The Texanist
December 1, 2010
The Texanist: What is the Best Aisle Etiquette?
Aisle-scooting etiquette, slaughtering a turkey, skunk remedies, and the proper way to approach a group of ladies at a dance hall.
Columns
News & Politics
December 1, 2010
Imaginary Friends
Brownsville’s first federal judge was a legendary figure in my house. So legendary that I never believed my father when he said he knew the man.
Politics & Policy
September 30, 2010
Dem Bums
Bill White’s toughest foe this fall isn’t Rick Perry. It’s the national Democrats. But he could still win. Maybe.
News & Politics
September 1, 2010
Trial and Error
The wheels of justice (or injustice) continue to turn in the shockingly bizarre Mineola swingers club case.
Rick Bass
August 31, 2010
Fish Story
One more trip—would it be the last?—to Toledo Bend Reservoir with my dad.
News & Politics
August 31, 2010
The Super
After a year on the job, the superintendent of the largest school district in Texas is loathed and loved in equal measure. Does that mean he’s doing his job?
Politics & Policy
August 1, 2010
Gov Hunt
As the only man ever to run against both Bill White and Rick Perry, I have a few thoughts on how either one of these fine, upstanding, admirable men could beat the tar out of the other.
The Texanist
July 31, 2010
The Texanist: What Do I Tell My Son When He Asks Me About a Crop I Don’t Recognize?
Roadside mysteries, state symbols, a daughter’s attire, and the proper display of local feats on water towers.
The Texanist
June 30, 2010
The Texanist: How Do I Approach My Brother-in-law About the Way He Treats Wait Staff?
Rude diners, fraudulent Texans, anniversary presents, and the problem with mail-order steaks.
Behind the Lines
May 31, 2010
The Story of Us
Had the Texas myth become a straitjacket?
Leaving
May 31, 2010
Urban Cowboy
Juno
Leaving
May 31, 2010
Childhood’s End
Mission
Politics & Policy
April 30, 2010
Alamo Heights
One year into his first term as mayor of San Antonio, Julián Castro is emerging as perhaps the most prominent young Hispanic politician in Texas. Get ready to get used to him.
Letter From Corpus Christi
April 30, 2010
The Great Pretender
The strange case of Mauricio Celis, the Corpus Christi lawyer who was not a lawyer.
Behind the Lines
April 30, 2010
Enroncore!
The debut of Enron, the play, on Broadway might be the perfect time to settle a question that’s been bothering Houston: Does Jeff Skilling need a new trial?
The Culture
March 31, 2010
The Departed
They say you can’t go home again—especially when pretty much your entire family has moved away.
Letter From Austin
March 31, 2010
Fear Less
Can new research predict which soldiers will suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder—and which won’t?
Politics & Policy
March 31, 2010
Court Attack
How the Citizens United decision could spell doom for democracy in Texas.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2010
Out and About
Annise Parker, the newly elected mayor of Houston, is ready to discuss any of the challenges facing her city. That will happen as soon as everyone else is ready to stop talking about her sexuality.
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2010
Center of Gravity
Who can challenge Republicans on the State Board of Education? A different kind of Republican.
Health
February 1, 2010
The Rice Stuff
Why the proposed merger between Baylor College of Medicine and my alma mater could turn out to be a bad prescription.
Mimi Swartz
January 1, 2010
What She Wore
On the day my mother died, I found myself in the place that, more than any other, had defined our relationship: her closet.
Sarah Bird
December 1, 2009
Hedda Garbler
Help! My voice recognition software is making me save airy funnel things witch nobody wonder Stans.
News & Politics
December 1, 2009
Wealth Care
Why does our health insurance system treat a small part of the Rio Grande Valley differently from the rest of the state?
Politics & Policy
December 1, 2009
The Terminator
Rick Perry’s record nine years in the Governor’s Mansion have made the office more powerful than ever before. That’s why we need term limits.
