Latest / Austin Signal / New year, new Texas laws on the books

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New year, new Texas laws on the books · Austin Signal

0:09
It is 2026,
0:12
and Austin and Texas have plenty of
0:14
new to start the new year.
0:16
The fresh calendar brings a bevy of
0:17
new laws across the state, of
0:19
particular focus, taxes.
0:21
Do I have your attention now?
0:23
Other new legislation focuses on
0:25
artificial intelligence and how
0:26
sheriff's offices will work with
0:27
immigration and customs enforcement.
0:29
Plus, new toll lanes opened up today
0:31
in North Austin, and the additional
0:33
access could mean increased traffic
0:35
on your drives home this year.
0:36
We've got more coming up on today's
0:39
show.
0:39
The Austin Signal is a production
0:41
of KUT News, hosted by
0:43
Jerry Quijano.
0:44
And perhaps you're looking to cut
0:45
back on distractions in the new
0:47
year. We've got some techniques that
0:49
you can use to keep your focus
0:50
strong in 2026.
0:52
You can start by staying right here
0:54
with us.
0:56
This is Austin Signal.
1:08
Howdy out there, and thank you for
1:10
joining us here on Austin Signal.
1:13
It is January 2nd,
1:15
the first Friday of 2026,
1:17
and our first episode of
1:19
the year.
1:20
Maybe you had to head back into work
1:22
today. Perhaps you're still on
1:24
vacation.
1:24
Lucky you.
1:25
Either way, we're glad to have you
1:27
here with us.
1:28
Thanks for starting the new year
1:30
here with Austin Signal, I'm
1:32
your host Jerry Quijano.
1:34
A quick headline to get us started,
1:36
just in case you missed it amidst
1:37
all the celebrations.
1:39
Health insurer Blue Cross and Blue
1:41
Shield of Texas and health care
1:42
provider Ascension Texas reached
1:44
an agreement to keep Ascention
1:46
facilities in network for the
1:48
insurance company's customers.
1:49
The two organizations faced a
1:51
January 1st deadline to agree
1:53
on that contract.
1:54
We have more about the deal over
1:57
at KUT.org.
2:00
Well, with 2026 upon
2:02
us, the new year is bringing with it
2:04
some new state laws.
2:06
And to talk with us a bit about
2:07
them, we are joined by the Texas
2:09
Newsroom's Capital Reporter, Blaise
2:11
Gainey. Blaise, great to talk to you
2:12
again.
2:14
So 2025 is going
2:16
to undoubtedly be remembered
2:18
for many things. One of those things
2:19
is gonna be the prominence of
2:20
artificial intelligence.
2:22
AI is seemingly everywhere
2:24
these days.
2:25
So tell us about the new Texas law
2:26
that's dealing with AI.
2:28
Yeah, so this is actually Texas
2:30
attempt to get ahead of things,
2:32
even though I mean, like you said,
2:33
it's already out there, AI is
2:34
everywhere, but it's not very
2:37
regulated.
2:37
And so what Texas, this bill
2:39
does in Texas is regulates
2:41
AI to make sure that it
2:43
doesn't get out of control.
2:45
I mean there's a lot of good things
2:46
AI can do, but there's lot of bad
2:47
things that it may be able to do.
2:49
And so this actually puts in place
2:50
some laws to make that people
2:52
aren't say using Miners
2:55
faces on on
2:56
in proper videos.
2:58
This also includes
3:00
just ways to make sure that people
3:02
aren't doing like financial crimes
3:04
using AI.
3:06
You know, there are so many things
3:07
that can be done that the bill isn't
3:09
too specific.
3:10
It's sort of vague on those issues.
3:12
But it's enough where I believe
3:15
prosecutors feel like if somebody
3:16
was to, you know, harm somebody
3:18
using AI that they could penalize
3:21
that person in court.
3:23
And it's also created an AI
3:25
council, I guess that's going to be
3:26
working with the state in the future
3:28
as AI continues to develop.
