Energy
January 12, 2022
A Forgotten Oil Well Births a 100-Foot Geyser in West Texas
The salty water spewing high on a Crane County ranch could be a sign of a “whack-a-mole” future in the Permian Basin.
Environment
Business
January 10, 2022
Regenerative Ranching Is Better for the Environment, but Can It Be Profitable?
These Texans think so.
News & Politics
December 8, 2021
The Dead Sea of West Texas
A Pecos County well has leaked noxious salt water for almost two decades. No one is taking responsibility for getting it cleaned up.
Hunting & Fishing
November 9, 2021
Your Red Snapper Filet Might Have Been Caught by Drug Runners
Federal agencies have long struggled to stop illegal fishing and drug smuggling in the Gulf of Mexico. In recent years, it’s only gotten worse.
Critters
October 1, 2021
Goodbye to a Ghost: East Texas’s Ivory-billed Woodpecker Is Now Officially Extinct
So is a little fish that swam along the San Marcos River.
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?
Travel & Outdoors
August 16, 2021
Behind the Fight to Save the Gulf’s Spectacular Coral Reefs
Some of the healthiest coral communities in the world beckon off the Texas coast. Can unlikely allies save this undersea paradise?
Travel & Outdoors
June 1, 2021
Meet a Texas Plant Hunter Who’s Combing Forests and Fields to Save Rare Flowers
Conservationist Adam Black roams the state looking for endangered flora, which he shares with researchers around the world.
Energy
May 20, 2021
Texas’s Oil and Gas Industry Is Defending Its Billions in Subsidies Against a Green Energy Push
The state's energy business has long counted on tax breaks and other largesse. Whether renewables or fossil fuels get more depends on how you do the math.
Business
May 12, 2021
Elon Musk Is Turning Boca Chica Into a Space-Travel Hub. Not Everyone Is Starstruck.
Residents of the South Texas beach town say SpaceX’s billionaire owner is ruining their “little piece of heaven.”
Energy
March 31, 2021
America’s Offshore Wind-Powered Future Begins in a Texas Shipyard
In announcing an ambitious renewable-energy push this week, the Biden administration highlighted a vessel under construction in Brownsville as proof of the economic opportunities of going green.
Travel & Outdoors
March 3, 2021
Inside the Ambitious Plan to Redesign Houston’s Biggest Park
A ten-year, $205 million renovation is transforming Houston’s Memorial Park from a dense and dying thicket into a lush oasis. But is this restoring nature or replacing it?
Politics & Policy
December 17, 2020
2020 Has Been Awful, but It Was a Good Year for State and National Parks
Two major conservation funding victories could create a brighter future for Texas's public lands.
Politics & Policy
September 16, 2020
Build the Ike Dike!
Instead of wasting time on tiresome culture wars, Texas’s political leaders ought to be thinking big. They could start by saving Houston from disaster.
Energy
June 18, 2020
Can a Renewables Boom Put Texans Back to Work?
After the oil bust, wind and solar energy might be the Permian Basin’s best hope.
Critters
May 5, 2020
As the Pandemic Inflames Old Fears, Texas’s ‘Bat Man’ Urges: Don’t Blame Bats
Merlin Tuttle has spent his career dispelling myths about bats. Now he’s defending them once again.
Boomtown
April 30, 2020
Boomtown Follow-up: The One-Two Punch
Christian Wallace talks to some familiar faces from the Boomtown series in an attempt to understand what happened on April 20, 2020—when oil prices went negative for the first time in history.
Boomtown
April 24, 2020
Boomtown Host Christian Wallace on a New Reckoning for Texas Oil
On a special edition of ‘The National Podcast of Texas,’ the West Texas native and former roughneck explains this week’s record-setting price plunge and weighs its long-term impact on the state’s once-thriving energy business.
Being Texan
April 20, 2020
Meet the South Texas Couple Who Kill Feral Hogs As a Public Service
Robert and Vickie Lyle’s lives revolve around hunting and trapping hogs. Wildlife refuge managers count on them to keep the destructive pigs in check.
Health
April 17, 2020
The “Father of Environmental Justice” on Why He Isn’t Surprised by COVID-19 Health Disparities
An interview with Robert Bullard on how the novel coronavirus exacerbates existing environmental health issues.
Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
How a Battle Between Recreational and Commercial Fishermen Spawned a Conservation Movement
The Redfish Wars changed Texas fishing. A fight over flounder could be next.
Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
How Fishing in Texas Got So Good—and Kind of Weird
The state has spent more than a century building up a world-class fishery, with some unintended consequences.
Energy
March 18, 2020
The Most Unexpected Revelation From RuPaul’s Recent NPR Interview? He Might Be Fracking
One energy company allegedly working with the drag star is based in Texas.
Politics & Policy
March 18, 2020
Is Climate Change Denial Thawing in Texas?
Surprising statements by oil industry leaders have grabbed headlines. But the bigger change is underway more quietly, among young Republicans.
Boomtown
January 28, 2020
Boomtown, Episode 8: Wild West Texas
The uneasy alliance between ranchers and the oil industry goes all the way back to the early wildcatting days in West Texas. But today, that relationship is more fraught than ever.
Boomtown
January 14, 2020
Boomtown, Episode 6: A Thin Line
During booms, the Permian Basin sees a rise in prostitution charges. But misperceptions and stereotypes about sex work have led to policies that may actually harm the women involved.
