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Evan Smith

Evan Smith joined the staff of TEXAS MONTHLY as a senior editor in 1992. In 2000, he became the magazine’s editor, a post he held until 2008, when he was promoted to president and editor in chief. In 2009, Smith stepped down from the magazine to become the CEO and editor in chief of the Texas Tribune.

As editor emeritus, he continues to host Texas Monthly Talks, a weekly interview program that airs on PBS stations across the state.

Features

Money Talks

Wealthy Republican donor James Leininger on why he supports school vouchers and opposes apostates in his party. (June 2006)

The World According to Bob Inman

The former national security chief and deputy CIA director on why we're losing the peace in Iraq and where the terrorists could strike next. (March 2004)

One Ticked-off Grandma

You'd be one too if you were Carole Keeton Strayhorn and you thought the governor was messing with you. (December 2003)

Anchor Away

What Walter Cronkite really thinks about cable TV shoutfests, the length of network newscasts, and (ahem) Jayson Blair. (November 2003)

San Diego, California

(August 2003)

FLFW Will See You Now

In a rare interview, George H.W. Bush—a.k.a. the Former Leader of the Free World—disses Newt and the Dixie Chicks, muses on the restorative powers of Maine, and (who'd have imagined?) has nice things to say about the current occupant of the Oval Office. (July 2003)

Who's Next?

San Antonio's Marshevet Hooker is not just any old high school sprinter; she's an Olympic gold medalist in the making. Meet her and nine other women we're betting will lead the new Texas—and the world. (February 2003)

My Three Sons

Prudence Mackintosh's sons. (September 2001)

How W. Can Lose

What are George Bush’s weaknesses as he heads into the fall campaign? We asked six Texas Democrats— a former governor, a former lieutenant governor, two wannabes, and two wiseacre pundits—to make the case against him. They pulled no punches. (July 2000)

John O’Quinn Objects

“When a corporation does something that results in the death of people, what prison do you put them in?” asks the plantiffs lawyer Texas business loves to hate, and he’s just getting warmed up. (June 2000)

Entrepreneur of the Century—Michael Dell

“Entrepreneurship is the art of the possible. Anyone with money and a good idea has what it takes to write his own ticket. The hitch, of course, is follow-through. You have to execute. You have to do it. And no one has done it as well as Michael Dell.” (December 1999)

George, Washington

His days as a “loyalty thermometer” in the nation’s capital. (June 1999)

Deep Dish

Which Hollywood legend is “the bitch of all time”? Which comedienne’s daughter was a dope addict by age fourteen and came to Houston to get unhooked? Texas’ top gossips tell all. (January 1999)

The Lone Starr State

Independent counsel Kenneth Starr was born in Vernon, and that’s just one of the many Texas connections at the heart of his investigation of Bill Clinton. (May 1998)

Hooray for Hollywood, Texas

The players. The stories. A special report on our booming film business. (May 1998)

How They Do It

How Jim Wright schoozes, George Foreman bruises, ZZ Top trims, and Janet Evans swims, plus the straight skinny on everything else from nearly fifty other Texas celebrities. (April 1993)

Columns | Miscellany

What I’ve Learned

Nine years as editor of this magazine taught me a few things, like failure is always an option, the writers are usually right, and whatever you do, stay far, far away from postcoital astronauts. (October 2009)

Where I’m Of

The case for my Texanness. (December 2005)

This Blog’s Life

The Ben Franklin of McGregor. (July 2005)

AWOL

Are the Texas Democrats deserters? (May 2004)

Nice and Easy

"I have a very comfortable lifestyle as a jazz musician. Every day is a Saturday for me." (April 2004)

The Other War

They dislike us. They really dislike us. (February 2004)

Pro vs. Chron

How the new editor of the Houston Chronicle is trying to turn the page on the paper's past. (September 2002)

Johnny “Lam” Jones

Evan Smith on Johnny “Lam” Jones. (September 2001)

The Ex-Speakers of the House

(September 2001)

Robert Strauss

Evan Smith on Robert Strauss. (September 2001)

Beavis and Butt-Head

(September 2001)

The Ex-Governors

Polling the ex-governors. (September 2001)

GSD&M Class of 1981

(September 2001)

Grand Designs

A new Texas Monthly by design—and necessity. (April 2001)

Great Expectations

Where we go from here. (August 2000)

Bush’s War

Will Iraq be the president’s legacy? A conversation with eminent historians H. W. Brands and Doris Kearns Goodwin. (March 2006)

Laura Miller

“The problem is that there’s nobody who can put their foot down and say, ‘Yep, by God, we’re going to do this …’ It’s a city without leadership.” (February 2006)

Louis Sachar

“Any idea you can think up and plan out isn’t going to be that good. There’s no way I could have thought up all of Holes beforehand.” (January 2006)

Willie Nelson

“I’ve always felt like Abbott was a special place.” (December 2005)

Robert Rivard

“People speak nostalgically about family newspapers. For every decent one, there were literally hundreds of embarrassingly bad ones.” (November 2005)

Red McCombs

“I’ve had my failures and my mistakes. I don’t dwell on them. So I don’t have anything dragging me down at any given time.” (October 2005)

Anita Perry

“There have been times when I’ve said, ‘It seems like everything I’m passionate about gets cut! Stop that!’” (September 2005)

Edward E. Whitacre Jr.

