Music
February 22, 2024
Can Beyoncé’s ‘Texas Hold ’Em’ Save Lives? A Texas Monthly Investigation
According to medical experts, the beat of Beyoncé’s new single is just right for performing CPR (and perhaps dancing).
More Stories
The Stand Up Desk
February 22, 2024
Roar of the Crowd: March 2024
Reader letters published in our March 2024 issue.
Film & TV
February 22, 2024
What ‘God Save Texas’ Gets Right About the Border
El Pasoan Iliana Sosa, who directed a border-themed episode of the HBO documentary trilogy, speaks with Texas Monthly about the unique challenges of capturing “in-betweenness.”
The Stand Up Desk
February 22, 2024
Texas Monthly Reporter Russell Gold and the Long Game of Journalism
Thanks to our patient owners, we’re among the few publications growing in audience, revenue, and staff.
Tacos
February 22, 2024
This Homey Laredo Taco Joint Is a True Family Affair
The mother, father, and son behind Suarez Restaurant have created a comforting and nostalgic vibe in their six-year-old eatery and serve tacos to match, like weenies and eggs and smoky carne asada.
Ken Paxton Watch
February 21, 2024
Paxton Watch: Ken Attacks a Catholic Migrant-Aid Group
The beleaguered attorney general has announced a lawsuit targeting El Paso’s Annunciation House, claiming—without evidence—that it and other NGOs “facilitate astonishing horrors.”
Sponsored
February 21, 2024
Texarkana, Texas, is Twice As Nice!
With blooming spring flowers, pleasant weather, and vibrant landscapes, this season and city offers endless possibilities for exploration and fun.
Sponsored
February 21, 2024
Stephenville, Texas…The Place to Be!
Home to starry skies, live music, and cowboys — Stephenville, Texas, is the place to be this spring!
BBQ
February 21, 2024
These Brisket Smash Burgers Are So Good, They Annoy Their Pitmaster Creator
But only because they’re so popular at Dayne’s Craft Barbecue, in Aledo. While the double-patty wonders shouldn’t outshine the brisket and sausage, they are still unique works of art.
Sports
February 21, 2024
Happiness Is a Community of Ultramarathon Trail Runners in Central Texas
PJ Izaguirre is a race director for Tejas Trails. The routes are long; the preparation is grueling. And you'll never meet someone with more positive vibes.
Critters
February 21, 2024
Hard Freezes Are Killing Texas Bats
Tens of thousands of Texas bats have died from freezes since 2021. It could take decades for the population to recover.
BBQ
February 21, 2024
Smoked Oxtails Are as Addictive as Potato Chips
"You can't eat just one," says pitmaster Charles Brewer of Charlie’s Bar-B-Que, in Beaumont. Maybe that's why they've become the latest hot commodity.
Made in Texas
February 21, 2024
The Saltiest Cowboys In All of Bandera
A couple creates smoked seasonings of many flavors in a shop set among the town’s honky-tonks and saloons.
Books
February 21, 2024
Less Than 2 Percent of Children’s Books Feature Indigenous Characters. Heartdrum Wants to Change That.
The HarperCollins imprint, curated by Cynthia Leitich Smith, is on a mission to ensure that Native kids “see themselves as heroes of their own life stories.”
One by Willie
February 21, 2024
Pulitzer Prize Winner Lawrence Wright on the Existential Quality of Watching Willie Nelson and Trigger Grow Old Together
The acclaimed Austin author talks pigtails, hero statues, and “Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die.”
Sports
February 20, 2024
Texas’s Top High School for Hoops Has Eleven Students, and They’re All on the Basketball Team
For Dynamic Prep, the North Texas academy founded by NBA retiree Jermaine O’Neal, training future college and pro athletes is the mission.
Politics & Policy
February 20, 2024
How the Texas House Could Become More Radical
A constellation of right-wing special interests and vengeful state officials is striving to shape the Texas House in its image, in part by targeting independent-minded Republican lawmakers.