3:30
That's correct, that's what I was
3:31
gonna say next is that this council,
3:34
because AI, like you said, is
3:35
ever-growing and it's pretty
3:37
new, this council
3:39
will continue to suggest
3:41
new laws and changes not
3:43
only to regulate AI
3:45
and sort of harness it and
3:47
keep it in a bubble, but make sure
3:48
that whatever
3:50
new innovations come, that it's for
3:52
the betterment of people in Texas
3:54
and not to the detriment of
3:56
people.
3:56
Okay, well another law that
3:58
has some folks talking has to do
4:00
with immigration and customs
4:01
enforcement.
4:02
Tell us, how is that going to be
4:03
affecting Texas law enforcement?
4:06
Yeah, so Texas law enforcement
4:08
officers, specifically sheriff's
4:10
offices with jails, will have to
4:12
work with ICE, enter
4:13
into an agreement with ICE to
4:16
essentially house people in their
4:18
jails. And then send
4:20
them off to ICE offices or,
4:22
you know, wherever they would go
4:23
next.
4:25
But essentially, this is already
4:27
an ongoing thing, but now it's a
4:29
requirement.
4:30
And there are some cities, sanctuary
4:32
cities are banned in Texas, but
4:34
there are cities who may still
4:35
be seen as that.
4:36
This would basically say,
4:38
we don't want to have
4:40
any sort of...
4:42
You know, sheriff's office is
4:44
sort of helping people
4:46
not be detained by ICE or
4:48
not get caught up with ICE.
4:50
And so in this way, Texas
4:52
would essentially just
4:53
be helping ICE by holding onto
4:56
people, waiting until ICE can
4:57
come and get them and then going
4:59
into that.
5:00
Then that person would then
5:01
obviously be dealing with the
5:02
federal government and whether or
5:04
not they are a legal citizen.
5:06
Okay, well, more than half of
5:08
the 33 bills that are going into
5:10
law in the new year are related
5:12
to taxes.
5:13
Always a big topic of discussion
5:15
here in the Lone Star State,
5:16
obviously here in Austin in
5:18
particular. We had a recent election
5:19
on taxes.
5:20
Property taxes are always a big
5:22
topic of discussions.
5:23
What should we know about those
5:25
bills going into effect?
5:26
You know, I mean, you kind of said
5:28
it there. Property taxes is one of
5:29
the main things that these taxes
5:32
will impact.
5:34
Some of the smaller ones have to do
5:35
with like animal feed.
5:37
You know everybody's not buying
5:39
pounds and pounds of animal feed, so
5:40
that won't affect too
5:42
many people. But the property taxes
5:44
one affects almost
5:46
seven million Texans.
5:47
There's almost seven billion
5:48
property owners in Texas.
5:50
So this would allow them to
5:52
get a big cut on their property tax.
5:54
And not have to pay you
5:56
know you hear about property taxes
5:58
being so high this
6:00
helps cut down that amount
6:02
so people will get
6:04
almost up to $200,000
6:06
of mostly the elderly and
6:08
those with disabilities will
6:11
get up to two hundred thousand
6:12
dollars off of what they will be
6:13
taxed on for their home.
6:15
And then for everyone else,
6:17
it'll be around $150,000
6:20
of their home won't be taxed.
6:22
So that is a big advantage.
6:24
Whether or not it shows up when
6:26
people get their bills, we'll have
6:28
to wait and see, but the legislature
6:30
is still looking even into
6:32
2027 to see what they can
6:34
do to further cut down property
6:36
taxes in the state.
6:37
Okay, well we've got a rundown of
6:39
these bills from the Texas
6:41
Newsroom's Capital Reporter, Blaise
6:42
Gainey, as well as other members of
6:44
the Texas newsroom over at
6:46
KUT.org.
6:48
You can catch up on what we talked
6:49
about in a little extra as well.
6:51
Again, we've been speaking with the
6:52
Texas New Room's Blaise Gehney.
6:54
Blaise, thank you for your time.
7:03
And thank you out there for being
7:04
with us here on Austin Signal.
7:07
The new year also brings the first
7:09
toll lanes on a construction project
7:10
that's been in the works in Austin
7:12
for half a decade.