“The worry is that we’re going to put the Bell system back together. You hear that a lot. Anybody who says that is just not informed.” (August 2005)

Lance Armstrong

“There are some places where it wouldn’t matter if Pope Benedict XVI was winning the Tour. They would kill him. They would say he cheats, he steals, he has sex with little boys.” (July 2005)

Boone Pickens

“The record’s clean. I’m sure that I haven’t done everything that everyone would like me to do. But I’ve never hurt anybody.” (June 2005)

Liz Smith

“Nobody doing what I’m doing is important anymore. Not in the way Winchell, Kilgallen, Hedda, and Louella were important.” (May 2005)

Thomas Haden Church

“I knew immediately that they’d be serving ice water in hell about the same time I’d be cast in [Sideways].” (April 2005)

Marsha Sharp

“A lot of people are perfect fits for universities. I’m a perfect fit for Texas Tech. I understand West Texas. I am West Texas.” (February 2005)

Ben Barnes

“There’s not anything that’s happened since Election Day that proves to me that Bush is going to be moderate at all.” (January 2005)

Gordon Bethune

“It isn’t about cheap. You can make a pizza so cheap nobody will eat it. You can make an airline so cheap nobody will fly it. It’s about the product.” (December 2004)

Kay Bailey Hutchison

“Texas is a huge, growing state on a border. We have some very basic issues that need addressing, and I don’t think they’re being addressed right now.” (November 2004)

Mike Judge

"You can't make all of TV and movies kid-safe. If you do, we're all going to be watching the Care Bears. I think there should be things that are just for adults." (October 2004)

Larry McMurtry

"I like to go out at night. I like to sit in a nice room and look at beautiful women. I don't want to just sit on my back porch drinking scotch, and there isn't much more to do in Archer City." (September 2004)

David Carr

"We're a real NFL football team, and we can go out and make plays. We have talent. We can beat teams. It's not a fluke if we beat the Cowboys." (August 2004)

Susan Combs

"Billy can go to a 7-Eleven and buy a soft drink and must pay sales tax, but Billy goes to school, buys a soft drink, and pays no sales tax." (July 2004)

Bill Moyers

"War is always a great reinforcer of secrecy, but a war on terror is the most insidious threat to openness—you can always claim, without having to explain why, that something can't be public." (June 2004)

Michael Dell

"You get some people who say, 'I really want to know all the things you do when you're not working.' Well, I really don't want to tell you those things. Go away." (May 2004)

STRAIGHT TALK

(January 2004)

Women On The Verge

The Latinas in the Democrats’ sights. (July 2000)

The Law Won

Emilio Navaira and Gloria Trevi get their days in court. (May 2000)

Estranged Bedfellows

The politics — and semantics — of the Mosbacher divorce. (April 2000)

Regarding Henry

Henry Kissinger versus UT. (March 2000)

Toney Curtis

(March 2000)

W is for "Whew"!

The former stripper, the tabloid, and George W. Bush. (February 2000)

Brother, Can You Spare Some Dimes?

(October 1998)

Situation Wanted

(July 1998)

Paul In The Family

(October 1996)

Seeing Stars

(August 1996)

Skip, a Beat

(July 1996)

Swartz and All

(June 1996)

Oil’s Well That Ends Well

(February 1996)

Reporter

Jerry Jones

Jerry Jones’s high hopes for his new stadium. (October 2009)

Tanya Tucker

Tanya Tucker on life on the road and her new album. (September 2009)

C. Andrew Doyle

The new Episcopal bishop on politics, faith, and Twitter. (August 2009)

Julián Castro

New mayor Julián Castro on San Antonio’s future. (July 2009)

Cecil Cooper

Astros skipper Cecil Cooper on life in baseball. (June 2009)

Tony Garza

Tony Garza on the situation in Mexico. (May 2009)

Selling Vodka

Tito Beveridge on making vodka. (May 2009)

Catherine Hardwicke

Catherine Hardwicke on growing up in McAllen. (April 2009)

