KXAN Catalyst : Recent Episodes
KXAN Investigates
Catalyst is a specialty unit within the KXAN investigative team focused on "digital-first” storytelling that aims to spark positive change in society. The group takes a multi-platform, innovative approach to each project, including this KXAN Catalyst Podcast.
As social media speculation swirls, Austin police partner with an expert in serial killers and their hunting grounds to dispel rumors of a predator near Lady Bird Lake.
After losing loved ones in Lady Bird Lake, families push Austin leaders for years to implement new safety initiatives surrounding alcohol and the downtown waterway.
Mitchell Gutierrez speaks out about his brother’s Lady Bird Lake drowning, his family’s fight for answers and why he believes a serial killer is behind the deaths.
Following dozens of drownings in Austin’s downtown lake, KXAN explores solutions in other U.S. cities, including volunteer student patrols in a northern college town.
Following KXAN’s reporting on Texas’ death investigations, lawmakers look at ways to modernize the state’s system amid legislative challenges and cost concerns.
KXAN’s Josh Hinkle, David Barer, Arezow Doost, Eric Henrikson and Dalton Huey discuss challenges they faced while investigating Texas’ death inquest system.
While Texas’ justice of the peace system has evolved since its start in 1824, counties are slowly replacing the death inquest part of their role with medical examiners.
As Texas’ population grows, so do critics’ concerns over elected officials investigating death. As Daynon Lewis’ case unfolds, state lawmakers look to the future.
A teenager’s mysterious death in 1965 resurfaces in the Texas Hill Country, prompting a new review of her case and the inquest system still used across the state.
KXAN newsroom leaders and Francisco Vara-Orta of Investigative Reporters & Editors discuss overcoming blind spots and personal bias when covering controversial topics.
KXAN journalists share the inner challenges they face when reporting on issues intersecting with their identities and the communities to which they belong.
Catalyst Host Josh Hinkle shares how the murder of a gay college student shaped his early reporting and how he now approaches LGBTQ+ coverage.
KXAN explores proposed laws impacting LGBTQ+ Texans. Our journalists share how they make fair, objective coverage decisions and how their experiences shape the reporting, including the murder of a gay college student. This season is part of our “OutLaw” investigation.
Families of a Texas missing persons law’s namesake react to the discovery that police might not have complied with potentially thousands of cases.
One woman’s search for her missing brother leads to the streets of Austin, as a legislator considers strengthening a new state law.
Families of a Texas missing persons law’s namesake react to the discovery that police might not have complied with potentially thousands of cases.
One woman’s search for her missing brother leads to the streets of Austin, as a legislator considers strengthening a new state law.
Jeanne Pinder of ClearHealthCosts speaks with KXAN’s Josh Hinkle and David Barer about medical debt challenges across Texas and the U.S.
New police transparency bills are up against the clock, as Texas journalists testify about challenges with late and incomplete custodial death reports.
A father’s two-year search for his missing Marine son leads a state lawmaker to file legislation, requiring police to report to NamUs.
Eva Ruth Moravec of the Texas Justice Initiative speaks with KXAN’s Josh Hinkle and David Barer on custodial deaths.
Texas police agencies file hundreds of custodial death reports late or incomplete, including the case of Herman Titus.
Herman Titus’ mother takes her fight for police transparency before Texas lawmakers, as opponents voice their open records concerns.
Video surfaces of the moments after Herman Titus collapsed in jail. WARNING: This episode depicts death, and listeners may find it disturbing.
We uncover recordings and documents detailing Herman Titus’ severe pain and jailers releasing him from lockdown just days before his death.
Following a car crash, a 21-year-old man dies in a Texas jail, leaving his mother wondering if staff ignored signs of a serious injury.
Karen Ranus of NAMI-Central Texas speaks with KXAN’s Josh Hinkle and David Barer on inmate mental health.
A schizophrenic murder suspect waits 20 years for a trial, a case with a legal connection to a jailed Marine.
A family tragedy and wartime take their toll on a Texas man, ending in a four-year loop between jail and state hospitals.
A Texas veteran’s PTSD spiral ends in violence and his mother learning he’d wait for help in jail for months – maybe longer.
A little girl is among the victims of a teacher’s deadly attack, and a Texas mother finds forgiveness for her son’s killer.
Following a Texas church shooting, survivors reflect on the heroes of that day and the signs leading to the attack.
Texas lawmakers hold emotional hearings following mass shootings and explore suspicious behavior in the state.
A father and son endure separate attacks, as Texas leaders look to train more civilians before future shootings.
We trace Texas’ timeline of mass shootings to a nightclub in El Paso, nearly 40 years before another attack in the same city.
Tips pour in following our investigation, leading our team to track down the remaining “suspect” in Jamie Mayberry’s case.
Another man’s kidnapping involves a key "witness" in Jamie Mayberry's case, a woman investigators track down for answers.
Jamie Mayberry is entered into a national database of missing and unidentified persons, a system severely underutilized by Texas police.
Rumors lead search teams and police to a cemetery on the edge of town, as “suspects” are revealed in Jamie Mayberry’s case.
State law enforcement helps investigate Jamie Mayberry’s case, as families face challenges in publicizing missing loved ones.
As new details emerge in the investigation into Jamie Mayberry’s disappearance, questions linger about initial police response.
A stranger’s late-night visit to a young “cross-dresser’s” home in Kenedy, Texas, leaves a family searching for answers 20 years later.