Dan Solomon, Contributor at Texas Monthly

Is It Time for Texas Democrats to Turn to the Celebrities?

Politics & Policy|

November 11, 2022

Texas Democrats: It’s Time for a Celebrity Candidate!

It’s worked for the GOP elsewhere, and nothing else has worked for Democrats here.

By

Politics & Policy|

November 2, 2022

The Mysteries of Texas’s Midterm Elections

Republicans are pursuing South Texas Latinos. Democrats are counting on the Dobbs abortion decision. Nobody knows who’s going to turn out to vote. And the polls are all over the place.

By

Can TX Dems Make The Election a Referendum on Abortion Rights?

Politics & Policy|

October 31, 2022

Can Texas Democrats Make the Election a Referendum on Abortion?

For the first time in fifty years, single-issue abortion voters are pro-choice. Can Texas Democrats capitalize on it?

By

Politics & Policy|

October 21, 2022

Dan Crenshaw Is Phoning It In With ‘Reloaded III’

Where’s the passion? Where’s the intensity? And where are the robot arms, Congressman?

By

Michael B. Jordan stars as Adonis Creed and Jonathan Majors as Damian Anderson in Creed III.

Film & TV|

October 18, 2022

The ‘Creed III’ Trailer Sent a Chill Down Our Texan Spines

The ninth installment in the Rocky franchise puts honorary Texan Michael B. Jordan and official Texan Jonathan Majors in the ring, and we are here for it.

By

Is Megan Thee Stallion Funny? An Investigation

Film & TV|

October 17, 2022

Is Megan Thee Stallion Funny? A Texas Monthly Investigation

We know she’s a savage and a big ole freak, but is the Houston hometown hero funny? On ‘Saturday Night Live,’ we found out.

By

Lil Nas X on stage during opening weekend of ACL.

Music|

October 11, 2022

This Year’s Austin City Limits Festival Is Normal. Relentlessly Normal.

We expected political statements, massive crowds, and sweaty concertgoers. We saw two out of three.

By

Members of the San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball team work with students from Robb Elementary School during a visit, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. The Spurs made the trip to show their support for Uvalde and their community where two teachers and 19 students were killed by a gunman at the school just four months ago.

Best Thing in Texas|

October 10, 2022

Coach Pop, Manu, and the San Antonio Spurs Bring Smiles to Uvalde

Spurs legends past and present reminded residents that they haven't been forgotten in the months since the shooting at Robb Elementary.

By

Health|

September 27, 2022

The Effort to Redefine Abortion Goes Beyond Ted Cruz

An abortion to save the life of a pregnant patient is “not an abortion,” according to Texas’s junior senator.

By

Music|

September 26, 2022

A Decade Later, the Mars Volta Leaves the Drama Behind

After years of breakups and makeups, the rock band is back with a poppier sound.

By

Books|

September 20, 2022

A User’s Guide to All the Banned Books in Texas

Discussions of race or sex, or just the wrong vibes, are all it takes for a book to number among the 801 bannings in Texas this year.

By

Democratic Texas gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks during a stop on his 49-day Drive for Texas tour Wednesday, July 20, 2022, in Midland, Texas.

Politics & Policy|

September 13, 2022

What Makes Beto Run—Again?

On his summer barnstorming tour of Texas, Beto O’Rourke argued that Republicans are waging war against Texas values.

By

Politics & Policy|

September 8, 2022

Dan Patrick Demanded That Texas Retirement Funds Divest From BlackRock. But He Kept His Shares in the Firm.

The lieutenant governor said the company was “discriminating against the oil and gas industry." He didn’t mention his own holdings in the firm.

By and

Texas Oklahoma Little League Baseball hug

Best Thing in Texas|

August 10, 2022

At the Little League World Series, Texas and Oklahoma Hug and Make Up

There was crying in baseball after a Pearland pitcher beaned a Tulsa batter on Tuesday. What happened next might restore one’s faith in humanity.

By

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones attempts to answer questions about his emails during trial on August 3, 2022 in Austin.

Politics & Policy|

August 5, 2022

Will the Alex Jones Verdict Change the Conspiracy Culture He Popularized?

The damages awarded this week in Austin are only the beginning of the likely end of Jones and Infowars. But it remains to be seen what that means for other purveyors of misinformation.

