The Texanist
September 12, 2023
The Texanist: What’s the Best Way to Beat This Crazy Heat?
A New York man wants to know the best place to live in Texas, weather-wise, and an Austin man asks for some cold-treat recommendations.
Columns
The Stand Up Desk
July 19, 2023
The Story Behind Senior Editor Ben Rowen’s Unusual Beat: Longboards and Legislators
He’s surfed in Waco, skied in College Station, and braved a karaoke bar where Texas lawmakers serenaded one another.
By Dan Goodgame![Dan Goodgame's Profile Photo]()
The Texanist
July 18, 2023
The Texanist: Where Do All Those Cannons in Courthouse Squares Come From?
A Plano woman wonders why so many small towns have so many big guns.
The Texanist
June 7, 2023
The Texanist: Why Did Texans Stop Telling Tall Tales?
A Weatherford man says we need to channel our penchant for lying into something productive—or at least entertaining.
The Texanist
May 16, 2023
The Texanist: What’s the Oldest Bar in Texas?
An Austin man wants to know whether Austin’s Scholz Garten or San Antonio’s Menger Bar can claim the title of oldest continually operating bar in the state.
The Stand Up Desk
April 12, 2023
Behind the Scenes of Our Lively New Hotel Package
Meet Texas Monthly executive editor (and travel and lifestyle guru) Kathy Blackwell.
By Dan Goodgame![Dan Goodgame's Profile Photo]()
The Texanist
April 11, 2023
The Texanist: Why Do So Many Texas Women Have Men’s Names?
A New Mexico resident is puzzled by all the female Jimmies and Johnnies.
The Texanist
February 14, 2023
The Texanist: Did the Texas Capitol’s Pink Granite Come From Maine?
A San Antonio man is puzzled by a historical marker he encountered while visiting the Pine Tree State.
Texas Icons
January 17, 2023
The Texanist: What Will Texas Look Like Fifty Years From Now?
Some tasty lab-grown barbecue and a Dallas Cowboys postseason appearance may be in our distant future.
The Texanist
June 21, 2022
The Texanist: How Much Should You Tip at a Barbecue Joint?
An Austin man wonders if the people who stand behind a counter and take our orders deserve the same remuneration as the waiters and waitresses of the world.
The Texanist
May 17, 2022
The Texanist: Will Fancy Italian Cowboy Boots Hurt My Texan Bona Fides?
An Austinite living in Washington, D.C., worries about the consequences of sporting pricey designer footwear.
The Stand Up Desk
April 13, 2022
From the Editor: Meat Sweats and Massages
Arts and entertainment editor Josh Alvarez gets into the spirit of the story, no matter what he's working on.
By Dan Goodgame![Dan Goodgame's Profile Photo]()
The Stand Up Desk
February 16, 2022
From the Editor: Taking on Fresh Challenges
Three Texas Monthly staffers step into new roles as our storytelling expands.
By Dan Goodgame![Dan Goodgame's Profile Photo]()
The Texanist
February 16, 2022
The Texanist: What Movies Get Texas Really, Really Wrong?
As it turns out, even the best films and TV shows about the Lone Star State have their share of gaffes. (Yes, even ‘Lonesome Dove.’)
The Texanist
December 6, 2021
The Texanist: What’s the Best Texas Christmas Song?
An El Paso woman is looking for the finest example of Lone Star holiday musical jollity. But can there only be one?
The Stand Up Desk
November 10, 2021
From the Editor: Why So Many (Still) Move Here
Many new Texans quickly come to love what stirs the hearts of the native-born.
By Dan Goodgame![Dan Goodgame's Profile Photo]()
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.
By Dan Goodgame![Dan Goodgame's Profile Photo]()
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.
Being Texan
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.