The Stand Up Desk
October 18, 2021
From the Editor: Food for the Soul
Barbecue editor, Daniel Vaughn, enlisted the largest group of tasters ever for this year's Top 50 BBQ list.
Columns
The Texanist
July 28, 2021
The Texanist: Is It OK to Bring a Gun to a Dinner Party?
A Plano woman doesn't think pistol-packing goes with pasta primavera.
The Texanist
July 14, 2021
The Texanist: How Do You Pronounce All Those Weird Texas Town Names?
A Dallas man is flummoxed by Quitaque. And Danevang, and Jiba, and Study Butte, and Zuehl . . .
The Texanist
May 26, 2021
The Texanist: What Should I Do About My Rain-Hating Boyfriend?
A Brady woman isn't sure her new relationship will survive a fundamental disagreement about the weather.
The Texanist
May 12, 2021
The Texanist: Why Do I Get So Many Robocalls From Small Texas Towns?
A Houston woman wants to know why the fine folks in Granger just won't leave her alone.
The Texanist
April 12, 2021
The Texanist: Do You Miss the Texas County That Is Now Part of Oklahoma?
A man from the Sooner State has a question about the other Red River Rivalry.
The Texanist
March 8, 2021
The Texanist: Why Are Mexican Restaurants in San Antonio Charging for Chips and Salsa?
A River City man isn’t happy about paying for what used to be free.
The Texanist
March 1, 2021
The Texanist: Can We Put El Paso Back in the Central Time Zone?
A West Texas man seems to be tired of living on Mountain Standard Time.
The Texanist
January 17, 2021
The Texanist: Has There Ever Been Any Violence at the Texas Capitol?
The recent, terrifying events in Washington have an Austin man wondering about mayhem closer to home.
The Texanist
December 18, 2020
The Texanist: How Can Whataburger Say That It’s Still “Family Owned and Operated”?
An Austin man is skeptical that a company held by a Chicago investment firm can claim that distinction.
The Texanist
November 16, 2020
The Texanist: I Love Tamales. But I Live in Northern Ireland. Help!
A Belfast woman is looking for a few good corn husks.
The Texanist
July 2, 2020
The Texanist: Is It a Good Idea to Visit West Texas in the Middle of a Pandemic?
A Houston man would like to maintain an annual summer tradition.
The Texanist
February 15, 2020
The Texanist: Isn’t It Time for a ‘Hamilton’-Style Musical About the Texas Revolution?
A McKinney man wants to see William Travis singing and dancing his way across the Alamo Plaza.
The Texanist
January 18, 2020
The Texanist: Is It Mean to Correct a Foreigner’s Wrong Ideas About Texas?
A Dallas man worries that he should have let a British couple continue to believe that cattle run rampant through the streets of his city.
The Texanist
February 10, 2019
The Texanist: What Are the Ten Best Texas Movies?
A newcomer to the state is looking for a cinematic introduction to his adopted home.
The Texanist
February 3, 2019
The Texanist: Has PC Culture Tamed the Texanist’s Tongue?
A McKinney man thinks our fearless columnist isn't as sharp as he used to be.
December 21, 2017
Port Aransas Isn’t Giving Up
Returning to my devastated hometown, I found my friends and family putting on a brave face in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey.
Film & TV
December 21, 2017
Taylor Kitsch Gets in Touch With His Inner David Koresh in ‘Waco’
Texas football made the former ’Friday Night Lights’ actor a heartthrob. Will a Texas tragedy make him a bona fide star in 'Waco'?
Country Notes
November 22, 2017
The Marfa Mystique
Outsiders remain fascinated with unraveling the secrets of this place. But locals can explain, one story at a time.
Music
November 22, 2017
The Galactic Cowboys are Still Hoping to Take Flight
A Houston metal act that was supposed to be the next Guns n’ Roses—and got squashed by Nirvana instead—is hoping that a quarter of a century later it’ll finally get its big break.
Film & TV
October 18, 2017
Woody Harrelson’s Performance in ‘LBJ’ Might Just be the Definitive LBJ
Now it’s Woody Harrelson’s turn to play our thirty-sixth president on-screen. Why can’t we get enough of a man once regarded as utterly devoid of glamour?