7:13
Those new lanes mean drivers now
7:15
have access to more toll lanes that
7:17
will get pricier as the roads get
7:19
more congested.
7:20
Here to tell us more about that is
7:21
KUT's transportation reporter Nathan
7:23
Bernier. Happy New Year Nathan, good
7:25
to see you. Good to see you.
7:25
Good to see you too, Jerry.
7:27
So tell us about this project.
7:28
Where is it? So it's one eighty.
7:29
It's called the one eighty three
7:31
north mobility project.
7:33
But you know, it's the one eighty
7:34
three North project.
7:36
It's US one eighty three from Mopac
7:38
to SH forty five North.
7:40
So it is about a nine mile stretch
7:42
from, you know going
7:44
northwest from MOPAC in one 23
7:47
And it has been in the works for
7:49
years. Construction alone has taken
7:50
almost five years.
7:52
It's a project by the Central Texas
7:54
Regional Mobility Authority.
7:55
They're the tolling agency.
7:57
And so they borrow the money.
7:58
It's not tax dollars per se.
8:01
I mean, they're basically borrowing
8:02
the money to build it.
8:03
And then they repay that with toll.
8:04
That we yeah that you paid are when
8:06
you drive on the roads
8:07
Yeah, and so the northbound
8:09
lanes open this morning,
8:11
Friday morning, and it's
8:13
just sort of like, this is the
8:14
second time in the Austrian area
8:16
where we have dynamic tolling,
8:17
which you alluded to, where the
8:19
price goes up or down.
8:20
The Mopac express lanes are already
8:21
like that, and these will also
8:23
go up or down based on demand
8:25
with the goal of keeping traffic
8:27
moving at least 45 miles an hour.
8:28
The logic being that
8:31
If the price is high, higher,
8:33
fewer people will use the toll
8:34
lanes. And so there'll be fewer
8:36
vehicles so that they'll allow the
8:37
speeds to pick up.
8:38
Although I'll say this, the head of
8:40
the CTRMA, James Bass did mention
8:42
during a recent meeting.
8:43
He's like, he prefaced it by
8:45
saying, uh, I don't know if I should
8:46
say this. Which gets my ears perked
8:48
up.
8:49
Uh, and he said, he hears from
8:51
people who don't even use the
8:52
toll lanes unless the price's high,
8:54
because then they figure there's
8:56
gotta be something wrong with the
8:57
normal lanes, but whatever we got
8:59
the, we We got the northbound lanes
9:01
open.
9:02
Uh, today and then the southbound
9:03
lanes should open in the coming
9:04
months and they'll be connected.
9:06
All they'll all be by March.
9:08
It should be done with all be tied
9:09
in with the Mopac lanes.
9:10
Okay good that was my next question
9:11
if this project had been completed.
9:14
This is going to be feeding into the
9:16
toll lanes on Mopac as well.
9:18
What is the expectation there?
9:19
How is that going to affect prices?
9:21
How is it going to effect demand for
9:23
those toll lanes?
9:25
Question because during
9:27
the same meeting I was talking
9:28
about, the chief financial officer
9:29
of the CTRMA, Jose Hernandez,
9:32
said once that direct
9:34
connector opens from 183
9:36
North into the Mopac express lanes,
9:38
he said, I think there's going to be
9:39
more demand.
9:40
And it makes sense.
9:41
Once this is done, you'll be able to
9:43
ride toll lanes continuously from
9:45
Liberty Hill to downtown Austin
9:46
because there's the 183A
9:49
toll lanes. Now those are not
9:50
dynamically toll, it's just fixed
9:51
rate, but that's what.
9:52
This at the northern end, the 183
9:53
North project will connect to a lot
9:55
of numbers here.
9:56
But, and so, yeah, I mean, you're
9:58
just, you're like feeding all of
10:00
this traffic in for people who
10:02
want to skip the line,
10:04
going right into the Mopac lanes.
10:05
And we've seen tolls on the MOPAC
10:07
lanes top $18 to
10:09
ride both segments.