By

Andino Reynal, the lawyer representing Alex Jones, listens during Jones' defamation damages trial on July 29, 2022 in Austin.

Politics & Policy|

August 2, 2022

The Lawyers in the Alex Jones Trial Nearly Came to Blows

Plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Bankston and F. Andino Reynal, who represents Infowars in the case, both have distinct challenges. Last week, their tensions boiled over.

By

Alex Jones talks to media during the trial at the Travis County Courthouse in Austin on July 26, 2022.

Politics & Policy|

July 28, 2022

The Free Speech Elephant in Alex Jones’s Courtroom

The trial this week in Austin to determine what Infowars owes in damages for defaming Sandy Hook parents could have had huge free-speech implications. Because of Jones’s choices, it won’t.

By

Alex Jones arrives at the Million MAGA March escorted by Proud Boys in Washington, D.C. on November 14, 2020.

Politics & Policy|

July 26, 2022

What Does Alex Jones Owe the Sandy Hook Families He Defamed?

A jury in Austin, selected on Monday, is about to grapple with that surprisingly complicated question.

By

Politics & Policy|

July 14, 2022

The Uvalde Officer With the Punisher Logo on His Phone Is Not the Problem

After KVUE and the Austin American-Statesman published video from inside Robb Elementary, one policeman incorrectly became a symbol of larger failures.

By

Energy|

July 12, 2022

Solar Power Is Bailing Texas Out This Summer

Enjoying that AC? Thank the mighty power of the sun and the renewable energy source keeping the grid afloat.

By

Film & TV|

July 7, 2022

Let’s Remember How Great James Caan Was in ‘Bottle Rocket’

The 82-year-old actor, known for playing the heaviest of heavies, was an instrumental part of the movie that launched the careers of Wes Anderson and the Wilson brothers.

By

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill June 22, 2022.

Politics & Policy|

July 7, 2022

After the Gun Bill, John Cornyn Is Now Less Popular Than Ted Cruz

Big John’s approval rating has taken a serious blow in the month after the Uvalde shooting—driven largely by Republicans and independents.

By

Fireworks during drought in Fort Worth and Parker County

News & Politics|

July 5, 2022

Lots of Texans Celebrated the Fourth of July by Accidentally Setting Off Wildfires

Amid worst-in-a-decade drought conditions, fireworks displays from Lubbock to Fort Worth to Houston sparked flames.

By

News & Politics|

June 24, 2022

Roe v. Wade Has Been Overturned. Here’s What Texans Who Need Abortions Face Next.

Texas, as well as neighboring Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana, will outlaw abortion within days to weeks. The procedure will still be available in Kansas and New Mexico.

By

What Does the Senate’s Gun Safety Deal Mean for Texas?

Politics & Policy|

June 14, 2022

What Does the Senate’s Gun Safety Deal Mean for Texas?

John Cornyn helped wrangle other senators from both parties to advance a spate of provisions. But will the Texas Legislature follow his lead?

By

Art|

June 8, 2022

LBJ’s Presidential Doodles Are Just Bonkers

A smoking octopus and pointy-eared aliens: Johnson's sketches on political letterhead are wonderfully weird.

By

Alex-Jones-Legal-Trouble-Bankruptcy-Sandy-Hook

Politics & Policy|

June 8, 2022

Alex Jones’s Legal Meltdown

In a last-ditch bid to avoid paying massive damages to the Sandy Hook families he defamed, the Infowars host sought bankruptcy protection—and failed to win it.

By

Politics & Policy|

June 7, 2022

Louie’s Back, Baby! And He’s Got Some Very Specific Complaints.

Follow along with the latest sayings and doings of Louie Gohmert, the Republican congressman for Texas’s First Congressional District.

By

Harini Logan, 14, from San Antonio, Texas, receives her trophy from President and CEO of Scripps Company Adam Symson, after winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition, as second place Vikram Raju, 12, from Aurora, Colo., left, looks on, Thursday, June 2, 2022, in Oxon Hill, Md.

Best Thing in Texas|

June 3, 2022

Texas’s Run of National Spelling Bee Dominance Continues

Harini Logan claimed the top spot last night, making her the seventh Texan spelling bee champ in the last ten years. T-E-X-A-S!