BBQ
October 18, 2017
How Pioneering Pitmaster Etta Randall Conquered a Lawless Boomtown With Barbecue
In 1926 Etta Randall, a young black woman from deep East Texas, set off for a lawless boomtown in the Panhandle, where she found unexpected success not in the oil fields but in an old concrete pit.
Sports
September 20, 2017
Punching Through at the Alpine Boxing Club
For these young boxers in West Texas, learning to fight means more than throwing a punch.
Energy
September 20, 2017
John Goodenough Plans to Make Gasoline Obsolete
How a wisecracking 95-year-old chemist plans to reenergize the future.
The Texanist
September 9, 2017
The Texanist: The Meaning of Texas Tough
We lost a lot. But there are some things we’ll never lose. Texas will be okay.
Film & TV
August 23, 2017
Bonnie and Clyde at 50
How the more or less true story of two Texas outlaws revolutionized Hollywood.
Border & Immigration
August 23, 2017
How Two Brothers Brought the Drug War to the Racetrack
Two books from Texas authors chronicle the investigation of a Zeta commander who laundered millions of dollars in drug profits through the intense world of American quarter-horse racing.
Sports
July 24, 2017
How Dude Perfect Makes Child’s Play Hard Work
How five Aggies turned their love of trick shots into one of the biggest video franchises of the digital era.
Essay
July 24, 2017
Seeing the Body
"When I returned to Port Aransas during my last year of medical school, I began to look at my hometown through an entirely different lens."
Country Notes
June 21, 2017
The Purest Type
Pronghorn were almost perfectly fitted to the West Texas landscape. And then people started building fences.
June 21, 2017
Calling Dr. Chilton
Getting to the bottom of the baffling backstory of Lubbock’s legendary lemony libation—one refreshing sip at a time.
Religion
May 24, 2017
Critical Mass
An Austin church remakes Catholicism without the Pope, celibate priests, or most of the other rules.
Music
May 24, 2017
Free Jazzmeia
On her debut album, an electrifying young singer from Dallas draws on the past, but refuses to be its prisoner.
Arts & Entertainment
May 24, 2017
Just the Facts
The butt was tender and yielding. Or was it? Confessions of a veteran fact checker.
Politics & Policy
April 19, 2017
Party Hopping
As they lose sway among Texas Republicans, big businesses should try something radical: an alliance with Democrats.
Business
March 22, 2017
Black Elk Down
How did a small Houston oil company with grand ambitions get caught up in the biggest Ponzi scheme since Bernie Madoff?
Politics & Policy
February 23, 2017
Not So Special Ed
Public school parents with special-ed kids often find themselves squaring off against school districts and the taxpayer-funded lawyers who protect them.
Music
February 23, 2017
A Fanboy’s Notes
Spoon is my favorite band. Spoon has a new album out. It is my favorite Spoon album. That is all.
Texas History
February 23, 2017
The Dark Prince
Memories of the future at a long-gone Dallas hamburger joint.
The Culture
February 21, 2017
Snake!
In West Texas, we've learned to live with our slithery neighbors. Not that we have a choice.
Business
January 25, 2017
Towering Debts
in a state known for austerity, how can Texas's largest cities be nearly broke?
Essay
January 25, 2017
Great Expectations
Sure, I’d polished my résumé, made the right grades, and kept up with current events. But did I deserve one of the most prestigious scholarships in the world if I wanted it for all the wrong reasons?
Music
January 24, 2017
The Sons Also Rise
At his peak, Emilio Navaira was known as the King of Tejano and the Garth Brooks of Texas. Now, months after his death, two of his children are following in his footsteps with a little help from Sting.
Energy
January 24, 2017
Big Oil Roars Back
With Rex Tillerson and Rick Perry on his team, Donald Trump is all set to revive the fortunes of the Texas energy sector.
Country Notes
December 21, 2016
The Earth Below
The skies of West Texas are so grand that it’s easy to forget how much is going on under our feet.
The Texanist
December 21, 2016
Low Stakes on the High Seas
Gambling on a ride aboard the Aransas Queen.