Texas History
January 17, 2022
The Secrets of Bonfire Shelter
Archaeologists are uncovering new clues at a canyon where ancient Texans once hunted bison en masse.
Being Texan
Meanwhile, in Texas
January 15, 2022
Meanwhile, in Texas: A Plumber Finds Cash in a Church’s Bathroom Wall
Plus, a homeowner sets a Christmas light show to Lil Jon and fishers get rescued from a Lake Amistad sandbar.
Being Texan
January 11, 2022
How Much Is a Dog’s Life Worth?
A writer learns the hard way—the hardest way—that in Texas the answer is: not much.
Best Thing in Texas
January 10, 2022
A Rio Grande Valley Woman Just Broke the U.S. Record for Most Birds Spotted in a Year
Tiffany Kersten saw 726 species in 48 states, setting a new record for the mind-boggling achievement birders call a Big Year.
The Texanist
January 6, 2022
The Texanist: Why Doesn’t Texas Have an Official State Pastry?
A Fort Worth woman wants to know why we honor the bluebonnet and the pecan tree, but not the strudel or the sopaipilla.
Meanwhile, in Texas
January 4, 2022
Fish Fell From the Sky in Texarkana, and No One Is Reel-y Sure Why
Cod this story be any stranger?
Being Texan
December 24, 2021
Ode to a Fact-checker
Texas Monthly remembers Chester Rosson, a longtime staffer and resident gentle soul.
Film & TV
December 17, 2021
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Contemplative, Beautifully Shot Western
‘The Power of the Dog,’ featuring Dallas-born Jesse Plemons, is well worth your time.
Best Thing in Texas
December 17, 2021
Diego the San Marcos Tortoise Comes Home After 38 Days on the Lam
This is a reunion we all can shellebrate.
Being Texan
December 17, 2021
NorthPark’s Santa Claus Misses You But Loves His Virtual Visits
Kids in Dallas have been going to see him for more than thirty years, but now, because of the pandemic, he's coming to them. He tells us how it's going, which toys are popular, and what to leave Rudolph on Christmas Eve.
Being Texan
December 16, 2021
‘The Twelve Days of Christmas,’ Texas Edition
Twelve tamales steaming, eleven Longhorns losing . . . and thirty to fifty feral hogs.
Texas History
December 15, 2021
The Quirky History of the Osage Orange, Texas’s Ugliest Fruit
Once eaten by woolly mammoths, and later used by Indigenous Texans and settlers for its sturdy wood, this strange plant has spread from Texas across the country.
Being Texan
December 15, 2021
All I Want for Christmas . . . Is You
When a grown-up son visits for the holiday, a mom takes what she can get.
Meanwhile, in Texas
December 11, 2021
Meanwhile, in Texas: A Butterfly Migrated by Plane
Plus, a woman in Temple threw her soup at a restaurant employee.
The Texanist
December 6, 2021
The Texanist: What’s the Best Texas Christmas Song?
An El Paso woman is looking for the finest example of Lone Star holiday musical jollity. But can there only be one?
Being Texan
December 6, 2021
An East Texas Freedom Colony Looks to the Future—and Reckons With Its Losses
The Upshaw family has preserved their history and traditions since the 1870s. Now, amid deaths and other departures, family members worry for their land’s legacy.
Sports
December 3, 2021
Texas Monthly Recommends: A Game of Spikeball
The only limit to where it can be played is your imagination.
Texas History
December 1, 2021
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! It’s Barbette, a Gender-bending 1920s Aerialist From Round Rock
Performing death-defying trapeze stunts in drag, he shocked Parisian audiences.
Politics & Policy
November 29, 2021
How Refugees From Myanmar Have Embraced Midland—and Its Conservative Politics
Members of the Chin ethnic group have found good jobs in the oil fields, and many are voting Republican.
Hunting & Fishing
November 24, 2021
Texas First: Killing and Cooking My Own Thanksgiving Turkey
As an impressive quantity of hot, steaming blood poured over my bare hands, I wondered how I, a vegetarian for most of my life, had ended up here.
Art
November 20, 2021
Remembering Dave Hickey, Brilliant Art Critic and Renegade Texan
The celebrated Fort Worth writer and entrepreneur spent most of his life in exile from his home state. But it never lost its grip on his imagination.
Being Texan
November 17, 2021
14 Ways to Prepare for the Next Winter Freeze
Texas experts share their best advice on emergency kits, weatherizing your home, connecting with neighbors, and more.
Best Thing in Texas
November 16, 2021
Texas Tech Just Won Its Third Straight National Championship in Meat Judging
Students, many of whom go on to work in food science, train by spending as much time as possible in a meat locker studying beef carcasses.
Meanwhile, in Texas
November 14, 2021
Meanwhile, in Texas: Deputies Wrangled a Kangaroo on the Lam
Plus, a Lubbock couple found their chihuahua hidden in their suitcase at the airport, and other head-turning stories.
Sports
November 10, 2021
Westlake High School Football Coach Todd Dodge Might Be the Best Who Ever Did It
Good luck finding a Texan who’s lived a more complete football life than Westlake High School coach Todd Dodge. Now in his final season before retirement, the six-time state champion is looking to add one more trophy to his mantel.
The Texanist
November 4, 2021
The Texanist: Where Did All These Bright Green Parrots Come From?
