Sports
October 20, 2023
The Most Puzzling Moments From Art Briles’s Testimony in the Baylor Title IX Lawsuit
The former head football coach was called to testify on Thursday—and made some surprising assertions.
2001 Articles
Sports
October 20, 2023
Are Swangin and Bangin Allowed at Minute Maid Park? An Investigation
Before game two of the ALCS, a Houston Astros fan was told his shirt, which referenced the team’s cheating scandal, was unwelcome at the ballpark.
Books
October 16, 2023
How Two Texas Bookstores Are Leading the Fight Against Book Bans
When I wrote my YA novel, I hoped to inspire teens to figure out their beliefs around complicated political questions. But amid a wave of book bans, my book could get prohibited from school shelves.
Sports
October 5, 2023
The Spurs and Shania Twain? Bring On the Unhinged NBA Merch!
With its limited edition Shania Twain T-shirt and other unexpected items, the San Antonio Spurs’ online store is not afraid to get weird.
Best Thing in Texas
September 22, 2023
Watch This HS Field Goal Sail Through the Open Window of a Passing Car
Trick-shot professionals could practice a shot like this for years and never land it as cleanly as the Gordon Longhorns kicker.
Politics & Policy
September 20, 2023
Are There Coincidences in Austin? A Texas Monthly Investigation
A defense attorney in Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial tried to twist an old conspiracy theorist line into a Texas truism. How does it hold up?
Border & Immigration
September 12, 2023
Who Wore It Best? We Rate Politicians on Their Border Photo Ops
Rick Perry rides a gunboat. Ted Cruz goes militiaman. Ron DeSantis and George P. Bush try their best.
Energy
September 8, 2023
Texas Paid a Bitcoin Miner $31.7 Million to Use Less Electricity During the State’s Hottest Month
Paying Bitcoin companies to turn off their energy-gobbling computers is apparently our best plan to keep the power on for the rest of us.
Best Thing in Texas
September 6, 2023
Tallyho to Tally the Texas Sea Turtle, Whose 4,000-Mile Journey Has a Happy Ending
After washing up on the coast of Wales, she was nursed back to health, flown home to Texas, and then released in Galveston.
Sports
September 1, 2023
The Oilers’ Iconic Baby Blue Is Back in Houston—At Least for the Cougars
The University of Houston is reclaiming the “Love Ya Blue” colors made famous by Earl Campbell and Warren Moon for the Cougars’ Big 12 debut.
News & Politics
August 31, 2023
Cruz Watch: The Senator Enjoys Beer
And he really wants you to know it.
News & Politics
August 31, 2023
A Guide to ERCOT Conservation Fatigue
Are you worn out from the constant warnings to save power to keep our “fixed” power grid from overloading? You may have ERCOT Conservation Fatigue.
Sports
August 30, 2023
What the Texas Big 12 Football Coaches’ Favorite Musicians Tell Us About Them
Sark bangs Tupac, the Baylor and TCU coaches pump themselves up with Dave Matthews Band, and guess who loves Post Malone?
Politics & Policy
August 25, 2023
Would Nate Paul and Ken Paxton Still Be Friends Under Other Circumstances? A Texas Monthly Investigation
Unpacking the bromance between the 36-year-old nightclub owner and the 60-year-old evangelical Christian and career politician.
Sports
August 21, 2023
The Longhorns Memorabilia Dealer Who Fixed Fantasy Football
Fantasy football rosters don’t reflect real NFL rosters. But what if they did? A die-hard Texas football fan decided to find out.
Best Thing in Texas
August 14, 2023
The Top Moments From a Very Texas Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
After a night of hilarious and emotional speeches, Becky Hammon, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, and Gregg Popovich are all Hall of Famers.
News & Politics
August 14, 2023
We’re Number One!
. . . When it comes to producing renewable energy, winning golf tournaments, banning books, and closing rural hospitals. Why is Texas so darn great . . . and so darn awful?