Boomtown
January 7, 2020
Boomtown, Episode 5: Boobtown
We explore a different kind of boom in the Permian Basin. Meet the women working at a lingerie coffee shop, a “breastaurant,” and two area strip clubs.
Boomtown
December 24, 2019
Boomtown, Episode 3: Dust to Dust
A devastating bust transforms the Permian from the promised land into a wasteland.
News & Politics
December 18, 2019
Racing to Preserve Rock Art in the Lower Pecos Canyonlands
As part of the ambitious Alexandria Project, West Texas archaeologists are documenting several hundred pictographs in just four years.
Travel & Outdoors
December 17, 2019
Austin’s Roadside Christmas Trees, Ranked From Most to Least Rage-Inducing
I spent some quality time with those decorated cedar trees along Loop 360 to see if I could get in the holiday spirit.
Boomtown
December 17, 2019
Boomtown, Episode 2: The Rise of the Permian
The Santa Rita oil well, named after the patron saint of impossible dreams, launched the first Permian Basin boom and has been fueling the dreams of West Texas wildcatters ever since.
Boomtown
December 10, 2019
Listen to the First Episode of Boomtown: “Highway to Hell”
In the first episode of our new podcast series, host Christian Wallace takes us back to his hometown in the Permian Basin, which is nearly unrecognizable to him today. We meet a few of the people whose lives have been upended by the biggest oil boom in U.S. history.
News & Politics
December 6, 2019
Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Mexico Could “Bleach” From Climate Change
Unless rapid warming is halted, the teeming reefs of the Gulf will likely be decimated.
Energy
December 3, 2019
Boomtown
A 10-part podcast series from Texas Monthly and Imperative Entertainment.
Energy
December 3, 2019
Announcing ‘Boomtown,’ a New Podcast on the Greatest Oil Boom in History
Our new 11-part series takes you inside the rugged Permian Basin of West Texas, where roughnecks and billionaire wildcatters are fueling a boom so big it’s reshaping our climate, our economy, and our geopolitics.
Politics & Policy
October 16, 2019
No More Nurdles? Formosa’s Agreement to Stop Pumping Plastics Into Lavaca Bay Is Historic
Gulf Coast citizen-activists collected 30 million plastic pellets in order to prove that Formosa was violating the Clean Water Act.
News & Politics
September 20, 2019
Here We Go Again: Houston, Flooding, and the Five Stages of Grief
Like many in Houston, I've fallen into a predictable pattern as I’ve adapted to the increasingly extreme weather here.
News & Politics
September 19, 2019
Tropical Depression Imelda Might Be Worse Than Harvey for Parts of Southeast Texas
Beaumont, Houston, and Jefferson County are being inundated by rain.
News & Politics
September 18, 2019
Nurdles All the Way Down
How Texans are taking on plastic pollution—one piece at a time.
Politics & Policy
August 30, 2019
Is the Santa Ana Wildlife Refuge Still in the Crosshairs of Trump’s Border Wall?
Activists are concerned that the Trump administration will circumvent congressional prohibitions against building a barrier through the South Texas preserve.
August 22, 2019
How Oil-Loving, Frack-Happy Texas Could Lead the Low-Carbon Future
(And get rich doing it.)
Border & Immigration
August 19, 2019
A Day on the Rio Grande Reveals the True Cost of Trump’s Border Wall
The federal government’s efforts threaten to cut off access to much of the Valley’s natural beauty and forever alter life along the river.
Critters
August 13, 2019
Zebra Mussels Are Infesting Texas Lakes. There’s Only One Way to Stop Them.
The invasive species hitches rides on contaminated boats from one body of water to the next.
The National Podcast of Texas
July 29, 2019
Russell Gold: “Texas Has Become an Incredible Leader in Renewable Energy”
On this week’s National Podcast of Texas, the author of ’Superpower’ outlines the state’s pioneering role in America’s transition toward fossil fuels alternatives.
Politics & Policy
June 10, 2019
South Texas Was Hotter than Death Valley Last Week
Falcon Lake hit a balmy 116 while the heat index in Brownsville was an eyeball-melting 128 degrees, nine degrees warmer than Death Valley.
Energy
May 29, 2019
The Permian Basin Is Booming With Oil. But at What Cost to West Texans?
Though some will reap serious profits, the region’s dealing with skyrocketing rents, overcrowded schools, and potholes as big as VW Beetles.
Energy
May 6, 2019
A New Pipeline Through the Hill Country Is Pitting the Oil Industry Against Landowners
The state’s biggest industry finds itself in an unusual position: facing landowner-friendly reforms at the Texas Legislature.
News & Politics
March 22, 2019
Could a Tug-of-War Between Two Central Texas Counties Leave Residents Without Drinking Water?
In the tug-of-war over groundwater between two Central Texas counties, he who pumps the most, wins. At least until everyone loses.
Travel & Outdoors
March 19, 2019
J. David Bamberger on Fifty Years of Coaxing His Blanco County Ranch Back to Life
The ninety-year-old conservationist and fried-chicken tycoon reflects on land stewardship—and the invaluable lessons he learned as a young door-to-door salesman.
Politics & Policy
November 27, 2018
Here’s How Trump’s Border Wall Could Affect Ecotourism in the Rio Grande Valley
The silver anniversary of a birding festival highlights the contrast between the politics and the ecology of the region.