Todd Oldham

Todd Oldham on his life of design. (March 2009)

Dean Fearing

Dean Fearing on menu planning and home cooking. (February 2009)

Lobbying

(February 2009)

Sheila Jackson Lee

Sheila Jackson Lee on the Age of Obama. (January 2009)

Mark Seliger

Mark Seliger on how to take a photograph. (December 2008)

Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is not J. K. Rowling. (November 2008)

Bob Schieffer

Bob Schieffer on Sundays without Tim Russert. (October 2008)

Hakeem Olajuwon

(September 2008)

Luci Baines Johnson

Luci Johnson on her father’s legacy. (August 2008)

Ricardo Sanchez

Ricardo Sanchez on what happened at Abu Ghraib. (July 2008)

Herb Kelleher

(June 2008)

Margaret Spellings

Margaret Spellings defends No Child Left Behind. (May 2008)

Avery Johnson

Avery Johnson on how to be an NBA coach. (April 2008)

Mark McKinnon

Mark McKinnon on John McCain’s comeback. (March 2008)

Diana Natalicio

Diana Natalicio on the future of higher ed in El Paso. (February 2008)

Dan Bartlett

Dan Bartlett is upbeat about Iraq and ’08. (January 2008)

Writing for a Newsweekly

Karen Tumulty on writing for Time. (January 2008)

Kay Bailey Hutchison

(December 2007)

Joel Osteen

Can Joel Osteen get an “Amen”? (November 2007)

Ray Benson

Ray Benson on Wills, weed, and the Wheel. (October 2007)

Collecting Art

Jeanne Klein on the art of collecting. (September 2007)

Burton Tansky

Burton Tansky on Neiman’s at one hundred. (September 2007)

Jody Conradt

Jody Conradt at the buzzer. (August 2007)

Lawrence Wright

Lawrence Wright looms and towers. (July 2007)

Bill Paxton

Bill Paxton on JFK and HBO. (June 2007)

Rick Perry

Rick Perry explains himself. (May 2007)

Ted Nugent

Ted Nugent shoots to kill. (April 2007)

At Ease

Four years later, even more of our heroes have fallen in Iraq. (March 2007)

Phyllis George

Phyllis George on life’s rich pageant. (March 2007)

Joe Ely

Joe Ely on the coming death of the CD. (February 2007)

Dick Armey

Dick Armey on where the GOP went wrong. (January 2007)

Forest Whitaker

Forest Whitaker brings Idi Amin to life. (December 2006)

Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins on the death of newspapers. (November 2006)

James Baker

James Baker stays the course. (October 2006)

Betty Buckley

(September 2006)

Joe Allbaugh

Joe Allbaugh defends you-know-who. (August 2006)

Eileen Collins

Eileen Collins on what’s ailing NASA. (July 2006)

Betty Flores

Betty Flores on border security—and insecurity. (June 2006)

Meet the Prez

The candidate cattle call begins. (May 2006)

Lyle Lovett

Lyle Lovett on acting, singing, and Calvin Klein. (May 2006)

Pete Laney

… on being a Democrat (but not Speaker). (April 2006)

John Mackey

“I used to resent the fact that people romanticize Whole Foods. I always wanted to shake them and say, ‘Gosh, we’re just a grocery store!’” (March 2005)

Benjamin McKenzie

Benjamin McKenzie kisses. (March 2004)

A Few Words with Mark Cuban

Mark Cuban shoots (from the hip). (February 2004)

Customer Service

Two mayors give their cities the business. (February 2004)

Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick avoids Tracy Austin Syndrome. (January 2004)

Joe Jamail

Joe Jamail rails against tort deform. (December 2003)

Barbara Bush

The former first lady on her new book, how she writes— and why she never liked Alice in Wonderland. (November 2003)

Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins goes nuts for Arnold. (October 2003)

A Few Words With Ron Kirk

Evan Smith talks with former Dallas mayor Ron Kirk about life after politics and, well, politics. (September 2003)

Clifford Antone

Clifford Antone gets back in the club. (August 2003)

David Clyde

His post-phenom life. (June 2003)

John Lee Hancock

The director of the new Alamo movie takes on the storied battle—and the eyes of Texas are upon him. (January 2003)

Jim Lehrer

Jim Lehrer between the covers. (November 2002)

Sheila Jackson Lee

Sheila Jackson Lee can take the heat (but not pulled pork). (September 2002)

Mike Moses

Dallas schools superintendent Mike Moses makes progress—and more money than anyone else. (June 2002)

The Temp

Meet our governor . . . Rodney Ellis? (June 2000)

Pretty, Good

Hooray for Hollywood's All the Pretty Horses. (January 2000)

Weed All About It

The knock on Matthew McConaughey’s arrest. (December 1999)

Gov Story

Ping-Pong balls in our governor’s past. (November 1999)

In Vogue

The tycoon from Texas who’s very much in Vogue. (October 1999)

Evitable?

