Health
June 15, 2023
When Vertigo Melted My Brain
Can medical science truly explain the mystical, mysterious experience triggered by a simple malfunction in my inner ear?
News & Politics
Medicine
June 14, 2023
Plasma Donation Is a Bloody Business at the Border
Thousands of Mexicans routinely cross into Texas to sell their vital bodily fluids for cash. Is that arrangement symbiotic—or exploitative?
Best and Worst Legislators
June 13, 2023
2023: The Best and Worst Legislators
Our scorecard of the Eighty-eighth Texas Legislature’s noisy scoundrels and quiet heroes.
Politics & Policy
June 12, 2023
Asylum Seekers Anticipated the End of COVID-Related Restrictions on Entry to the U.S. But Strict New Rules Leave Many With a Difficult Choice.
Weeks after the Biden Administration ended the Trump-Imposed Title 42 regulations, the border near El Paso remains unexpectedly quiet.
Health
June 8, 2023
The Big Penis War
The inventor of the world’s first cosmetic penile implant says a group of Houston doctors is trying to steal his ideas. Inside the multimillion-dollar feud.
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 6, 2023
Rural School Districts Are Facing Financial Ruin. Some State Officials Prefer It That Way.
The conservative, gun-toting superintendent of Fort Davis Independent School District is fed up: “I’m not patient enough to spend time with assholes in Austin, and I’m not rich enough to buy any votes.”
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 31, 2023
Voter Fraud Is Rare. But 15 Illegal Votes in Laredo Have Thrown the City Council Into Turmoil.
Despite a judge’s ruling that her opponent rightfully won the election, Daisy Campos Rodriguez stubbornly clings to her office.
Politics & Policy
May 27, 2023
The Texas House Has Voted to Impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton
The state’s top attorney will be suspended from duties, pending a trial in the Texas Senate.
Politics & Policy
May 26, 2023
The Texas Legislature Finally Comes for Ken Paxton
The Texas House has voted to impeach the attorney general. After nearly eight years under indictment—during which he won two elections—why now?
Politics & Policy
May 26, 2023
Two Texas Indie Developers Made It Big on Twitter a Decade Ago. Now They’re Fighting It.
After Elon Musk killed their Twitter app, two software developers in the North Texas suburbs are trying to shape the future of social media.
News & Politics
May 25, 2023
TxDOT Wants to Widen I-10 in El Paso. Many Residents Say “No Thanks.”
The proposed construction project is intended to alleviate future traffic problems, but at what cost?
Film & TV
May 25, 2023
Did Junk Science Help Candy Montgomery Get Away With Murder?
Hypnosis played a critical role in the real-life case depicted in Max’s ‘Love & Death.’ But was it good science? Here’s what the experts say.
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.
Politics & Policy
May 24, 2023
Hours Before an Investigating Committee Hearing Into AG Ken Paxton’s Office, Paxton Calls on Speaker Dade Phelan to Resign
Phelan’s office called Paxton’s late-Tuesday statement a ploy and “a last-ditch effort to save face.”
News & Politics
May 23, 2023
Goodbye to a Writer
John Nova Lomax, a former senior editor at Texas Monthly who died Monday, was a beautiful storyteller who struggled with his own story.
Health
May 23, 2023
OB-GYN Residents Are Required to Receive Clinical Abortion Training. They Can’t Do That in Texas.
Abortion restrictions running in conflict with training requirements are pushing lifelong Texans to leave the state—maybe for good.
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.
Energy
May 22, 2023
How a Powerful Texas Lawmaker and His Family Made Half a Million for a Few Phone Calls
Depositions in a recent lawsuit reveal that state rep Tom Craddick, his wife and son, and his daughter, Christi, who leads Texas’s oil and gas regulating agency, profit from industry deals not available to just anyone.
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.
Politics & Policy
May 16, 2023
The Killing of These Texas Children Was National News. But We Didn’t Know the Half of It.
Dallas journalist Roxanna Asgarian’s new book, ‘We Were Once a Family,’ examines a murder-suicide that made national news—and finds that the story behind the story is even worse than we thought.
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 15, 2023
How an Airbnb Party House Near Austin Became a Legislative Priority for a West Texas Politician
Rarely are special-interest bills in the Texas Lege quite so special as in Brooks Landgraf’s bill targeting the tiny town of Volente.
Business
May 15, 2023
The Star Trek Tech Selling Luxury Condos in Austin
For the developer of a complex of multimillion-dollar hilltop homes, today’s slowing market spurred a marketing innovation. Enter the holodeck.
Politics & Policy
May 15, 2023
Do Texas Democrats Have Stockholm Syndrome?
An unusual number of lawmakers have crossed the aisle to support Republican bills this year. Party operatives are furious.
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.
Politics & Policy
May 11, 2023
Since the Lege Has Been in Session, There’ve Been Eighteen Mass Shootings in Texas
The gun bills most likely to pass aren’t restrictions but those that further protect firearm ownership.