News & Politics
August 14, 2023
Sometimes Texas Isn’t Number One
Wounding as it may be to our deeply ingrained sense of Texas exceptionalism, there are a number of seemingly Texas-y categories in which we don’t take the top spot. Here are a few.
Sports
August 11, 2023
What Did We Learn From the Johnny Manziel Netflix Documentary?
As the NFL (and CFL, and AAF) washout prepares a College Station comeback, a new film tells Johnny Football's story.
Politics & Policy
August 9, 2023
Where Do Texas Abortion Laws Stand Now?
A state district court judge narrowed Texas’s abortion ban, but the state’s appeal complicates access to the procedure.
Meanwhile, in Texas
August 9, 2023
Post Malone Bought a $2 Million Magic: The Gathering Card, Because Sure, Why Not?
The Grapevine-raised pop star and collectibles enthusiast has taken his fandom to a whole new level.
Politics & Policy
August 4, 2023
Dan Patrick Defended Himself Against Free Speech Critics. Does His Case Hold Up?
We analyzed the Texas lieutenant governor’s argument about why he was right to have A&M investigate a professor who’d allegedly made critical comments about him.
Film & TV
August 1, 2023
Justin Simien’s ‘Haunted Mansion’ Is Cursed at the Box Office
The Houston director’s big-budget debut flopped—but it wasn’t set up to succeed.
Film & TV
July 31, 2023
How Paul Reubens’s ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure’ Defined Texas for Non-Texans
“There’s no basement at the Alamo!” and other lessons on the state from the late Paul Reubens.
Meanwhile, in Texas
July 27, 2023
The Ballad of Willy, the Missing Willacy County Rodeo Goat
The li’l guy went missing a week ago. Whoever finds him is going to be rich (in barbecue, gift cards, and pie).
Film & TV
July 21, 2023
Hollywood Is on Strike. These Texas Film and TV Productions Have Permission to Keep Filming.
As of July 19, SAG-AFTRA has granted waivers allowing 45 projects to keep rolling, many of them in Texas.
Film & TV
July 20, 2023
Want to See ‘Oppenheimer’ in IMAX 70mm? Good Luck Finding a Ticket in Texas.
Only thirty theaters capable of project 70mm IMAX exist in the world. Two of them are in Texas. You'll probably have to settle for "Croppenheimer."
Being Texan
July 19, 2023
What Does “Hodwy” Mean to Buc-ee’s?
Is the misspelling on the billboard promoting the Temple store a typo, a stunt intended to go viral, or a secret third thing?
Politics & Policy
July 17, 2023
The Texas Billionaire’s Guide to Befriending Clarence Thomas
Harlan Crow and Jerry Jones have bought access to the Supreme Court justice through carefully curated gifts. What do Michael Dell, Tilman Fertitta, Elon Musk, and others have to offer?
Food & Drink
July 17, 2023
Ranking the 2023 State Fair of Texas Foods by How They Impact Our Will to Live
Last week, the thirty-six Big Tex Choice Award semi-finalists were announced, and we take a closer look at some of the mostly fried and sometimes alarming selections.
Music
July 7, 2023
Norah Jones on ‘Little Broken Hearts,’ the Breakup Album That Healed Her
The multiplatinum artist, who has released a new deluxe version of the 2012 record, reflects on the dark (and fun) L.A. summer when it was written.
Music
July 6, 2023
Ryan Bingham Goes Nineties Dad Rock in a New Cover of “Possum Kingdom”
On the latest single from ‘Texas Wild,’ a forthcoming tribute album stacked with state classics, you can hear the joy in Bingham’s weathered voice.
Libations
July 5, 2023
Is Sign Bar Celebrating or Capitalizing On Austin’s History?
The far–East Austin bar is an elephant graveyard for restaurant signs of decades past, but we’re still trying to figure out who it’s really for.