Food & Drink
February 20, 2024
Texas’s Best New Restaurants in 2024
Our twenty-third edition of Where to Eat Now finds that dining out can be loud, pricey—and as worthwhile as ever.
Critters
February 20, 2024
Meet the Beetles on Graham Reynolds’s New Album Celebrating the Sounds of Insects
The composer worked with Texas scientists to draw attention to both the beauty of arthropods and the threats they face.
Arts & Entertainment
February 19, 2024
Four Reasons March Is a Great Month in Texas Culture
A Latin music festival in Austin, Houston’s Renée Elise Goldsberry in something other than Hamilton, an “unknown” Texas artist in the spotlight, and a new way into Freedmen’s Town.
Press Room
February 16, 2024
Texas Monthly Is a Finalist for Two National Magazine Awards
The magazine was also recognized in the ASME Awards for Design, Photography and Illustration.
News
February 16, 2024
The Company Behind Fake, AI-Generated Biden Robocalls Used to Run a Singles Hotline
Last week, the novel use of AI technology to suppress Democratic voter turnout prompted investigations by federal and New Hampshire officials. The Texas company under scrutiny has a colorful history.
Meanwhile, in Texas
February 16, 2024
Meanwhile, in Texas: The Man Who Really, Really Didn’t Like His Mom’s Spaghetti
A brief and highly selective look at what just happened, from a man who really hated his mom’s spaghetti to a Walmart shopper looking for really low prices.
Politics & Policy
February 16, 2024
The Story: The Billionaire Behind a Right-wing Political Machine
Tim Dunn may not be a household name, but staff writer Russell Gold explains why he is someone Texans should know.
Critters
February 16, 2024
The Lovable Ocelot Is Ready for Its Comeback
The phantom feline of South Texas is ready for its comeback.
Tacos
February 16, 2024
Taco Bell Has Tapped a San Antonio Chef to Reenvision the Crunchwrap Supreme
As part of the fast food chain’s TBX program, Jennifer Hwa Dobbertin, the James Beard Award–nominated chef of Best Quality Daughter, will get the chance to put her own cultural touches on the iconic menu item.
Critters
February 15, 2024
Nutria Deserve Their Reputation as Giant, Nasty Swamp Rats
Found in waterways across Texas, the invasive rodents destroy an estimated $1 million worth of U.S. crops per year.
Travel & Outdoors
February 15, 2024
This Park Boasts the Best Views of Houston’s Skyline
Up on the roof of the old Barbara Jordan Post Office, the five-acre Post Skylawn offers an outdoor respite that’s literally above it all.
Tacos
February 15, 2024
Two Industry Veterans Open One of the Rio Grande Valley’s Newest and Best Taquerias
Jaime Elizondo and Navin Chatlani had respective restaurants that were suffering, so they decided to close them and open ¡Tacos! Mi Gente, a trailer that specializes in barbacoa and chicharron.
Being Texan
February 15, 2024
Scenes From a Decades-Long Identity Crisis
More than six decades ago, an unseen figure perched in a Corpus Christi tree posed a question that still has no answer.
Energy
February 15, 2024
The Oil Industry Keeps Getting Younger
Transactions like this week’s $26 billion Diamondback-Endeavor deal signal a changing of the guard.
Border & Immigration
February 15, 2024
When the Law Clashes With Common Language
Hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants could be affected by a forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court decision—and it could all come down to how justices interpret a single word.
News & Politics
February 15, 2024
To Live and Die in Dallas: A Year Inside the City’s Homicide Unit
The city’s homicide unit granted a year of unprecedented access to photographer Richard Sharum. His pictures tell a vivid story of cops, criminals, and victims—and the violent act that binds them together.
Film & TV
February 14, 2024
‘Reality Bites’ Is Thirty Years Old. Is It Dated, or More Relevant Than Ever?