Health
May 11, 2023
Texas Refuses to Expand Medicaid. Here’s What We’re Missing Out On.
These benefits could be ours, if the Lege would just help insure a million more Texans.
Politics & Policy
May 11, 2023
Traditionalists Protest What Some Consider a “Woke” Takeover of the Texas State Historical Association
Inside the arguments, lawsuit, and angry outbursts that are dividing a key authority on historical matters.
Border & Immigration
May 10, 2023
If All the Officers Assigned to the Texas-Mexico Border Stood Side By Side, How Far Apart Would They Be?
Hint: if one of them were Baker Mayfield, he could pass a football to the folks on either side of him.
Health
May 9, 2023
Could Coverage for Doula Care Drive Down Texas’s High Maternal Mortality Rate?
Research shows having doulas involved in childbirth could improve health outcomes—and serve to close the racial gaps in care.
Politics & Policy
May 8, 2023
Whenever Texans Die in Mass Shootings, Greg Abbott Likes to Talk About Immigration
After the latest bloodbaths in Allen and Cleveland, the governor turned to a familiar playbook of deflection.
Energy
May 8, 2023
The Texas GOP’s War on Renewable Energy
What’s behind the Legislature’s relentless campaign against wind and solar power, which are saving Texans billions?
News & Politics
May 8, 2023
A Driver Crashed Into Pedestrians Outside a Brownsville Migrant Shelter. Eight People Were Killed.
Police have detained the driver but are still investigating whether the crash was intentional or accidental.
Uvalde
May 7, 2023
Amor Eterno
One year ago, before the school shooting in Uvalde, Kimberly Mata-Rubio had never been on a plane or given a public speech or scolded a U.S. senator right there in his office. A year in the life of a grieving mother.
Politics & Policy
May 5, 2023
Does a “Family Values” Agenda Include Keeping New Moms Healthy?
Progressive faith leaders and women’s health advocates are adopting the messaging to push for a 12-month Medicaid extension for postpartum care.
Business
May 3, 2023
It’s No Surprise SpaceX Blows Up Rockets in Texas. That’s Why It Came Here.
Environmentalists have filed a suit looking to block Elon Musk’s company from doing what state leaders invited him to do at Boca Chica.
Politics & Policy
May 2, 2023
Who Is Colin Allred, the U.S. Rep Planning to Take on Ted Cruz?
The former Baylor linebacker and NFL player has won the last three elections in his Dallas congressional district.
News & Politics
May 1, 2023
Reality Check: There’s Almost Certainly No Serial Killer in Austin
What began as a baseless theory has turned into a social media frenzy, with the power to frighten the public and hamper police investigations.
News & Politics
May 1, 2023
The Search Continues for the Texas Gunman Who Killed 5 Neighbors in San Jacinto County
In the face of mass shootings in Texas, state leaders have made it easier to access guns.
Texas History
April 27, 2023
Why These Ugly, Abandoned Longview Homes May Be Worth Saving
Behind the run-down exteriors of these concrete houses lies the story of an East Texas innovator and his one-of-a-kind machine.
News & Politics
April 27, 2023
One Aspiring Mother’s Nightmare in Post-Roe Texas
After learning that their long-awaited baby wouldn’t survive childbirth, two parents suffered the pain of finding maternal health care out of state.
Politics & Policy
April 25, 2023
For Texas’s Antiabortion Movement, the Chilling Effect Is Working
While extremely limited, avenues for abortion access exist in Texas. That’s where fear tactics from antiabortion activists come into play.
Politics & Policy
April 25, 2023
Dan Patrick Tries Out a Trumpy Nickname for Texas Speaker Dade Phelan
Amid a debate over competing property tax–relief plans, the lieutenant governor isn’t holding back. But is “California Dade” a good insult?
Politics & Policy
April 21, 2023
Sex, Threats, and Late-Night Phone Calls: The Allegations From Inside Jolanda Jones’s Legislative Office
Last month, the entire full-time staff of the state representative from Houston resigned. They broke their silence to tell Texas Monthly their story.
Politics & Policy
April 20, 2023
Texas Secessionists Rail Against Censorship. Now One Is Suing a Republican Lawmaker for Calling Her Treasonous.
A right-wing First Amendment lawyer is representing a plaintiff suing representative Jeff Leach of Plano for harsh tweets about a TEXIT backer.
Politics & Policy
April 19, 2023
“Our Resolve Has Never Been Stronger”: The Relatives of Uvalde Victims Advocate for Gun Control in the Lege
Families of Texas mass shooting victims waited more than twelve hours to testify on a bill that would raise the age to purchase certain guns.
Politics & Policy
April 14, 2023
Cruz Watch: The Senator Attempts to Dunk on Pop
Our man picks a fight with a San Antonio icon. Maybe they should settle this on the court—or in the 2024 election?
Business
April 14, 2023
Buying a Home in Texas Often Requires Outbidding Big-Money Investors
A pair of bills at the Lege seek to help Texans compete for real estate against these deep-pocketed companies.