News & Politics
June 27, 2023
Great Moments From the Texas Country Jamboree in Hambriston Throughout Its 123 Years
The Texas Country Jamboree doesn't exist, and Garth Brooks wasn't booed off its stage. That didn't deter Greg Abbott.
Film & TV
June 23, 2023
Wes Anderson’s ‘Asteroid City’ Made Me Feel Like I’m From Another Planet
The 1950s-set comedy is being hailed as the director’s best work in years, and I can’t figure out why.
Film & TV
June 22, 2023
The Future of Texas Film Is $200 Million Brighter
The Lege approved the highest film incentives budget the state has ever seen. Here's what that massive check means for productions and the biz overall.
Books
June 21, 2023
Six Essential Texas Young Adult Novels for Your Summer Reading
Texas Monthly reporter Dan Solomon just published his first work of young adult fiction, ‘The Fight for Midnight.’ These are the books that inspired him.
Music
June 12, 2023
How Texas Is Jessie Murph and Maren Morris’s “Texas”? A Texas Monthly Investigation
The rising Alabama alt-pop artist and the Arlington country star aim for a classic Texas breakup song. Do they hit the mark?
News & Politics
June 6, 2023
Ted Cruz Argues Against the Execution of Gay People
It’s rare to see a conservative American politician use language such as “horrific and wrong” and “human rights abuse” to describe a law that targets gay people.
News & Politics
June 2, 2023
Paxton’s Impeachment Is Not a Referendum on Trump
Texas Republicans have been in the midst of a cold war with one another for much of the 2023 session. The impeachment vote simply caused it to heat up.
Politics & Policy
May 24, 2023
Is Ken Paxton Finally in Real Trouble?
The attorney general, under indictment since 2015, now faces potential impeachment from the Texas House.
News & Politics
May 23, 2023
Move Over, Austin: Fort Worth Is the New Texas Boomtown
The 2022 census update, released late last week, indicates growth in Austin and Fort Worth—as well as the Texas suburbs—isn’t slowing down.
Politics & Policy
May 19, 2023
Cruz Watch: The Senator Calls for an Investigation Into Bud Light for Some Reason
Ted Cruz wants the Beer Institute, the industry’s self-regulatory body, to investigate whether Bud Light broke the law by reaching out to a transgender influencer.
Sports
May 17, 2023
Let the San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama Era Begin
David Robinson, Tim Duncan, and now Victor Wembanyama—when the Spurs draft number one overall, they get Hall of Fame big men.
Film & TV
May 16, 2023
‘Hypnotic’ Is Robert Rodriguez at His Robert Rodriguezest
Hypnotic, the supernatural thriller starring Ben Affleck that opened on Friday, is Robert Rodriguez’s twenty-first movie. The lifelong Texan is more prolific than almost any of his ’90s indie-film contemporaries—Quentin Tarantino, whose Reservoir Dogs debuted about a year before Rodriguez’s El Mariachi, has only made ten!—and that’s including a
Politics & Policy
May 16, 2023
Rick Perry Is Thinking of Running for President for a Third Time!
The longest-tenured governor of Texas, who is famously great with groups of three, aims for a failed campaign hat trick.
Politics & Policy
May 12, 2023
The Texas House Voted to Advance Sports Gambling. It’s Still Unlikely to Become Law.
Legal sports gambling in the state still faces a long and complicated path that would require a constitutional amendment.
Best Thing in Texas
May 11, 2023
We Salute Buddy Holly, Westminster’s Prizewinning Pup (and an Honorary Texan)
He's from California, but we're still proud of him and his namesake.
Film & TV
May 3, 2023
Last Time Hollywood Writers Went on Strike, Landry Killed a Guy on ‘Friday Night Lights’
The show’s infamous second season was shortened because of the strike, but that’s not the whole story.
Best Thing in Texas
May 2, 2023
A Dallas Cowboys Scout Got to Draft His Own Son
Chris Vaughn, the team’s assistant director of college scouting, shared the good news with sixth-round pick Deuce Vaughn.