10:10
So maybe we'll top 20 in
10:12
2026, who knows?
10:13
So I have to keep an eye on that.
10:14
Yeah.
10:14
Yeah maybe and that
10:16
brings me to my next question.
10:18
I know that the Mopac lanes are
10:20
always very busy but it seems as
10:22
though with more people coming here
10:23
they get busier and busier.
10:25
Do we have any information about how
10:26
busy last year was for the MOPAC
10:28
toll lanes? How much revenue they
10:29
brought in?
10:30
Just like you say, man, they keep
10:31
getting busier and busier.
10:33
October had the
10:35
most revenue ever for
10:38
the Mopac express lanes as almost $3
10:40
million just for the month of
10:41
October. And that was an increase
10:43
over the previous October 2024 of
10:46
more than 30%.
10:47
Now there's a number of factors
10:49
at play here.
10:50
But I mean, the fact of the matter
10:52
is you could just see it when you
10:53
ride these toll lanes, the prices go
10:55
up and up and I say
10:57
18 bucks.
10:58
It does top $18 sometimes.
11:01
It doesn't stay there always for
11:03
very long. So the prices are updated
11:05
every five minutes and
11:06
it takes a lot of things to happen
11:08
for it to get that high.
11:10
But I mean, the CTRMA
11:13
would say, look,
11:15
yes, sometimes the toll prices are
11:16
high, but it's providing
11:18
people a choice.
11:19
They like to use the word choice a
11:21
lot. A choice, if they
11:23
absolutely need to get somewhere
11:24
fast, they have the choice to spend
11:26
the 18 bucks.
11:27
And they'll get there faster than
11:28
they would otherwise.
11:29
So it's an option. You don't have to
11:31
do it. And they say
11:32
it gets more people out of the
11:34
general purpose lanes.
11:35
And that's one more thing I'll say
11:37
about this new 183 North
11:39
project is they did add a fourth
11:40
general purpose lane in
11:42
each direction. In other words, a
11:43
fourth non-told lane.
11:45
Now that's what the CTRMA says.
11:47
The country argument is, the more
11:48
you expand the highways and
11:50
make it easier for people to
11:53
live further out,
11:55
Mm-hmm is gonna make
11:57
living further out more attractive.
11:59
So that's going to allow people to
12:00
afford, you know, how is this the
12:01
whole induced demand argument?
12:03
Basically, if you build it, they
12:04
will come and eventually the
12:05
highways just fill up because
12:07
you're providing the incentive
12:09
for people to do that.
12:10
So there's a lot of moving parts
12:11
here, but certainly arguments
12:14
on both sides.
12:14
All right, well, you can take a look
12:16
at these toll lanes for yourself by
12:17
going to KUT.org.
12:19
You can find more from Nathan's
12:21
story and more of his reporting
12:22
there at KUT dot org.
12:24
He is KUT's transportation
12:26
reporter, Nathan Bernier.
12:28
Nathan, thank you.
12:29
Appreciate it. Thanks, Jerry.
12:37
And thank you for spending this
12:38
first Friday of 2026
12:41
here with community powered
12:42
public radio.
12:44
This is Austin Signal here
12:46
on KUT News and
12:48
we'll be back after this break.
13:01
This is Austin Signal, I'm Jerry
13:03
Keehunel. Thank you for being with
13:04
us.
13:05
Well, it is officially that time of
13:07
year when people start making
13:08
resolutions and setting goals for
13:10
self-improvement.
13:11
And whether it's doing more reading,
13:13
getting in shape, or learning a new
13:15
skill, following through can
13:17
be a challenge all its own.
13:19
One of the biggest issues,
13:20
distraction.
13:21
It's easier than ever to fall down a
13:23
rabbit hole, scrolling social media,
13:25
gaming, or streaming some shows.
13:28
So what to do if your goal is to
13:30
focus more on other things?
13:32
Of the tech standards, Angela
13:34
Kocherga sat down with Nir Ayal for
13:36
those answers.
13:37
He's the author of Indistractable,
13:40
How to Control Your Attention and
13:42
Choose Your Life.