Politics & Policy
October 31, 2009
Cap and Tirade
Especially in Texas, the fight over carbon restrictions might make health care reform look like, well, a tea party.
Politics & Policy
October 31, 2009
Seeing Red
One year after President Obama’s election, what does the world look like in the county that voted against him more overwhelmingly than any other?
Sarah Bird
October 31, 2009
One Angry Woman
Am I the only person who has always wanted to get picked for jury duty?
Behind the Lines
September 30, 2009
What I’ve Learned
Nine years as editor of this magazine taught me a few things, like failure is always an option, the writers are usually right, and whatever you do, stay far, far away from postcoital astronauts.
Music
September 30, 2009
Rock of Underages
How to take five dozen girls and turn them into eleven rock bands in one week.
The Culture
September 30, 2009
Last Rights
The tragic case of Lloyd and Kim Yarbrough raises an old question: Why doesn’t the decision to die belong to the person who is dying?
Sarah Bird
September 30, 2009
Rats!
Turns out being a test subject for a dermatology research lab is not the best thing that could ever happen to a girl.
Politics & Policy
August 31, 2009
The End of the Affair
Everyone was shocked when San Angelo’s hugely popular mayor suddenly left town with his gay lover. Everyone, that is, except the citizens of San Angelo.
Sarah Bird
August 31, 2009
Mammary Dearest
It was the breast of times, it was the worst of times.
Politics & Policy
July 31, 2009
Hullabaloo
Rick Perry is the first Aggie governor in history. But as the current crisis shows, he’s been nothing but trouble for Texas A&M.
Oscar Casares
July 31, 2009
Therapy Room
An exclusive excerpt from writer-at-large Oscar Casares's forthcoming first novel, Amigoland
Sarah Bird
July 31, 2009
Ranch Blessing
Or, how I stopped worrying and learned to love my formerly ugly, recently hip, linoleum-clad, mid-mod house.
Behind the Lines
June 30, 2009
Failing Darla
It’s time for Texas to start taking better care of people like Darla Deese, a developmentally disabled woman who has spent most of her life in our harrowing state schools.
Letter From Refugio
June 30, 2009
Sleeping Booty
Has an out-of-work Los Angeles musician discovered a sunken Spanish treasure worth hundreds of millions of dollars in a lake near Refugio? Maybe!
Texas History
June 30, 2009
Theodore Tex
Teddy Roosevelt acquired a number of skills during his time in Texas, but the most important may have been the ability to brag.
Sarah Bird
June 30, 2009
Members Only
All my friends are going to be status updates.
Sarah Bird
May 31, 2009
Ready, Set, Go-Go!
Every female on earth believes she can dance. My big break came when a Bob Hope wannabe with shiny suits and a pinkie ring took me on as his sidekick for a two-week tour of Tokyo.
Politics & Policy
May 31, 2009
The Secret of My Secession
Rick Perry, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and the two visions of Texas.
Kinky Friedman
April 30, 2009
Gomer And Me
You’ll never guess how I came to break bread with TV’s best-loved Marine.
Letter From Lubbock
April 30, 2009
High Plains Snifter
After 118 years, Lubbock finally appears ready to allow liquor stores inside the city limits—unless a shutter salesman and a handful of Baptists can turn back the clock.
Politics & Policy
April 30, 2009
Elephant Dung
Political grandstanding, no leadership—is this a dismal legislative session or what?
Politics & Policy
March 31, 2009
Manic Suppression
Why voter ID is bad for democracy.
Sarah Bird
March 31, 2009
Hack Like Me
My trashy, sordid, steamy, decently paid turn as a writer for the pulps.
Politics & Policy
March 31, 2009
Capitol Affairs
Nadine Eckhardt married not one but two legendary figures in the Texas liberal pantheon. And lived to tell the tale.
Kinky Friedman
March 1, 2009
Rhinestone Cowboy
Or how I came to be known as “the man who put the glitter on Loretta Lynn’s titter.”