Rose Cahalan, Contributor at Texas Monthly

November 10, 2023

A Texas Marathoner With Down Syndrome Logs Another Historic Run

A viral video of Austin’s Kayleigh Williamson completing the New York City Marathon last weekend inspired athletes from coast to coast.

By

Critters|

October 13, 2023

The Ghost-Faced Bat Is So Ugly It’s Cute

Found along Texas’s southwestern border, the creature has a mug only a mother could love.

By

Stopping to Smell the Moonflower, One of Texas’s Most Tenacious (and Poisonous) Plants

Travel & Outdoors|

October 6, 2023

Stopping to Smell the Moonflower, One of Texas’s Most Tenacious (and Poisonous) Plants

Unfazed by extreme weather, this dangerous beauty blooms only at night.

By

Travel & Outdoors|

September 11, 2023

The West Texas Desert’s Impossible Garden

The explosion of color found at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute is not a mirage.

By

Critters|

September 8, 2023

Meet Texas’s Strangest Turtle

Found in the state’s riverways, the spiny softshell looks like a cross between a brontosaurus and a pancake.

By

Travel & Outdoors|

August 11, 2023

In This North Texas Town, It’s Always Shark Week

The small city of Sherman, which lies far from the coast, is a fossil hunter’s paradise.

By

Travel & Outdoors|

July 31, 2023

Denison Is a Cozy, Not-(Yet)-Too-Crowded Getaway in North Texas

Wineries, stylish bed-and-breakfasts, and a beautifully restored old train depot make this North Texas town a great weekend getaway.

By

In Praise of Zillow-Scrolling for Fantasy Homes in Cooler Climates

Style & Design|

July 24, 2023

The Texas Heat Has Me Scrolling Zillow for Fantasy Homes in Cooler Climates

I swear I feel refreshed after looking at a house in Oregon or Virginia. And according to my research, other Texans do too.

By

Parks & Recs|

June 26, 2023

Hikers Are Dying on Texas Trails in Severe Heat

Recent tragedies in Big Bend and Palo Duro Canyon are a reminder to “respect the desert,” says one ranger.

By

Books|

June 26, 2023

Five Great Texas Parks and Books to Read in Them

Is there anything better than a good story with a view?

By

The Hammerhead Worm is the New and Terrifying Invasive Scourge Slithering Across Texas

Critters|

May 18, 2023

Meet Your New Nightmare, the Hammerhead Worm

If you try to kill it with a shovel, it’ll just split into two.

By

Texas First: Taking Bluebonnet Photos of My Kid

Being Texan|

March 31, 2023

Texas First: Taking Bluebonnet Photos of My Kid

I didn’t think I’d get to be a mom. Now that I am, the passage of time confounds me.

By

Parks & Recs|

March 8, 2023

As we celebrate one hundred years of our state parks, they are more popular than ever. But our booming population is overwhelming the state’s scarce public lands. What will the next century hold for Texas’s “best idea”?

By

The Fight for Fertility Preservation in Texas

Health|

March 8, 2023

The Fight for Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients in Texas

Twelve states require that insurers pay for egg and sperm freezing before cancer treatment. Attempts to add Texas to the list have failed twice, but now lawmakers are trying again.

By

Critters|

January 31, 2023

What the Heck Is Going On at the Dallas Zoo?

After a leopard escape, the suspicious death of a vulture, and the theft of two monkeys, Texans are anxiously awaiting an explanation.

By

Lesser sandhill cranes taking flight at the Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge.

Critters|

November 11, 2022

Where to Watch Thousands of Sandhill Cranes Storm the Texas Skies

Each winter, a wildlife sanctuary near the Panhandle hosts one of the world’s largest gatherings of these beautiful birds.

By

Robot dogs at The University of Texas at Austin.

News & Politics|

October 27, 2022

It’s Okay to Fear the Robot Dogs Coming to UT

Scientists are unleashing the computerized canines on the Austin campus to study how humans interact with them.

By

The treehouse dining room at the Laurel Tree.

Travel & Outdoors|

August 29, 2022

Utopia, Texas, Is Accurately Named

This serene Hill Country town boasts a treehouse hotel and an idyllic swimming hole.

By

The Chisos Mountains Lodge main building in Big Bend National Park.

Travel & Outdoors|

April 27, 2022

First Look: The $22 Million Makeover of Big Bend National Park’s Chisos Mountains Lodge

Tentative plans call for the beloved dining-hall structure to be rebuilt and modernized—with even better views.