13:44
Well, your book lays out several
13:46
techniques for staying focused and
13:48
productive, and you start with
13:49
making the claim that the root cause
13:51
of all distraction is the
13:53
desire to escape discomfort.
13:55
Explain what you mean and how is
13:57
that relevant to the broader goal of
13:59
productivity.
14:00
Absolutely, so we tend to blame the
14:02
pings, dings, and rings, all the
14:03
things in our outside environment,
14:05
our phone, our kids, the boss,
14:07
the news, all the thing that are
14:08
outside environment.
14:09
But in actuality,
14:11
studies have found that those
14:13
external triggers, those things that
14:14
are out in our environment, they
14:15
only account for about 10%
14:17
of our distractions.
14:19
So the question then is, what's
14:21
the other 90%?
14:22
It turns out that 90% of
14:23
distractions.
14:24
Begin from within.
14:25
These are called internal triggers
14:27
and they are uncomfortable emotional
14:29
states that we seek to escape.
14:31
So boredom, loneliness, fatigue,
14:34
uncertainty, anxiety, that is the
14:36
source of 90% of our distractions.
14:38
So if you're fighting distraction,
14:39
it doesn't matter if the distraction
14:41
is too much news, too much
14:43
booze, too much football, too many
14:44
Facebook, you are always going to
14:46
get distraction unless you
14:47
understand that most distraction
14:48
begins from within
14:50
Oh, that's fascinating and
14:51
surprising that the dings
14:53
and pings are just a small
14:55
percentage.
14:56
Well, in the book, you talk about
14:57
something you call the 10-minute
14:59
rule. Tell us about that.
15:01
Yeah, so I use this every single day
15:03
and it's really helped me as an
15:04
author. I've been a professional
15:06
author now for over
15:07
two decades and all I wanna do
15:09
every time I write is to do
15:11
something else. I want to check the
15:13
news, I wanna look at stock prices,
15:15
I wanna at sports scores, I wanna to
15:17
do everything but the writing.
15:18
It's really hard.
15:19
So this rule that I've come across,
15:21
it's called the 10-minute rule.
15:22
Now the idea behind the 10 minute
15:23
rule is that you're allowing
15:25
yourself to give into that
15:26
distraction. You can do anything you
15:27
want. You're an adult, you can do
15:29
what you want but you want to
15:31
do it in 10 minutes, and if
15:33
10 minutes is too long, make it the
15:34
two minute rule, make it five minute
15:35
rule. The idea here is that you're
15:37
teaching your brain that you are not
15:39
a slave, you're not addicted to
15:40
these distractions, you are just
15:42
simply doing something with your
15:44
mind at that moment. So the idea
15:45
here, is that you're gonna restrict
15:47
yourself, you're going to tell
15:48
yourself to not do something,
15:50
because in fact that can backfire
15:51
and make you want it more.
15:52
Instead you're just gonna say, I
15:54
choose to give in to that
15:55
distraction in 10 minute.
15:57
So many times while I'm writing,
15:58
I'll just set an alarm.
15:59
And I'll say, okay, for 10 minutes.
16:02
And then I can continue that task
16:03
for just 10 more minutes.
16:04
And then what I'm doing is I'm
16:06
showing myself that I have the
16:07
agency, I have this self-efficacy to
16:09
then change the 10 minute rule to
16:11
the 12 minute rule, to the 15 minute
16:13
rule to the 20 minute rule.
16:14
And that's how you're teaching your
16:15
brain to expect that you
16:17
can actually delay that distraction
16:19
for a little bit longer.
16:20
Mmm.
16:21
Well, you're a big advocate of time
16:23
boxing, setting aside specific
16:25
chunks of time to accomplish tasks.
16:27
How do you do that in your own
16:28
schedule?
16:30
So this has absolutely changed
16:32
my life because of this principle
16:33
that I oftentimes repeat, which is
16:35
you cannot call something a
16:36
distraction unless you know what it
16:38
distracted you from.