The concept of “selling out” at the heart of the film feels like an artifact from another time. But it may be that we’ve just stopped talking about it.
Being Texan
February 14, 2024
Meet the King of George Strait Impersonators
When the sun is high in the Texas sky, Derek Spence be playing King George's songs at a county fair—or somewhere.
Style & Design
February 14, 2024
How the Brenham Schoolhouse Hotel Transformed From Schoolhouse to Hotel
The 1880s property began its life as the alleged first public school in Texas, then became a convent. Now travelers can stay within its historic walls.
News & Politics
February 14, 2024
At Religious Schools, When Does Expression of Belief Become Sexual Harassment?
Baylor University is one of many religious institutions that have received religious exemptions to federal law prohibiting sex-based discrimination.
BBQ Joint Reviews
February 14, 2024
Beef Ribs, Smoked Meat Loaf, and All-Beef Sausage Star on the Expanded Menu of This North Texas Joint
The brisket at Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice, in Pilot Point, was so good last year that I had to write a review, even if the business wasn’t at full strength yet. CJ and Sabrina Henley were serving a small menu from a food truck parked next to their brick-and-mortar,
Health
February 14, 2024
In Texas’s Maternity Care Deserts, Nurses Offer Vital Help
A nonprofit forges one-on-one relationships with vulnerable first-time mothers to combat a maternal mortality crisis.
Politics & Policy
February 14, 2024
The Best Way for Many Texas Democrats to Make Their Voices Heard? Vote in the Republican Primary.
Most November elections in the state are meaningless. But primaries present liberals with an opportunity to exert their electoral influence.
One by Willie
February 14, 2024
Booker T. Jones on Why He Recorded Willie Nelson’s ‘Stardust’ in Emmylou Harris’s Living Room
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer discusses “Georgia on My Mind”—and the highly improbable pairing and production that gave birth to Willie’s quintuple-platinum masterpiece.
Texas History
February 13, 2024
Barred From a Segregated Golf Course, These Texas Teens Built Their Own
The team from Del Rio went on to win the Texas high school golf championship in 1957—and soon will see its story told in movie theaters around the country.
Arts & Entertainment
February 13, 2024
Palo Duro Canyon’s ‘Texas’ Is More Than a Musical
A visit to the long-running outdoor stage production reveals how members of the cast and crew are connected to the show in personal ways.
Food & Drink
February 13, 2024
This Year’s No Good, Very Bad Crawfish Season
Mudbugs are going to be more expensive and harder to find this year due to extreme weather in Louisiana, which supplies 90 percent of crawfish in the U.S.
Politics & Policy
February 13, 2024
“The Senate Got Played”: Drew Springer Explains His Call to Reopen Ken Paxton’s Impeachment
The North Texas state senator voted to acquit the attorney general in September but has called for new proceedings to evaluate Paxton’s fitness for office.
Travel & Outdoors
February 13, 2024
An Adventurous Week of “Yes” on South Padre Island
Nearly everything my teenage son wanted to do during our beach vacation required a waiver.
Arts & Entertainment
February 13, 2024
Under Kelvin Sampson the Glory Days of Phi Slama Jama Are Back
The coaching legend has lifted the University of Houston men’s basketball team from irrelevance to greatness. Now all he wants is a national championship.
Business
February 13, 2024
Plastic Has Overrun the Planet. Does “Advanced” Recycling Offer a Solution?
Tyler-based New Hope Energy and the petrochemical industry are bullish on the technology, but critics say it’s a distraction from the pressing need to reduce our use of the material.
News & Politics
February 13, 2024
Can a Feisty Independent Radio Station Change a Small East Texas Town?
An East Texas DJ is trying to turn his indie station into an agent of change in a community that’s grappling with profound demographic shifts.
Music
February 12, 2024
Our Hopes, Dreams, and Predictions for Beyoncé’s Most Texan Release Yet
With two new singles, Bey is planting a flag squarely in country music—and we have a feeling she’s about to school us on the genre.