The National Podcast of Texas
May 6, 2020
Mattress Mack Believes Houston Can Pull Together and Persevere. Again.
The high-profile philanthropist and furniture retailer says the time is right for Texas to carefully reopen for business.
Coronavirus
Food & Drink
May 5, 2020
Priya Krishna’s Quarantine Journal, Entry No. 7: The Beauty of Dining Alone
For the first time in weeks, this extreme extrovert gets time to herself, complete with a comforting bowl of noodles.
Politics & Policy
May 5, 2020
Will Texans Be Able to Vote by Mail?
The question is making its way through the courts, after Attorney General Ken Paxton appealed a state judge’s ruling.
Critters
May 5, 2020
As the Pandemic Inflames Old Fears, Texas’s ‘Bat Man’ Urges: Don’t Blame Bats
Merlin Tuttle has spent his career dispelling myths about bats. Now he’s defending them once again.
Food & Drink
May 4, 2020
These Three Mexican Restaurants Offer Cook-at-Home Meal Kits
Comedor, Suerte, and Cuchara take takeout to the next level by giving diners an engaging experience.
News & Politics
May 4, 2020
Prisons Are Coronavirus Hot Spots. Palestine’s Got Five of Them.
A COVID-19 outbreak in a maximum-security unit has created rifts between the local government and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
News & Politics
May 1, 2020
Being Eaten by Alex Jones Sounds Like the Absolute Worst Way to Die
The latest rant from the ‘Infowars’ host triggers a fear we didn’t know we had.
Food
May 1, 2020
Texas Monthly Recommends: Changing Up the Classic King Ranch Casserole
Plus, ‘My Darling Vivian,’ a party game for social distancing, and puzzles from the San Antonio Museum of Art.
Food & Drink
May 1, 2020
Priya Krishna’s Quarantine Journal, Entry No. 6: Morning Is No Time for Fancy Foods
Even food writers can feel anxious when looking at dishes on Instagram, especially when it comes to breakfast. Pass the toast.
Books
May 1, 2020
Lawrence Wright on the Politics of the Pandemic
The Austin author says he wrote his new pandemic thriller as a "cry of warning," but he never expected it to be released during an eerily similar crisis.
Arts & Entertainment
May 1, 2020
After Their Semester Was Cut Short, a University of Texas Class Worked to Stage a Shakespeare Production Over Zoom
Students in the beloved Shakespeare at Winedale course got creative with online theater, overcoming grainy visuals and bad Wi-Fi.
The National Podcast of Texas
May 1, 2020
Yoga With Adriene in the Time of Quarantine
On a special edition of the National Podcast of Texas, the YouTube star on how a renewed concern for wellness—our own and one another’s—might wind up as one of the pandemic’s silver linings.
Politics & Policy
April 30, 2020
Hours Before Businesses Can Reopen, Texas Reports Highest Daily COVID-19 Death Increase
Research suggests Governor Abbott’s statewide stay-at-home order was slowing down the coronavirus’s spread. What will happen now that he’s lifted it?
Boomtown
April 30, 2020
Boomtown Follow-up: The One-Two Punch
Christian Wallace talks to some familiar faces from the Boomtown series in an attempt to understand what happened on April 20, 2020—when oil prices went negative for the first time in history.
Health
April 29, 2020
Dr. Mark McClellan on COVID-19 and Reopening the Texas Economy
One of Governor Greg Abbott's top aides says more testing and contact tracing should have been in place before restrictions were lifted.
Art
April 29, 2020
Laura Gao’s ‘The Wuhan I Know’ Comic Dispels Misconceptions About Her Hometown
Troubled by the backlash against the Chinese city since the coronavirus pandemic, the Texan illustrator decided to showcase Wuhan's history, culture, and food.
Health
April 28, 2020
She Placed Her Elderly Mother in a Nursing Home. Days Later, COVID-19 Arrived.
Karan Janes was trying to keep her mom safe when she placed her inside a Brenham elder care facility, but then it was struck by a major coronavirus outbreak.
Health
April 28, 2020
A Rural Nurse Has Just About Had It
Suzanne Ohlmann is a heart failure nurse based in San Antonio, serving rural Texas. On Facebook, she’s waging a war against misinformation.
Film & TV
April 28, 2020
Why Aren’t Most Movie Theaters in Texas Reopening?
Because there’s nothing to watch.
Health
April 28, 2020
What It’s Like Getting Paid to Risk Catching the Coronavirus
A professional shopper, who delivers groceries for those who can afford to stay at home, shares her story.
Politics & Policy
April 28, 2020
“Doctors and Data” Suggest Greg Abbott May Be Reopening Texas Too Early
The plan deviates considerably from what many public health officials say is needed for Texans to reopen businesses.
Tacos
April 27, 2020
How Twitter Helped a Dallas Restaurant Survive the Pandemic
Scrambling to become a takeout-only business, Los Molcajetes got a much-needed bump from a viral tweet.
Music
April 27, 2020
He’s the One Who Likes All Their Pretty Songs: Post Malone Performed a Nirvana Cover Set
Sure, why not?
Best Thing in Texas
April 27, 2020
The Best Thing in Texas: Willie Nelson Is Autographing the Face Masks People Send Him to Raise Money for More Face Masks
The redheaded stranger is socially distancing—thank you for your concern.
Health
April 24, 2020
The Majority Agrees: Lifting Stay-Home Orders Won’t Bring Normalcy (But It Will Get People Killed)
Despite the loud protests, very few Americans are ready to go back to work.
