
ATX Ahead
Exploring the explosive growth of Austin, Texas, and the challenges we face.
Episodes
39 episodes
How is Housing in Austin?
Is now a good time to buy? Where are the new homes popping up? Can anyone hope to buy a new home for less than $200,000? ABJ Editor Colin Pope analyzes residential real estate.
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20:32

ATX Startup Scene Looking Like Silicon Valley
Fantastic fundings flew to fledgling firms in February. A handful of Austin startups snagged amounts usually disbursed to hundreds of companies over several months. Catch up on the hottest startups this city has perhaps ever seen in this episod...
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20:28

Exclusive: "Bricks and Clicks" Entrepreneur Fred Schmidt Shares What's Worked, What Hasn't, and Why
He saved Austin favorite Toy Joy and also helms other icons Wild About Music and Austin Rocks Texas, while splitting time between retail & tech ventures. In our season-opening episode, Fred Schmidt stops by to chat with ABJ Staff Writer Sah...
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37:11

Date Night at a Sporting Goods Store? Coming Soon for Residents in Booming Williamson County
Austin Business Journal Editor Colin Pope wraps up the year with the focus on Williamson County, and why not? The ABJ covers five counties around Austin, and Williamson County dominated our story count this past year. Colin highlights the massi...
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22:06

Food Fight!
Sprouts will soon outgrow Whole Foods here, new grocers are on the way, and can anyone beat H-E-B? Austin Business Journal Editor Colin Pope discusses the fun tidbits about Austin’s changing grocery scene and more in this episode.
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21:23

Austinites Go Wild, Surf's Up in Austin and Tesla is in Overdrive
Elon Musk can't stop building here. Austin's going to have a place to catch a wave to go surfing. People are yanking their homes and businesses from Austin city limits like crazy, and what's up, or down with crime in Austin? ABJ Editor Colin Po...
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23:06

The San Antonio-Austin Metroplex Explored: Or... Is It the Austin-San Antonio Metroplex?
Austin Business Journal Editor Colin Pope dives into the reality of Austin and San Antonio melting together. What will the towns between look like? What can we expect, transportation-wise? Will the two cities share an NFL team? And what about t...
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22:13

Hot Headlines from August and the Word Around the Newsroom with Colin Pope
We survived another Texas summer heatwave, and as the calendar is set to turn over to fall, the business headlines remain red hot. In this download, Austin Business Journal Editor Colin Pope recaps the last month and looks ahead to how things m...
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19:15

Hot Summer Headlines: Clickin' on Chicken, and Elon Musk's Growing Austin Empire
When you add all it all up — X, Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company and Neuralink — it’s hard to deny that no one has had as big of an impact on the Austin area as Elon Musk. In this episode, Austin Business Journal Editor Colin Pope looks into Musk'...
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16:25

Steal These Ideas from Austin’s Best Places to Work
Get a load of the perks and benefits offered by this year’s winners. Some are grand — like shipping employees up to Colorado in July so they can escape the Texas heat. Others come with little or no cost. In any case, good ideas abound to improv...
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18:44

Where Does Austin Rank? It Depends Who's Counting and Which Survey You Read
Jacksonville, Florida bumped Austin out of the Top 10 list of largest cities in America, as many folks are exiting Travis County for Georgetown, Leander, Kyle and points beyond. Despite a few relocations, Austin remains one of America's most de...
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22:27

Elon Musk Transforms Austin's East Side
Austin has a new most-influential employer, and he’s forcing huge changes to a part of the Austin area that has steered clear of the boom until now. Dive into that, plus ABJ’s most-read stories in the month of April. Despite Tesla dropping the ...
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26:13

Readers React: Why Has the ABJ Reporting Been So Negative Lately?
There's a simple answer in this download: Don't confuse The Austin Business Journal with the Chamber of Commerce. Business leaders and executives expect the facts, and as ABJ Editor Colin Pope explains, when the local economy is ...
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20:47

Austin Icons: A Candid Conversation About the Future of Austin's Favorite Businesses
It's a cliche because it's true: The only thing constant is change. And while many of Austin's iconic businesses have escaped extinction, or been reincarnated elsewhere, many others face an uncertain fate. In this download, ABJ Editor Colin Pop...
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18:42

Colin's 2024 Crystal Ball: Our Survey of Business Owners and the Word on the Street
The new year is still fresh, and the outlook in Austin depends on whom you ask. In our opening download of the year, ABJ Editor Colin Pope compiles the latest surveys of business owners and compares the stats with the word on the street to offe...
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22:08

The Williamson County Growth Summit: Can Infrastructure Keep Pace with the Building Boom?
ABJ Senior Staff Writer Justin Sayers joins Editor Colin Pope to debrief after an action-packed edition of the annual Williamson County Growth Summit. It's clear that the building boom in manufacturing facilities won't slow anytime soon. In fac...
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19:09

The Uncertain Futures for Austin Icons as Commercial Real Estate Development Continues
We once took for granted that cherished Austin icons like Peter Pan Mini-Golf would be there for our children, and our children's children, for generations to come. But the future of Peter Pan Mini-Golf and places like it are now in question wi...
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24:42

UT + MD Anderson Combines Best-in-Class Research with Top-Ranked Cancer Care
This podcast explores the future of Austin, and the challenges we face. There's no question we're experiencing growing pains. But at the same time, Austin is looking ahead to the future, the next generation and making bold bets to make our city...
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23:55

Is This the Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning for Austin's Economic Growth?
Rising rates, a housing crunch, and commercial real estate concerns have put the brakes on the exponential growth we've experienced over the past decade. Are we done, or is this just a pause prior to another era of expansion? To find out, ABJ M...
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18:58

Inside the ABJ Newsroom: The Story That Deserved More Downloads in August
Our top story in August was the 2023 list of Austin's wealthiest zip codes, with some surprises we'll discuss. ABJ Managing Editor Will Anderson shares his pick with Editor Colin Pope for the story that should've grabbed more attention. Plus, n...
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25:00

Land Use: Not the Sexiest Topic... But This May Be the Key to Relieving Our Housing Crunch
If you're looking for another rehash of topics troubling our growing region- this ISN'T the podcast to download. In this episode, ABJ Managing Editor Will Anderson takes a fresh look at what may be the key to improving Austin's housing market. ...
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25:17

We're Number... 40? Why Austin No Longer Owns the Coveted "Best Places to Live" Survey
Longtime locals including ABJ Editor Colin Pope have seen this coming for the past decade, and now it's a reality reflected in the rankings. In the respected U.S. News & World Report "Best Places to Live" rankings for 2023, Au...
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23:28

The Impact of Giving in Austin and How Philanthropy Is Making a Difference
The influx of capital, both human and financial, has impacted the Austin-area. Higher home prices, longer commutes, and wait times for whatever you may want. But there has been a positive side to our growth in the philanthropic sector- more mon...
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21:58

The $10 Billion Train Ticket: Austin Transit Partnerships Case for Light Rail
Austin's explosive growth over the past decade has put a serious strain on a limited transit system. Is a light rail system the answer, or a billion dollar boondoggle that nobody will ride? In this episode, ABJ Reporter Mike Christen invites Au...
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34:27

Editor's Roundtable Discussion: SXSW + SVB and the Impact on the Austin Tech Scene
With the first full scale, post-pandemic South by Southwest in the books, ABJ Managing Editor Will Anderson connects with Assistant Managing Editor Paul Thompson and Austin Inno Editor Brent Wistrom to recap SXSW and the impact of Silicon Valle...
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25:43