16:40
Okay, I'll say it again. You can't
16:41
call something in distraction unless
16:42
you what it distracts you from, so
16:44
people complain all the time, and I
16:46
used to complain all of the time
16:47
about how I was distracted because
16:49
of my daughter, I was distracting
16:50
because of the news, I was distract
16:51
because of what my job required of
16:53
me, that I was constantly distracted,
16:54
but then when you looked at my
16:56
calendar, like a lot
16:57
of people, it was blank.
17:00
There's nothing on my schedule.
17:01
So you can't say you got distracted
17:02
unless you know what it distracted
17:03
you from.
17:04
So you've got to put down in your
17:06
calendar how you want to spend your
17:08
time because we tend to
17:09
vilify the distraction itself,
17:12
the phone, the television,
17:14
whatever it might be that might be
17:15
taking us off track.
17:17
But none of those things are
17:18
inherently bad.
17:19
What's bad about those things is
17:20
that when we use them without
17:22
intent.
17:23
And so the antidote for this
17:25
impulsiveness because at the end of
17:26
the day, distraction.
17:27
Is simply a dysfunction
17:29
of impulsivity, because we
17:31
haven't learned how to deal with
17:32
those impulses.
17:33
So if you plan ahead, there
17:35
is no distraction you can't
17:36
overcome.
17:37
Well, putting away our phones is
17:39
common advice for staying
17:40
productive, but it's not always
17:42
feasible. What are some ways we can
17:44
use technology to help us stay on
17:46
track?
17:47
So one of the best things you can do
17:49
is actually schedule it.
17:50
I see this a lot of times with
17:51
parents and I give them what they
17:53
think is the most unconventional
17:54
advice that if you want to get your
17:55
kids to use their phones less,
17:58
make time for it.
17:59
And so this goes back to the idea of
18:00
time boxing because what happens
18:01
with a lot of us, not just kids, is
18:03
that we ruminate.
18:04
We think, when can I check, when can
18:06
check, when check, especially with
18:07
kids, when can play that game, when
18:09
can contact my friends, when can use
18:10
these technologies.
18:11
And so one of best things you can is
18:13
to simply. Plan time for it, not
18:14
just for the productive time, not
18:16
just the homework time or clean up
18:17
the house time, but time to play
18:19
games. If that's important to you,
18:20
if that's part of your value system,
18:22
part of the person you want to
18:23
become, is spending time online,
18:25
there's nothing wrong with it, but
18:27
do it on your schedule and
18:29
according to your values, not the
18:31
tech companies.
18:32
And as you said, schedule it.
18:34
So at this point, the internet and
18:35
digital devices are not
18:37
new.
18:38
Do you think we've gotten better at
18:40
managing all the push notifications
18:41
and digital distractions?
18:44
I think we have, actually, if you
18:46
compare from when I first started
18:48
doing this research and publishing
18:49
this work, I had to
18:51
convince people that this was a
18:52
problem. Today, we all know it's a
18:54
problem, and so part of what the
18:55
companies who make these products,
18:57
as much as we want to paint them as
18:58
the bad guys, and they certainly
18:59
have special responsibilities,
19:01
they've actually put in
19:03
tools into the very products to
19:05
help us use them less.
19:06
I mean, I can't name any other
19:07
products that do this that actually
19:09
help the people who use them use
19:10
them less, right? The casinos don't
19:12
tell you, you've had enough you
19:13
should go away They don't do that,
19:16
but yet these tech companies, every
19:17
product these days, whether you have
19:19
an iPhone, whether you an Android
19:20
device, it comes with tools built
19:23
right into them.
19:23
Apple Screen Time, Google Wellbeing,
19:26
it's built into the device to
19:27
help us use them less.
19:29
And so we need to frankly stop
19:30
complaining and use these tools that
19:32
come on our phones for free to help
19:34
control all of these devices so
19:36
that we use them as opposed to them
19:37
using us.
19:39
Well, you have a new book coming out
19:40
soon called Beyond Belief.
19:42
What's that book about?
19:44
Yeah, so thanks for asking.
