shares the importance of city boards & commissions and explains how you can apply to serve on one. Guests include current board/commission members Rocky Lane & Pooja Sethi, as well as Austin City Council Member Leslie Pool.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury sits down with public education advocate Laura Yeager to give you a little civics lesson on the importance of local school boards. After that, we interview several of the candidates running in Austin's school board runoff election on December 15th.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury answers all your voting-related questions and sits down with guest Marissa Rivera for some helpful tips on how you can encourage your friends and family to vote as well!

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, comedian Laura de la Fuente (of Queerantine) joins Amy Stansbury to cohost our conversation with the candidates running for Austin City Council in District 6 (northwest Austin). Topics of discussion include homelessness & the future of transportation in Austin.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, comedian Meghan Ross (of No One Asked For This) joins Amy Stansbury to cohost our conversation with the candidates running for Austin City Council in District 10 (west Austin). Topics of discussion include homelessness, police reform, CodeNEXT, and climate change in Austin.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, Diana Gomez (of La Politica) joins Amy Stansbury to cohost our conversation with the candidates running for Austin City Council in District 2 (southeast Austin). Topics of discussion include gentrification/ displacement, police reform, and advancing racial equity in Austin.

In this episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury goes over the basics of Prop A, which, if approved by voters in November, could bring a $7.1 billion transit system to Austin. We also take a deep dive into Austin's transportation history (including 2 failed transit elections & century-old streetcars) & explore how equity is addressed in Prop A. Guests include - Jackie Nirenberg, Jeffrey Wood, Rusty Heckaman, Yasmine Smith.

In the first-ever episode of The Austin Common Radio Hour, host Amy Stansbury talks about why voting in local elections is so important, kicking off a series of election-themed episodes to get you prepped for November! Guests include - Austin City Council Member Greg Casar, community activist Carmen Llanes Pulido, and League of Women Voters Community Relations DirectorJennifer Delk.