June 25, 2019
From the Archives: After the Apollo Program Ended, NASA Settled on a New, Less Glamorous Mission
The shuttle age commences, becomes routine, and draws to a close, while Mars beckons.
June 25, 2019
From the Archives: During the Space Race’s Early Days, Americans Dared to Do the Impossible—and Did.
America finds inspiration and salvation on the moon—and then keeps going.
The Culture
June 6, 2014
High-Heel Homicide
After Ana Trujillo was arrested in the bludgeoning death of her lover, she hired lawyer Jack Carroll to represent her in what became Houston’s splashiest trial of the spring. Did I mention that Carroll is my brother-in-law? And that the murder weapon was a cobalt-blue, five-and-a-half-inch stiletto?…
Drugs
July 15, 2013
The Best Little Checkpoint in Texas
A dramatic increase in border security over the past six years has made the Sierra Blanca inspection station one of the nation’s toughest. And I oughta know.
Feature
January 21, 2013
The Secret World of Walter Cronkite
Before you let this man into your living room, you should know that he drank with Clyde Barrow.
Science
January 21, 2013
The Last Blast
Few things are as majestic as the launch of the space shuttle. But after nearly thirty years, NASA is sending up its final orbiters. Here's the view from up close.
Business
January 20, 2013
The Texas 100: Revenge of the Nerd
He made his first million before many kids finish college. Less than a decade later, Michael Dell continues to confound conventional wisdom.
Feature
November 1, 1991
The Challengers
If anyone can keep Whitmire from being Houston’s mayor for life, it’s Sylvester Turner or Bob Lanier.
Feature
June 30, 1991
Texas Movies: Tender Foote
Oscar-winning screenwriter Horton Foote continues to capture ordinary people coping with life’s difficulties.
Feature
April 30, 1991
A Fool for Mules
One man’s quest to clear the reputation of an animal maligned.
Feature
February 1, 1990
Lost in Space
Locked away in NASA’s storage vaults was some of the most glorious footage ever filmed. I thought turning it into a movie would be a snap. Ten years later I’ve revised my opinion.
Music
December 1, 1988
Sax to the Max
A Houston bellhop by day, tenor saxman Grady Gaines has come out of retirement to bring back the trademark sound of a great rock and roll band.
Feature
November 1, 1988
This Water Is My Water
Cool, clear, and pure, it’s the bounty of the Edwards Aquifer, and if something isn’t done to limit pumping by Hill Country farmers and a thirsty San Antonio, it may also be dry.
Feature
July 31, 1988
The Inventive Mr. Chu
Heat + pressure + yttrium + a politically savvy University of Houston physicist = a formula to change the world.
Feature
September 30, 1986
Where NASA Went Wrong
The seeds of the Challenger disaster were sowed long ago, in the space agency’s conflict between its ideals and its politics.
Art
November 1, 1984
Tiptoeing On the Ocean of Storms
What astronaut Alan Bean saw on the moon changed his life. Now, with paint and canvas, he’s trying to let the rest of us see it too.
Feature
August 31, 1979
Football Heroes
The best part of Texas high school football is that it’s the biggest thing in town—and still only a game.
Feature
June 30, 1979
Moon Struck
Ten years ago the Apollo astronauts, technicians and scientists all, landed on the Moon and touched what poets only dreamed. But that touch changed their lives.
News & Politics
February 1, 1979
Billy Lee
How a bountifully talented young Texas writer based a novel on Lyndon Johnson, won high praise, and then……
November 1, 1978
The End of the Trail
At the Fort Worth stockyards, cattlemen buy and sell amid the last vestiges of the Old West.
Politics & Policy
December 1, 1975
Loser Take All
News flash: Lloyd Bentsen is still running for president.
Feature
November 1, 1975
Ah, Sweet Mystery of Death
The friendly folks at the morgue speak a body language all their own.
Politics & Policy
September 30, 1975
Big Mamas
Two women—one a conservative Republican, the other a liberal Democrat—are the best politicians in Houston.
Feature
March 31, 1975
Greetings From the Eighth Wonder of the World
A candid celebration of ten years of the Astrodome and Astrothink.
Politics & Policy
December 1, 1974
The Unveiling of Lloyd Bentsen
The White House is the only challenge left.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 1974
Why Jack Valenti Still Sleeps Soundly
Beneath the phony outer schmaltz of Jack Valenti one finds the real schmaltz of a true believer.
Politics & Policy
March 31, 1974
Bob and George Go to Washington or The Post-Watergate Scramble
The GOP and Democratic chairmen are both from Texas. Right there the similarity ends, or begins, no, ends.
Briar Patch
December 1, 1973
Briar Patch
TEXAS ON THE POTOMAC THE TOSTADAS WERE (LET’S BE honest now) kind of stale, and the chile con queso was soggy, but, well what the hell, it sure was good to find some real Tex-Mex food. Purists could grumble if they wanted to and point out that the frijoles…
Briar Patch
November 1, 1973
Briar Patch
RETURN OF THE OLD PUCKER THE ASTRODOME HAS REALLY OUTDONE itself. They had the help, though, of Hollywood press agentry and one of the bigger mouths in professional sports, so the Dome can’t take all the credit. Irregardless of culpability, it was an impressive show, that King-Riggs tennis match, and…
The Culture
September 30, 1973
Closing Down La Grange
An Aggie views the closing of the Chicken Ranch. George Washington didn't sleep there, but many famous and unfamous Texans did.
The Culture
July 31, 1973
Inside the World Series of Poker
Big-time poker players don't worry about luck; they don't need it.
Feature
July 31, 1973
The Best Private Eye In Texas
High-speed chases, murder investigations, and window-peeping are all in a day's work.
Feature
June 30, 1973
The Big Thicket Tangle
Take 3 million acres, add politicians, lumber companies and Time, Inc., and what have you got? A very small park, or no park at all.
Politics & Policy
June 30, 1973
The Big Thicket Tangle
Take 3 million acres, add politicians, lumber companies and Time, Inc., and what have you got? A very small park, or no park at all.
Feature
April 1, 1973
Montrose Lives!
Wandering through the strangest neighborhood east of the Pecos.