By

The cover of cartoonist Grace Farris' book Mom Milestones: The TRUE Story of the First Seven Years.

Books|

March 28, 2022

A Clever Comic Book Wants to Change the Way We Talk to Moms

Austin artist and doctor Grace Farris’s debut, ‘Mom Milestones,’ inverts the patronizing parenting-book formula.

By

Food & Drink|

March 8, 2022

Though New to Some Tea Drinkers, Yaupon Is Steeped in History

More than a thousand years after Indigenous Texans began brewing yaupon, the tea—and its aggressive holly plant—is everywhere.

By

Heather West, the Conroe woman who punched a shark

Critters|

February 23, 2022

Meet the Texas Woman Who Punched a Shark in the Face

Conroe native Heather West was snorkeling near the Florida Keys when she fought off a six-foot lemon shark.

By

Food & Drink|

February 10, 2022

11 Texas Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat

Recipes and tips for wild and unconventional foods—from chile pequin to yaupon—that you can find in your own backyard.

By

Neuroterus valhalla discovered by Rice University researchers.

Critters|

January 26, 2022

Why Scientists Keep Discovering Strange New Wasps on the Rice University Campus

The newest species is named after the grad student pub Valhalla, on whose grounds it was found.

By

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.

By

Best Thing in Texas|

June 14, 2021

Swimmers, Rejoice: Balmorhea State Park Is Reopening

A West Texas oasis, the world's largest spring-fed pool has been closed for the better part of three years.

By

Strawberries being picked at Sweet Eats Fruit Farm in Georgetown.

Food & Drink|

April 27, 2021

It’s Berry Season in Texas. Here’s Where to Pick Your Own.

Kid-friendly, socially distanced, and just a darn good way to spend a Saturday, the state's berry farms are open for visitors.

By

Illustration of chess pieces on the UT RGV campus

Best Thing in Texas|

April 6, 2021

UTRGV Just Won Its Third Consecutive National Chess Championship

Bow down to the greatness of the Vaqueros, who are the best in the nation (again).

By

Meanwhile, in Texas|

February 9, 2021

“I’m Not a Cat,” Says West Texas Attorney Who Accidentally Applied Zoom Filter

“If the country can have a chuckle at my expense today, I’ll accept it," he says.

By

Books|

January 28, 2021

Why Is the Death Penalty on the Decline in Texas?

Maurice Chammah’s “Let the Lord Sort Them” is a searing history of the rise and fall of capital punishment.

By

bernie sanders texas meme in front of Prada Marfa.

Best Thing in Texas|

January 21, 2021

The Best Thing in Texas: Bernie Sanders Travels Across the State as a Meme

He’s visited the Alamo, waited in line at Franklin Barbecue, and cheered on the Astros (virtually).

By

Music|

December 21, 2020

A Texas Monthly Blue Christmas Playlist

Feeling less than merry this December? Here are twelve great sad holiday songs to remind you that you’re not alone.

By

Travel & Outdoors|

November 5, 2020

Now Is the Time to Plant Wildflowers in Texas. Here’s How to Do It Right.

Eight tips from expert gardeners.

By

Film & TV|

October 2, 2020

A Tenderhearted New Documentary Follows a 17-Year-Old’s Bid for Houston City Council

‘Ready or Not’ is an affectionate portrait of Marcel McClinton, a teen activist and mass shooting survivor who challenged incumbent councilman Michael Kubosh.

By

Art|

July 31, 2020

This Houston Artist Paints Nostalgic Watercolors for Homesick Texans

In dreamy, finely detailed paintings, Jim Koehn revives old watering holes and mom-and-pop spots around the state.

By

Criminal Justice|

July 7, 2020

‘Outcry’ Offers a Nuanced Look at a Wrongful Conviction in Central Texas

The five-part Showtime docu-series avoids the worst pitfalls of the true-crime genre, favoring character over sensationalism.

By

News & Politics|

May 27, 2020

In Texas’s Food Deserts, Food Banks Struggle to Do More With Less

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to what one expert calls “a perfect storm”: more hungry people, fewer volunteers, and declining donations.

By

Critters|

May 7, 2020

New to Backyard Chicken-Keeping? Here’s Some Eggspert Advice

As Texans flock to the hobby in record numbers, we convened a virtual staff roundtable to share tips.

By

Lawrence Wright, in Austin on February 24, 2018.

Books|

May 1, 2020

Lawrence Wright on the Politics of the Pandemic

The Austin author says he wrote his new pandemic thriller as a "cry of warning," but he never expected it to be released during an eerily similar crisis.

By

Quick Links

40 Articles