A longtime San Antonio resident is thrilled—but puzzled—by the presence of monk parakeets in her hometown.
Best Thing in Texas
November 2, 2021
Mariah Carey Armors Up Against a Dallas Bar’s War on Christmas
A bar decreed “All I Want for Christmas Is You” non grata, and the queen of Christmas isn’t happy about it.
Texas History
October 29, 2021
Houston’s First Black Cemetery Was Neglected For Decades. One Group Is Leading Its Rejuvenation.
Olivewood Cemetery is the resting ground of many Houston trailblazers and an important piece of the history of the African diaspora.
Being Texan
October 26, 2021
When Your Mother Is a Ghost Hunter
On the hunt with TikTok star Brittany Broski and her mother Heather Long, lead investigator of the Texas Ghost Gals.
Style & Design
October 22, 2021
TM Recommends: Browse Beautiful Handmade Pottery at Gruene’s Texas Clay Festival
It’s a chance to buy your holiday presents early, the way you always swear you will.
Meanwhile, in Texas
October 20, 2021
Bask in the Glory of This 78-Foot, 300-Pound Texas Homecoming Mum
It can be lifted only with a construction crane.
Meanwhile, in Texas
October 17, 2021
Meanwhile, in Texas: A Tyler Man Placed in the USA Mullet Championships
Plus, a man sued a restaurant for allowing him to get “too drunk.”
The Texanist
October 15, 2021
The Texanist: Is Freezing Brisket a Mortal Sin?
An Arlington man wonders if his penny-wise buddy is being barbecue-foolish.
Being Texan
October 15, 2021
This Year’s State Fair Was Overstimulating, Anxiety-Inducing—and Exactly What I Needed
After nearly two years of pandemic life, I didn’t even realize just how much I was craving this release.
Texas History
October 14, 2021
Why We Need Strong Texas Women
Ann Richards, Farrah Fawcett, Beyoncé. An excerpt from TM’s new book, ‘Being Texan,’ explores a strain of toughness in the iconography of the state’s females.
Being Texan
October 14, 2021
Rejoice in the Rockin’ Bods of the Nude Texas Cavers Calendar
What better way to mark the passage of time than with some tasteful spelunking nudity?
Being Texan
September 29, 2021
I Love Whataburger, I Just Wish Its Cups Were Biodegradable
In 2018, as national chains pledged to ditch their nonbiodegradable polystyrene cups, Whataburger said it would look into alternative materials, too. What happened?
Music
September 27, 2021
TM Recommends: 2021 Austin City Limits Music Festival Edition
Two-step with Strait, twerk with Megan, and don’t miss these six other acts during the first two weekends in October.
Being Texan
September 24, 2021
Big Tex on State Fair History, His Favorite Fried Foods, and His Size 96 Boots
A conversation with the big guy himself.
Best Thing in Texas
September 21, 2021
Demi Adejuyigbe’s Final ‘September’ Video Is a Triumph
The Dallas-raised comedian brings his six-year project to a close (and raises thousands for charity).
Libations
September 17, 2021
Dry Creek Cafe, an Old-school Dive Bar on Lake Austin, Is Closing After 68 Years
You’ve got until October 31 to stop by for a cold one.
The Texanist
September 17, 2021
The Texanist: If You’re Not a Fan of Fruitcake and Canned Chili, What’s So Great About Corsicana?
A man now living in Fredericksburg wonders if his hometown really has anything to brag about.
Books
September 15, 2021
How a Western Comic Series Made Me the Texan I Am Today
To me, Garth Ennis's ‘Preacher’ is about growing past juvenile, self-destructive notions of masculinity.
Sports
September 14, 2021
For Texas’s Black Roller Skaters, Life Is Good on the Wood
Joining a tradition with roots in the 1960s, today’s skaters blend styles from across the U.S.—and have a lot of fun doing it.
Being Texan
September 12, 2021
The Great Corny Dog Feud
For almost eighty years, the name “Fletcher’s” has drawn state fair visitors. After a dramatic feud—and a pandemic—the family’s banner will fly again.
Meanwhile, in Texas
September 10, 2021
Meanwhile, in Texas: A Cobra Escaped in Grand Prairie
Plus, home security footage captured a deer hoof-fight over corn feed.
The Texanist
September 7, 2021
The Texanist: Now That the Longhorn-Aggie Rivalry Is Back, Can UT and A&M Alums Stay Friends?
Two Texas buddies stationed at an Air Force base in Qatar wonder if their bond can survive the SEC’s recent expansion.
Music
September 3, 2021
TM Recommends: Listen to St. Vincent Covering Metallica
Plus: The simple pleasure of H-E-B’s tres leches cake and emerging Houston-raised artist Zach Person’s debut album.
Best Thing in Texas
August 25, 2021
Waiting on Hold to Claim Unemployment Just Got a Little Less Hellish, Thanks to an Austin Band
Composer Justin Sherburn drew on his own experience to write ‘Texas Workforce Commission Hold Music,’ which the agency officially adopted this week.
Best Thing in Texas
August 20, 2021
A Wine-Obsessed Austinite Wins the Viral Vineyard Job of a Lifetime
With an Elle Woods–inspired application video, Lindsay Perry bested the competition for a paid position living, learning, and drinking on a California winery.