Best Thing in Texas
December 11, 2019
The Best Things in Texas: The Year of Lizzo
The flute-playing, body-positive, take-no-prisoners breakout star transformed our ideas of what a pop icon looks and sounds like.
Features
Style & Design
November 20, 2019
The Power of Boots
The cowboy boot is more than a sturdy piece of workwear. It’s more than a fashion statement, too. It’s a vital piece of Texas culture, as complicated, diverse, and ever-evolving as the makeup of our state.
Style & Design
November 20, 2019
Behold the Art of the Cowboy Boot: Bolder and Better Crafted Than Ever
Across the state, custom bootmaking legends and their successors are building on a handcrafted tradition with a dizzying array of styles.
News & Politics
November 20, 2019
Can Bee Stings Treat Lyme Disease?
Treatments for chronic Lyme disease are controversial and expensive. As a last resort, some patients are pursuing this unproven and painful alternative.
Style & Design
November 20, 2019
Texas Is the State of the Cowboy Boot. But the History Is More Complicated Than You Think.
What we know today as the cowboy boot is a distinctive offshoot of styles favored by Genghis Khan, the Duke of Wellington, and myriad other horsemen throughout history.
Style & Design
November 20, 2019
Texans and Their Boots: Reflections From a Few of Our Favorite People
The stories, the traditions, and the deeper meanings of the boots in their lives.
Style & Design
November 20, 2019
An Inside Look at the Making of a Great Cowboy Boot
The master bootmakers at Little’s, in San Antonio, demonstrate what goes into a fine boot.
Health
November 6, 2019
How Unproven Stem Cell Therapies Are Costing Desperate Patients
Many researchers believe in the potential of stem cells to treat a host of diseases. But for some patients, lack of oversight of the multibillion-dollar industry has had disastrous consequences.
Libations
October 16, 2019
A Whiskey Expert’s Five Texas Picks
Radio host Kristopher Hart’s dream flight shows the range of what’s possible from Texas whiskey distilleries.
Arts & Entertainment
October 14, 2019
When ‘Angels in America’ Came to East Texas
Twenty years ago my hometown made national headlines when the local college staged an internationally acclaimed play about gay men and the AIDS crisis. The people I grew up with are still feeling the aftershocks.
Sports
October 8, 2019
More Than a Game
One month after a man from Plano drove to El Paso and murdered 22 people, a high school football game between the two communities became a chance to heal.
Health
October 2, 2019
Saving Lives in Tomorrow’s War, Today
In the next big military conflict, experts expect heavy casualties on battlefields from which quick medical evacuation may be impossible. Whether wounded Americans live or die will depend on work happening now in Texas.
Texas History
September 18, 2019
‘Big Wonderful Thing’ Author Stephen Harrigan Explains Why Davy Crockett Was the Taylor Swift of His Day (Sort Of)
The Austin author on his fascination with H.L. Hunt, his inability to hate Santa Anna, and how he met the challenges of writing a history of Texas for the twenty-first century.
Texas History
September 18, 2019
‘Big Wonderful Thing’ Excerpt: “Sediciosos”
In the early twentieth century, long-simmering tensions in South Texas erupted into a grim and brutal race war.
Texas History
September 18, 2019
‘Big Wonderful Thing’ Excerpt: “Savage Ware Fare”
After breaking away from Mexico, the combative Republic of Texas took its fight against Native Americans to the heart of Comanchería, led by a group of militiamen who called themselves Rangers.
Texas History
September 18, 2019
‘Big Wonderful Thing’ Excerpt: “Reason Had Left Its Throne”
As the Civil War violently divided the nation, Texan turned against Texan.
Texas History
September 18, 2019
Américo Paredes vs. J. Frank Dobie
For years, the great folklorist convinced many scholars and activists that the vaunted “Texas Man of Letters” was an anti-Mexican racist. Maybe it’s time to reconsider that judgment—as Paredes himself eventually did.
Texas History
September 18, 2019
The Battle to Rewrite Texas History
While a new generation of scholars is rewriting our history, supporters of the traditional narratives are fighting to keep their grip on the public imagination.
True Crime
September 18, 2019
The Hunt for the Serial Killer of Laredo
Last September, law enforcement officers were confounded by a murderer targeting prostitutes along the border. As the investigation intensified, they discovered that the killer had been hiding in plain sight.
Politics & Policy
September 11, 2019
From Obscure Web Developer to Trump Campaign Manager: The Inside Story of Brad Parscale’s Unlikely Rise
In just a few years, the reputed genius behind Trump’s election has completely reinvented himself. But is his story too good to be true?
Politics & Policy
September 9, 2019
Could a Loud, Rich, and Scandal-Prone Personal Injury Lawyer Win Control of Houston?
Tony Buzbee knows how to win big in court. In the era of Trump, he might just win the Houston mayoral race.
August 22, 2019
How Oil-Loving, Frack-Happy Texas Could Lead the Low-Carbon Future
(And get rich doing it.)
Music
August 21, 2019
Texas’s Greatest Honky-Tonk Hits
From Ernest Tubb to Bob Wills to Willie, Texas has produced a jukebox worth of classics. Here are the best.
Being Texan
August 20, 2019
The Best Honky-Tonks in Texas
We traveled 3,000 miles to find the state’s best little country joints. Welcome to neon nirvana.
News & Politics
August 19, 2019
How the Unchecked Power of Judges Is Hurting Poor Texans
Can’t afford a lawyer? Don’t expect justice.
True Crime
July 23, 2019
Crowdsourcing Justice
How does a man wrongly convicted of murder get released twenty years later? It helps to have a wife who loves you, a podcaster who believes in you, and an army of amateur sleuths who won’t stop digging for the truth.