19:45
So this book tackles this challenge
19:48
that I found. I wrote Indistractable
19:50
a few years ago and I do these
19:51
office hours where anybody can call
19:53
me and ask me anything they like
19:54
about the book.
19:55
And it's a great way to kind of get
19:56
feedback from my readers.
19:57
And every once in a while I would
19:59
get this call that someone would
20:01
say, hey, I read your book,
20:01
Indistructable.
20:02
I really enjoyed it, but it didn't
20:04
work. I'd say, oh, wow, it didn't
20:05
work, tell me more.
20:06
You know, what was happening here?
20:07
I spent five years on it, did tons
20:09
of research.
20:09
There's 30 pages of citations to
20:11
peer-reviewed studies.
20:12
Tell me more, how did step one go
20:14
for you?
20:15
Well, you know, I didn't do
20:17
step one.
20:18
And so what I realized is that, you
20:19
now, I thought, well, what's wrong
20:20
with these people?
20:21
And then I realized, wait a minute,
20:23
I'm one of these people.
20:24
I have tons of books with gurus
20:26
telling me advice that I haven't
20:27
followed and haven't listened to and
20:29
haven't implemented.
20:30
And the real question is why.
20:31
And what I realize when I dug deeper
20:33
into the research is that it's not
20:35
good enough to just know what to
20:37
do.
20:38
Why?
20:39
Because we're missing the belief.
20:40
That the missing part,
20:42
that motivation is not a straight
20:44
line between.
20:45
Doing the behavior and getting the
20:46
reward, it's actually a triangle.
20:48
That you have the behavior, you have
20:49
benefit, and then you have belief.
20:51
And the belief is what holds it all
20:52
together. And so that's what Beyond
20:53
Belief is all about.
20:55
We've been speaking with Nir Eyal.
20:57
He's the author of Indistractable,
20:59
How to Control Your Attention and
21:01
Choose Your Life.
21:02
Nir, thank you for sharing your
21:03
insight.
21:04
My pleasure, thank you.
21:11
Whoa, here at Austin Signal,
21:14
we love us some music, especially
21:16
Austin music, and thanks
21:18
to our sister station KUTX, we get
21:20
an inside look at some of the great
21:22
shows and some of the great bands on
21:23
the scene here in town.
21:25
Perhaps you added a new song to your
21:27
playlist after hearing some of them
21:28
share their favorite songs of 2025
21:30
right here on the show.
21:33
Well, it's because of all this love
21:34
for Austin music that KUTx has
21:36
partnered up with the Austin Arts,
21:38
Culture, Music, and Entertainment
21:40
Division, or...
21:41
ACME for short, to celebrate
21:43
January 2026's
21:44
Love Austin Music Month.
21:46
Far out, right?
21:48
So what does that actually mean?
21:50
Well, it's all about showing the
21:52
love, baby. Showing the love to your
21:53
favorite Austin bands and to
21:55
the organizations that support them
21:57
and help them keep them going.
22:00
Maybe one of your New Year's
22:01
resolutions is to get out more or
22:03
to see more live music.
22:05
There's no better time to start
22:06
than Love Austin music month.
22:08
Especially with free week
22:10
approaching next weekend.
22:11
We're gonna have more about that on
22:13
next week's shows.
22:15
You can find some of the other ways
22:17
to get involved with Love Austin
22:19
Music Month at kutx.org.
22:22
And don't forget to get out there
22:24
and spread some love.
22:26
That is it for our first episode
22:28
of 2026.
22:30
Thank you for marking the occasion
22:31
with us and spending the Friday
22:33
here.
22:34
We hope 2026 is everything
22:36
you want it to be.
22:37
And just a little bit
22:39
more.
22:41
Kristen Cabrera is our managing
22:42
producer, Rayna Sevilla is
22:44
our technical director,
22:46
and Jimmy Mass is our baby
22:48
new year. I'm your host, Jerry
22:50
Quijano. We will be back Monday
22:52
afternoon at one o'clock here
22:54
on KUT, and we
22:56
will talk to you then.
22:57
Have a great weekend.