By

A timeline of evolving law enforcement accounts of what happened at Uvalde

News & Politics|

May 27, 2022

Why Does the Official Story of the Uvalde School Killings Keep Changing?

The state’s account of how law enforcement responded to the massacre at Robb Elementary School has shifted as it’s been contradicted by witnesses and video.

By

Politics & Policy|

May 24, 2022

The “Incomprehensible” School Shooting in Uvalde

Governor Abbott’s comments showed just how lost our leaders are when it comes to gun violence.

By

Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher meet before a game at Kyle Field in 2021.

Sports|

May 19, 2022

Jimbo Fisher and Nick Saban Are Bickering Over Who Cheats Most

The Texas A&M football coach denied Saban’s claim that the Aggies “bought” all their players and called the accusation “despicable.”

By

Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks leaves the court after defeating the Phoenix Suns 123-90 in Game Seven of the 2022 NBA Playoffs Western Conference Semifinals.

Best Thing in Texas|

May 16, 2022

How ’Bout Them Mavs?

An all-time-great game seven offers a hint of how high Luka Dončić and the Dallas Mavericks can fly in the 2022 NBA playoffs.

By

Politics & Policy|

May 12, 2022

Sarah Stogner Has a Lot to Say for Herself

The Texas Railroad Commission candidate stripped down in a campaign video to get attention for her issues—and landed a spot in the May 24 Republican runoff. Which means it’s time to hear her out.

By

Best Thing in Texas|

May 6, 2022

A 19-Year-Old Arlingtonian Might Be the Best Chef in the World

At the World Food Championships’ Final Table last weekend, Dallas College student Preston Nguyen took the top prize.

By

Film & TV|

May 5, 2022

The Ethanaissance—or Is It Hawkeaissance?—Comes to TV

With small-screen projects such as ‘Moon Knight’ and ‘The Good Lord Bird,’ Ethan Hawke’s righteous believers get more room to breathe.

By

Ranking of Texans in the Marvel Universe

Film & TV|

April 27, 2022

Every Texan in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ranked

Texan actors have a strong presence in the MCU. But which performances would we watch in any multiverse, and which would we prefer blipped out of existence?

By

Film & TV|

April 25, 2022

The World if Tommy Lee Jones, Instead of the Rock, Starred in ‘Fast Five’

Vin Diesel, in a long, feelings-heavy Instagram post, revealed how close the venerable Texas star came to playing Lucas Hobbs.

By

Film & TV|

April 18, 2022

Is Lizzo Funny? A Texas Monthly Investigation

The Houstonian pulled double duty on ‘Saturday Night Live’ as host and musical guest. How’d she do?

By

Best Thing in Texas|

April 4, 2022

We Loved Every Second of This Spurs Fan’s Epic Jumbotron Lip-synch

San Antonio’s Briana Saldaña brought her A-game (with a little help from Kelly Clarkson).

By

Books|

April 1, 2022

Texas Schools Shouldn’t Ban ‘Maus,’ They Should Teach It

Katy ISD is considering a ban on the Pulitzer Prize–winning graphic novel about the Holocaust. Here’s what the book taught me.

By

Elgin teen gets new Chevy truck from Bruce Lowrie Chevrolet

Best Thing in Texas|

March 28, 2022

The Teen Who Drove Through a Tornado Got a New Truck (and a Job Offer From Whataburger)

Elgin's Riley Leon survived a harrowing encounter with a tornado. Now the community is getting him back on his feet.

By

Food & Drink|

March 25, 2022

All of H-E-B’s Current Novelty Potato Chips, Ranked

Is “vanilla milkshake” as confounding a flavor as it appears? Does a chicken sandwich-themed chip taste like chicken? All your questions answered.

By

Music|

March 22, 2022

SXSW 2022 Felt Like SXSW, and That’s Impressive

The festival was smaller and less overwhelming than in times past, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing—or a sign of things to come.

By

Music|

March 22, 2022

A Ukrainian Pop Star Delivers a Defiant Message at SXSW

Kazka’s male members took up arms to repel Putin’s invasion. But the band’s singer, Oleksandra Zaritska, was still determined to appear at the festival.

By