Quick Links

The Culture

Music|
February 1, 2007

Joe Ely

“You feel like you’re passing through time, but you don’t really feel like you’re leaving any time behind. You’re kind of in the moment, because the wind’s in your face and there’s always another highway.”

By

The Culture|
January 1, 2007

Around the State

Jordan’s PickNHL All-Star CelebrationDallasHOCKEY WILL NEVER BE FOOTBALL. In Texas, at least, this truth is self-evident: No matter how many hockey fans rise up in defense of their sport (or write letters to a certain magazine’s editor decrying yet another football cover, as the case may be), the puck will

By

Film & TV|
December 1, 2006

Forest Whitaker

“What does it say about us as humans beings when we listen to leaders who lie to us and, as a result, thousands of people are killed?”

By

Feature|
December 1, 2006

Eating A Dead Horse

Even if you’ve never dined on the delicious remains of a noble steed, you probably have an opinion on whether the state’s two slaughterhouses should remain open. Boone Pickens does. And Charlie Stenholm. And Bo Derek. Not to mention the many traders and “killer buyers” for whom business is business.

By

Film & TV|
August 31, 2006

Betty Buckley

“I’m a good ol’ girl from Texas, and sometimes people misinterpret that Texas thing. I’ve learned to tone it down, but it’s been a drag. It’s the unfortunate aftermath of having gone to the mat with the wrong guys in Hollywood.’

By

The Culture|
June 30, 2006

Eileen Collins

“It’s funny: I’ve never been scared on a shuttle mission. It’s just the nature of the job. You’re busy, you’re focused, you’re well trained, and you go, ‘You know, if I’m going to die, there’s nothing I can do about it.’”

By

Feature|
May 31, 2006

The Truth Is Out There

Spoiler alert: The mythic Marfa lights may not be real. But there’s no way to know for sure, and that’s why they’re cool.

By

Music|
April 30, 2006

Lyle Lovett

“It’s immensely gratifying to work with people who are trying to do their best at what they do toward a common end. And whether it’s an arrangement or the performance of a single song, I just love the feeling of watching three or four or sixteen people all working together.”

By

Books|
January 1, 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.”

By

Music|
December 1, 2005

Willie Nelson

“I always thought that if I was having fun doing what I was doing and making a living doing it, then I was already successful.”

By

Business|
September 30, 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.”

By

Feature|
May 31, 2005

Happiness Is a Warm Gun

In the state with the nation’s most celebrated concealed carry law, is it any wonder that the annual convention of pistol packers, peddlers, and promoters was number one with a bullet?

By

Business|
March 1, 2005

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!’ ”

By

The Culture|
March 1, 2005

Return to Splendor

From humble Oak Cliff roots did a hip intellectual giant grow. In this oral history, friends and fans remember the late Grover Lewis, one of the great magazine writers of our day.

By

Sports|
February 1, 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.”

By

The Culture|
January 1, 2005

State Secrets

The month in politics.Thousands of Texans descend on the capitol during a legislative session, ranging from lobbyists to tourists (you’ll have no trouble telling which is which). Visit during the 140 days from January 11 to May 30, and by all means take the thirty-minute guided tour. But if you

By

Business|
December 1, 2004

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.”

By

Web Exclusive|
November 1, 2004

Yikes!

Executive editor S.C. Gwynne on security at the Houston Ship Channel.

By

Feature|
November 1, 2004

Attack Here

The Houston Ship Channel is considered one of the top strategic targets in the U.S.—an enormous bomb waiting to be detonated by terrorists. But what happens if the bomb actually goes off? Brace yourself for a worst-case scenario of the sort the Homeland Security folks are modeling and simulating and

By

Film & TV|
September 30, 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.”

By

Books|
August 31, 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.”

By

Sports|
July 31, 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.”

By

Politics & Policy|
June 30, 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.”

By

The Culture|
June 30, 2004

Them’s Fightin’ Words!

All over the world, and all over this country, the Texas stereotype is mocked and maligned (so what else is new?). Does it matter, really, if everyone thinks we're fat, violent, prudish yahoos?

By

Arts & Entertainment|
May 31, 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.”

By

Politics & Policy|
May 31, 2004

An F for Effort

Or maybe the grade should be “incomplete.” The special legislative session on school finance proved that Rick Perry and Republican lawmakers care a lot more about reducing property taxes than about improving public schools. Anybody surprised?

By

The Culture|
April 30, 2004

War Torn

Senior editor Gary Cartwright on the battle between the evildoers and the whiners and the future of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

By

The Culture|
April 30, 2004

Dingus Dishes

Just call her Super Texan. Lone Star guru and Texas Monthly senior editor Anne Dingus launches a new column this month. Here, she shares her thoughts on cacti, culture, and correcting misperceptions.

By

Music|
April 1, 2004

Pure Country

"I don't believe anything in this world could ever disturb or upset me enough to make me start drinking again."

By

The Culture|
January 1, 2004

Blazing Brushstrokes

Growing up, I read scores of pulpy paperback westerns with good-guy-bad-guy action—and it was their amazing covers in gaudy, manly hues that roped me in.

By

The Culture|
September 30, 2003

Holding Court

Senior editor Anne Dingus discusses auto camps, motels, and newfangled amenities like swimming pools, ice machines, and television.

By

The Culture|
August 31, 2003

Big Shots

In the sixties, when stars like the Beatles, Dinah Shore, and Marlene Dietrich descended on Dallas, Peggie and John Mazziotta captured them on film.

By

Web Exclusive|
June 30, 2003

Tough Call

Senior editor Pamela Colloff discusses abortion, access, and what it's like to work on an emotionally charged story.

By

Magazine Latest