Politics & Policy
July 23, 2019
Trump’s Apostle
No matter how incendiary his latest tweet or policy might seem, Donald Trump can count on evangelical preacher and Fox News fixture Robert Jeffress to defend him. What’s behind the Dallas pastor’s unconditional embrace?
Border & Immigration
July 23, 2019
The Other Side of the Border
Frustrated by the perception of the border as a lawless land, two native sons embarked on a 1,200-mile journey to capture, through a series of images and letters, the region’s untold stories.
Texas History
June 25, 2019
Was Apollo 11 a Beginning or an End?
Fifty years after man walked on the Moon, mankind is still stranded on Earth. That’s not the way it was supposed to be.
News & Politics
June 25, 2019
She Couldn’t Go to Space Because She Was a Woman. But She Hasn’t Given Up on Her Dream.
Nearly sixty years ago, Funk and twelve other women proved that they could be astronauts too. But they never got to walk on the moon.
Energy
May 29, 2019
The Permian Basin Is Booming With Oil. But at What Cost to West Texans?
Though some will reap serious profits, the region’s dealing with skyrocketing rents, overcrowded schools, and potholes as big as VW Beetles.
True Crime
May 29, 2019
Her Daughter Was Disappeared in Mexico. Despite Cartel Death Threats, She’s Determined to Find Her.
After Josefina De León’s daughter went missing in the Mexican State of Tamaulipas in 2012, she was determined to find her. Seven years later, she hasn’t given up.
Where to Stay Now
May 22, 2019
Where to Stay Next: Five Upcoming Hotels
These are some of the places we’re looking forward to checking out over the next year.
Where to Stay Now
May 22, 2019
Where to Stay Now: The Honorable Mentions
Things we loved at other Texas hotels, from the food to the hospitality.
Where to Stay Now
May 22, 2019
Where to Stay Now: Three Great Dallas Hotel Renovations
The Statler isn’t the only historic Big-D property to get an overhaul.
Where to Stay Now
May 22, 2019
The 10 Best New and Improved Texas Hotels
Where to Stay Now, 2019: Whether it’s a restored Dallas gem, a coastal B&B, or a pueblo paradise in the Trans-Pecos, it’s choose your own adventure, Texas-style.
True Crime
May 13, 2019
Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild
He called himself the Tiger King and plastered his face on highway billboards in Texas and Oklahoma. He bred big cats, bears, baboons, and more. He lived, with a parade of partners, on the grounds of his private zoo. He threatened a rival with murder—repeatedly, on YouTube—and tried to hire
Books
April 24, 2019
Exclusive Excerpt: Oscar Cásares’s Border Novel ‘Where We Come From’
In Texas Monthly writer-at-large Oscar Cásares’s forthcoming novel, a retired high school teacher in Brownsville is reluctantly pulled into the world of human trafficking.
Politics & Policy
April 24, 2019
Everything Julián Castro Knows He Learned From His Mother
Rosie Castro is known in San Antonio as a firebrand political activist. Her son is a cautious career politician running for president. But don’t let appearances deceive you—they’re fighting the same fight.
Being Texan
April 24, 2019
Faith, Friendship, and Tragedy at Santa Fe High
Sabika Sheikh, a Muslim exchange student from Pakistan with dreams of changing the world, struck up an unlikely friendship with an evangelical Christian girl. The two became inseparable—until the day a fellow student opened fire.
BBQ
April 22, 2019
The Top 25 New Barbecue Joints in Texas!
Our 2019 midterm report of the best new places has a global feel. But don’t worry—we haven’t forgotten about the brisket.
Critters
March 22, 2019
Life, in Dog Years
My father always pampered his pets. So when he fell ill and moved in with us, it was no surprise that his corgi came to rule our home. What I didn’t expect was for Trilby to care for me after Dad was gone.
News & Politics
March 22, 2019
Could a Tug-of-War Between Two Central Texas Counties Leave Residents Without Drinking Water?
In the tug-of-war over groundwater between two Central Texas counties, he who pumps the most, wins. At least until everyone loses.
Hunting & Fishing
March 22, 2019
Dreams of Landing the Big One at Lake Fork
The fish stories out of this East Texas reservoir are mostly true, which is why fishermen come with their gear and beer in search of some of the state's biggest monster bass.
Hunting & Fishing
March 22, 2019
Five More Great Lakes for Bass Fishing
In addition to Lake Fork, here are some other places where trophy lunkers lurk.
Parks & Recs
February 20, 2019
The Temptation of the Devils River
To reap the rewards of paddling this remote, dangerous waterway, you don’t have to sell your soul. You simply need to respect its power. And be prepared.
True Crime
February 20, 2019
When Does an Accident Become a Crime?
Driving through a dangerous curve in Tyler, James Fulton crossed into oncoming traffic and killed a young woman. He wasn’t drunk, and the cops said the crash was an accident. But the Smith County DA saw it differently.
Food & Drink
February 19, 2019
The Best New Restaurants in Texas for 2019
Where to eat now: The state’s best chefs take eclectic to a whole new level.
Being Texan
January 16, 2019
Fifteen Portraits Revealing the Many Faces of Texas
Icons and archetypes that reveal what it means to be Texan.
Bum Steers
January 3, 2019
2019 Bum Steer Awards: Steve Stockman, Who Proved a Particularly Greedy and Especially Busy Criminal
The disgraced former congressman is our third runner-up for his eagerness to enrich himself—or at least pay his kennel bills—in a transparently illegal manner.