The Ants From Hell

Fire ants are on the relentless march across Texas, maiming, devouring, and stinging the living daylights out of everything in their path. We’ve tried to stop them, and it has only made them stronger.

by Emily Yoffe

Full of Woe

You see them on TV, adorable youngsters asking to be adopted, But the dreadful odyssey of the Wednesday’s Child rarely has a made-for-television happy ending.

by Jan Jarboe Russell

Wright and Wrong

The congressional investigation that is focusing on Speaker Jim Wright’s ethics is missing the real problem—his judgment.

by Paul Burka

The Inventive Mr. Chu

Heat + pressure + yttrium + a politically savvy University of Houston physicist = a formula to change the world.

by Al Reinert

The Big Squeezy

Get hip to zydeco, the born-on-bayou sound with the accordion accent. Ready for it red hot? Check out a Saturday-night church dance in Houston.

by Joe Nick Patoski

Shades of Summer

Let there be light, but leave us in the dark. Long before Ozona knew about ozone, Texans were inventing scads of ways to hide from rays.

by Jerry Jeanmard

Texas Primer: The Dust Storm

Look out, Texas! If drought comes, can tons of blowing dirt be far behind?

by Anne Dingus

Behind the Lines

Fun voting no.

by Gregory Curtis

Lifestyle

H-O-O-F-H-E-A-R-T-E-D

Don’t say this word aloud in polite company if you want to stay on the author’s good side.

by Prudence Mackintosh

Books

Long Live the Kink

Kinky Friedman dropped out for a while, but it sure beat dropping dead. Now the warped warbler is back with a play, a movie deal, and murder mystery number three.

by David Gaines

Texana

Salado Days

Where the heck is Salado, and why are world-famous intellectuals flocking there?

by Liz Carpenter

Reporter

Texas Monthly Reporter

The case of the purloined painting; how to tell the Surf Club from the Yacht Club; cream of the ice-cream crop; people who live in pink houses.

by Alison Cook

Roar of the Crowd

Lonesome Dove on film; Lance Lalor on tape, an optimist on Mexico; West Texas State alumni on mediocrity.

State Secrets

Looking for gas in all the wrong places; a casualty report from the Texas drought; an early look at redistricting.

Edited by Paul Burka