New Podcast Listens to Austin 24 Hours at a Time

In a constantly growing and changing city like Austin, a person can easily get lost in the hustle and bustle. Your daily commute, a trip to the grocery store, the 3pm caffeine fix, even waiting for your flight at the airport – all these small tasks can become so tedious that you find yourself rushing to get through them. If you stop and stand still for a second, though, you may just find the magic that exists in those mundane moments.

At least, that’s what the producers of KUT’s new podcast 24 Hours in Austin set out to prove. Inspired by This American Life’s “24 Hours at the Golden Apple” episode, a team of about 15 audio producers headed out with their microphones to spend 24 hours in a single Austin location. Their goal? To capture what a full day in our city sounds like.

“I wanted to do something where I got to know my community a little bit better,” said Matt Largey, senior producer and host of the show. “That’s why I wanted to do it here in Austin. That’s why I wanted to go to places where a lot of different kinds of people go, so that we could talk to a lot of different people in the community.”

The producers spent five days in four bustling scenes: Sixth Street, Bennu Coffee, the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, and the emergency mental health dispatch. They took shifts talking to anyone who was willing to share. Turns out, when you take a second to stop and look around, you can witness some pretty amazing things in the community.

“There are stories wherever you go, and if you just talk to enough people, you’ll find the really interesting ones,” Largey said.

From following a car-booter around Sixth Street to chatting with someone at the Austin airport who decided to quit his job, move to New York, and pursue his musical dreams, Largey said connecting with the community in this way made Austin feel like it did when he moved here 20 years ago.

“People’s willingness and openness to that experience of having that conversation with a stranger – I think that did change the way I look at Austin as being an open and friendly city,” Largey said. “It just made the place feel simpler. I love how big and complicated Austin is now, but sometimes it’s nice to feel that it’s simple.”

With a contentious presidential election cycle behind us and a myriad of political and economic issues creating further division between us, the team at KUT wanted to remind the people of Austin that they’re not alone.

“We chose to make this podcast because we wanted our listeners to have something special to turn to after the election,” wrote the station’s podcast manager Elizabeth McQueen. “We want to remind people about the beauty and joy that surrounds them by letting them get a more intimate look at their community. We’re trying to show people more joy.”

24 Hours in Austin

First episode releases on Thursday 14