How George W. could be evitable. (September 1999)

Bad News

Does the Dallas Morning News discriminate? Plus: Bill Clinton between the covers. (August 1999)

Buy George?

The book (make that books) on George W. Bush. (July 1999)

Has Gramm Had His Phil?

Is Phil Gramm out of gas (and oil)? (June 1999)

The Obsession Thing

(May 1999)

Heady Lamar

Several Sundays a year, Texans wake to find not one but two GOP presidential hopefuls inside the state’s borders. (April 1999)

Legs

ZZ Top v. Chrysler (April 1999)

This Year’s Remodel

After watching their business districts wither away as companies set up shop in the suburbs, Texas cities and towns are banding together to fight back. (March 1999)

Aftermath

Sympathy for Jerry Hall (March 1999)

Purple Reign

Sandra Cisneros’ colorful victory. (February 1999)

Sexual Congress

Who says there is nothing funny about the Monica Lewinsky matter? (January 1999)

scalpers.gov

Internet profiteers target George W. Bush. (January 1999)

Love and Marriage

How Frank Sinatra, Jr., became a Texan-in-law. (December 1998)

Moody Blues

“Aunt Jimmy” sues Galveston’s first family. (November 1998)

Georgia O’Beef

Fort Worth art patrons fight the Presbyterians over Georgia O’Keefe (October 1998)

War Is Hell

Why the Austin American-Stateman’s film critic is under seige. (September 1998)

The Junior League

The media muff George W. Bush’s name. (August 1998)

Radio Daze

Gary Mauro’s bad spell. (July 1998)

Tax Moncrief

Inside Tex Moncrief’s IRS mess. (June 1998)

Written Off

LeAnn Rimes gets written off. (May 1998)

Anna Nicole Myth

Anna Nicole Smith’s bar mitzvah brouhaha. (April 1998)

Team Player

Red McCombs, still on the sidelines (March 1998)

The D-Files

Signs of intelligent life in Dallas. (January 1998)

We and Mrs. Jones

Paula Jones and Texas. (December 1997)

Mooned

A Houston congresswoman’s space case. (November 1997)

Burning Bridges

For Robert James Waller, life imitates art—and irritates wife. (October 1997)

Bush’s Hit Man

The governor’s media guru is accused of spousal abuse. (September 1997)

The Latest Buzz

Why everyone’s dazed and confused about Richard Linklater’s age. (August 1997)

Affair of State

A Dallas lawyer’s roman à Clinton. (July 1997)

Satisfaction

That’s what Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall got on their recent trip to West Texas. West Texas retailers got it too. (June 1997)

Ghost Story

If you’re a celebrity who wants to pen a book, who you gonna call? Ghostwriters. (May 1997)

Not Much Left

The Texas Observer could be on its last legs (again). (April 1997)

’Saw Loser

Why a great horror movie starring Matthew McConaughey and Renée Zellweger could get buried. (March 1997)

Tex Rated

summary: What’s the best hotel in Texas? (Hint: It’s not the Mansion on Turtle Creek). (February 1997)

Lars Attacks!

Why Texas’ best-known homeless writer is back on the streets. (January 1997)

Morris the Catch

Dick Morris’ other other woman. (December 1996)

CD and Book Reviews

(December 1996)

Stella Houston

The University of Houston thinks Frank Stella is frankly stellar. (November 1996)

CD and Book Reviews

(November 1996)

Spiel Burg

A Spielberg-backed cyberguide comes to Texas. (August 1996)

Her Little Secret

(July 1996)

Gov, American Style

Ann Richards gets ready for prime time. (June 1996)

Dial M for Molly.

Molly Ivins and Bob Wade on TV. (May 1996)

A Winters Tale

Edgar and Johnny Winter sing the blues over a comic book. (April 1996)

Book ’Em!

Texas writers go Hollywood. (March 1996)

Shoot a Basketball

(March 1996)

Unreal Estate

Celebrity land deals—not. (February 1996)

Barry Corbin

(February 1996)

Tyrannosaurus Ex

Gauging Barney’s Universal appeal. (January 1996)

Powers Boothe

(January 1996)

Web Exclusives

And That’s The Way It Is

(July 2009)

Straus of Representatives

The likely Speaker of the House promises no retaliation, an end to the acrimony, and tells his fellow Republicans to “wake up!” (January 2009)

Sen. Clinton on Texas Monthly Talks

(March 2008)