Health
April 24, 2020
How FDA Chief Stephen Hahn Found Himself Between a Rock and a Hard Place
President Trump elevated him from MD Anderson Cancer Center to the FDA just in time for the untested federal official to face a global pandemic.
BBQ
April 24, 2020
Dallas Restaurants Band Together to Feed First Responders—and Pay Food Workers
Started by the pitmasters at Pecan Lodge, the Dinner Bell Foundation will deliver 2,300 meals on Friday alone.
Politics & Policy
April 23, 2020
Bull Session—Dan Patrick Repeats: Let’s Get Busy Living (And Get Busy Dying)
Plus, Ted Cruz says skateboarding is not a crime, and Dan Crenshaw becomes the cool face of the GOP’s coronavirus response.
Health
April 23, 2020
What You Should Know About the Coronavirus in Texas
Check back each day for updated figures about the number of COVID-19 cases in our state.
Health
April 23, 2020
“We Touch Everything That You Touch”
I’ve been employed with Austin Resource Recovery for sixteen years. I’ve always wanted to work for the city. It’s good benefits: it’s a job that a lot of people want. It’s steady, and you know it’s something that you can depend on and your family can depend on.
Being Texan
April 23, 2020
“It Seems Almost Impossible to Have the Same Spiritual Connection”: Texas Muslims Prepare for a Remote Ramadan
Mosques are exempt from Governor Greg Abbott's "stay at home" order, but many have opted to stay closed for the Muslim holy month.
Energy
April 23, 2020
Tim Dunn Is Against the Nanny State—Except When It Might Help His Oil Business
The ultra-conservative financier wants the government out of the pandemic business, but is open to a bailout of the oil industry.
Health
April 22, 2020
For Those Who Have Recovered From COVID-19, Immunity Is Not Guaranteed
Reintegration into day-to-day life has proved tougher than expected for the 7,000-plus Texans who have beaten the coronavirus.
Politics & Policy
April 22, 2020
The Construction Industry’s Latest Challenge: Taking the Coronavirus Threat Seriously
After Greg Abbott's executive order deemed the industry essential, workers have been struggling to abide by health protocols.
Style & Design
April 21, 2020
With Salons Closed, an 89-Year-Old Houston Woman Washes Her Own Hair for the First Time in Decades
Unable to make her weekly appointment because of social distancing, Carlene takes her hair into her own hands.
Art
April 20, 2020
A San Antonio Artist Is Attempting to Lift People’s Spirits With “Pandemic Lotería”
Rafael Gonzales Jr. has developed a version of the classic game for the age of the coronavirus.
Health
April 17, 2020
In Restarting the Texas Economy While Promising to Keep COVID-19 at Bay, Greg Abbott Faces a Precarious Balancing Act
The governor tries to address coronavirus concerns in the face of lobbying from his most conservative supporters.
Health
April 17, 2020
The “Father of Environmental Justice” on Why He Isn’t Surprised by COVID-19 Health Disparities
An interview with Robert Bullard on how the novel coronavirus exacerbates existing environmental health issues.
Tacos
April 16, 2020
How One Mexican Restaurant Is Feeding Workers at Two Dallas Hospitals
José executive chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman and staff are making “five hundred sack lunches” a day to thank frontline health-care workers.
Being Texan
April 16, 2020
An Eighth Grader Battles Existential Gloom, Watches Netflix
The kids are alright, but they’re getting a little bored.
Politics & Policy
April 16, 2020
Bull Session: Louie Gohmert Has a Cure for the Coronavirus—Imagination!
Plus, the Texas Freedom Caucus projects its own dangerous fantasies, and even more stir-crazy pols.
Being Texan
April 16, 2020
Potty Training Our Daughter During Quarantine Has Been a Welcome Distraction
Teaching our three-year-old to use the bathroom has added structure to hours that feel like days, and days that stretch on like weeks.
Health
April 15, 2020
Inside the Frantic—and Frustrating—Race to Develop a COVID-19 Vaccine in Texas
Two Texas researchers believe they may already have one locked inside a Houston freezer.
News & Politics
April 15, 2020
Haunting Scenes of a Pandemic-Induced Standstill
Images from across the state capture our eerily historic moment.
News
April 15, 2020
Texas Officials Were Warned Six Years Ago to Prepare for a Pandemic. They Didn’t.
And they've been dangerously slow to respond to the coronavirus.
News & Politics
April 15, 2020
The Railroad Commission’s Free-Market Values Put to Test at Oil Production Hearing
The energy industry regulator heard arguments on implementing proration in Texas for the first time in half a century. And the meeting got heated.
Being Texan
April 14, 2020
“We’re Prepared for Just About Anything That Comes”
On a remote property near Terlingua, a prepper community is thriving.
Politics & Policy
April 13, 2020
A User’s Guide to How Texas’s Top Elected Officials Are Handling the Coronavirus
In the best of times, our politicians can be a frustrating bunch. How are they doing in an unprecedented crisis?
Politics & Policy
April 13, 2020
The State’s Ban Isn’t Stopping Texans From Getting Abortions
Governor Greg Abbott's order, closing abortion clinics through April 21, has sent many out of state to seek the procedure—in the middle of the pandemic.
Film & TV
April 13, 2020
Matthew McConaughey Is the Best Celebrity for These Times
The actor's sincerity and tendency to ramble on about “livin’” brings joy during a trying moment.