Reliably Austin
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
More than 200 authors and about 40,000 book fans will descend on the Texas Capitol October 26-27 for the 2013 Texas Book Festival. Throughout the year KUT News speaks with authors about their lives and their work. To celebrate the upcoming festival, we have collected some of those interviews here. From 9-11 to Scientology to the Kennedy assassination, it's a diverse set of works from a fascinating group of authors.

Listen: Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison on Trailblazing Texas Women

Gittings Photography
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison encourages women interested in purusing a career in politics or public service to get some expererience outside of the industry before diving in. She is the author of a new book on the role of women in shaping Texas.

You think moving a piano is a pain now: Try doing it over rough terrain ... with no moving van.

Some of the women who came with their families to Texas in the early days of the 1800's insisted on bringing their pianos with them. While many of these women came from more genteel Southern backgrounds, the rough and rugged environment in Texas did nothing to dampen their spirits or enthusiasm.

So says former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. She might be considered a trailblazing Texas women herself. In 1993, she was the first woman elected to the U-S Senate from the Lone Star State. In her new book Unflinching Courage: Pioneering Women Who Shaped Texas, Hutchison highlights Texas pioneers from Jane Long, also known as the Mother of Texas, to Oveta Culp Hobby, who left her mark on politics, the military and media.

Hutchison talked with KUT's Jennifer Stayton recently about the stories of these remarkable women, and the ways Texas today does - and does not- reflect their heritage and spirit. Click on the player on this page to hear that interview.  

Jennifer Stayton is the local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" on KUT. Got a tip? Email her at jstayton@kut.org. Follow her on X @jenstayton.
Related Content