Hot Headlines

Local photographer captures stunning photos of Austin floods, plus more top stories

Local artist photographer Leonid Furmansky [https://www.instagram.com/_leonidfurmansky/?hl=en] headed to downtown Austin to capture arresting photos of rising flood waters on August 22.

Photo by Leonid Furmansky

Editor’s note: It’s that time again — time to check in with our top stories. Here are five articles that captured our collective attention over the past seven days.

1. Local photographer captures gripping photos of downtown Austin during flood. Leonid Furmansky's stunning photos from August 22 show the juxtaposition of nature and the urban landscape.

2. Affluent neighborhood zips to top spot on list of Austin’s richest areas. Steiner Ranch is the wealthiest ZIP code in the Austin metro area, according to a recent study.

3. IKEA selects Austin suburb for first stop of global 9-city festival. Round Rock is one of only two U.S. stops for the global IKEA Festival.

4. Swanky Austin restaurant competes for title of best restroom in the U.S. Eberly is one of 10 finalists vying for this year’s America’s Best Restroom crown.

5. Smokin' wood-fired pizza chain sizzles into Austin for first Texas location. Smokin' Oak Wood-Fired Pizza & Taproom is coming to town.

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Reexamining Don Draper

Jon Hamm, Henry Winkler, and more headed to Austin for TV festival

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Jon Hamm is coming to Austin to talk about Don Draper.

From May 29 to June 1, 2025, the ATX TV Festival will take over downtown Austin, and this year Jon Hamm will be joining the festival for the first time.

Hamm will be here for an event called A Mad Men Retrospective, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show's finale. In this panel (the moderator of which is not yet announced), Hamm will reflect on his Emmy-winning performance as Mad Men's Don Draper, the uniqueness of the character in the TV canon, and the show's influence 10 years after it ended.

Jon Hamm may be best known as Draper, but he's also given celebrated performances in several movies and other shows like Fargo, Black Mirror, and — fun fact! — Gilmore Girls.

Celebrating TV is what the ATX TV Festival is all about. This annual summer event is put on by ATX TV and consists of screenings, Q&As, and panel conversations; plus all sorts of parties, live music, happy hours, and other events. It's known for reunions of classic series and cult hits, and according to the website, it's like "TV camp for grownups."

Jon Hamm isn't the only heavy-hitter in this year's lineup.

Programming also includes an acting class and Q&A with Henry Winkler himself, a live script reading of classic episodes from The Golden Girls and Designing Women (guest actors to be announced), a reunion of the creatives and cast of the HBO hit series The Leftovers, a live recording of the podcast Sidebar: A Suits Watch Podcast with Suits stars and co-hosts Sarah Rafferty and Patrick J. Adams, and much more.

Additionally, the festival's annual Pitch Competition is still accepting open pitch submissions through January 17. This gives creatives in Austin a chance to pitch their show idea in front of some of the industry's biggest showrunners and executives. Those in the top 10 will receive a year of support to make the next steps in their TV careers.

Festival badges and passes ($150-535) are on sale now.

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