Being Texan
November 3, 2023
Texans Should Embrace the Time Change. It’s One of Few Seasonal Markers We Have.
In lieu of fall foliage and chilly weather, at least we get to turn back the clocks.
LBJ
Latest
1-50 of 86 Articles
Art
June 8, 2022
LBJ’s Presidential Doodles Are Just Bonkers
A smoking octopus and pointy-eared aliens: Johnson's sketches on political letterhead are wonderfully weird.
Books
May 22, 2021
As the LBJ Library Turns 50, the Man Who Planned Its Dedication Recalls a Few Surprises
Lyndon B. Johnson rehearsed his speech in the bathroom, the new fountain doused the guests, and the booze flowed freely.
Books
March 22, 2021
Even at a Funeral, LBJ and Lady Bird Couldn’t Make Their Peace With the Kennedys
This exclusive excerpt from a new biography of the late first lady chronicles an emotionally fraught experience in the wake of Robert F. Kennedy’s assassination.
The Texanist
December 14, 2019
The Texanist: Should I Stop Wearing My Stetson Now That They’ve Become So Popular?
A Dallas man worries that hipsters have commandeered his favorite style of hat.
Books
October 16, 2019
When Texas Democrats Roamed the Earth
Two new books remind us that the Lone Star State once had a nationally powerful tradition of liberalism.
Texas History
March 8, 2018
Meet the 26-Year-Old LBJ Enthusiast Who Had Her Bachelorette Party at His Presidential Library
The New York resident flew to Austin to celebrate LBJ-style.
Texas History
October 27, 2017
Here’s What We Found Out From the JFK File Dump
Most of it was pretty lackluster, but there were a few interesting tidbits.
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?
Film & TV
October 24, 2016
Lyndon Johnson on Film: A Historical Survey
How Woody Harrelson's LBJ stacks up against the many other portrayals of the famous Texan.
Texas History
May 20, 2016
The Lyndon Johnson Show
All the Way playwright Robert Schenkkan on Donald Trump, George Wallace, and why Bryan Cranston makes a great LBJ.
Arts & Entertainment
August 13, 2015
All the Way With LBJ
As five new books make clear, our thirty-sixth president refuses to be consigned to the dustbin of history.
News & Politics
July 23, 2015
Rites of Passage
LBJ, voting rights, and a complex legacy.
Politics & Policy
July 23, 2015
Return to Cotulla
My family and their hometown helped change LBJ’s views on equal rights. Did his later policies change the reality for those in South Texas?
Politics & Policy
July 22, 2015
Our Dignity, Our Destiny
The legacy of the Voting Rights Act.
The Daily Post
January 8, 2015
Does “Selma” Get LBJ Wrong?
The Golden Globe-nominated film about the Civil Rights Movement is the subject of some unexpected controversy regarding its depiction of the relationship between Martin Luther King and President Lyndon Johnson.
Politics & Policy
May 19, 2014
Can’t We Ever Get Over the Texas Stereotype?
Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of LBJ was just another sad caricature of what the world thinks a Texan ought to act like.
Politics & Policy
April 11, 2014
Obama’s Approach to Civil Rights
At his keynote speech at the Civil Rights Summit, the President honored LBJ's legacy on civil rights--but implied that he would try to advance it by other means.
Politics & Policy
March 28, 2014
“I Shall not Seek, and I Will not Accept”
A key member of LBJ's administration tells the inside story behind Johnson's decision not to run in 1968.
Music
March 20, 2014
Phantom of the Opry House
Sixteen photographs of some of the cooler moments of Austin history, as taken by Scott Newton, the longtime official photographer of “Austin City Limits.”
Politics & Policy
February 21, 2014
The Making of Barbara Jordan
A look back at the career of one of Texas's most remarkable politicians.
Politics & Policy
February 17, 2014
All the Way With LBJ
A civil rights summit in Austin celebrates the true legacy of the Johnson administration.
News & Politics
August 8, 2013
Walter White Meets LBJ
"Breaking Bad" star Bryan Cranston will take on the role of Lyndon Johnson in a play next month titled "All the Way."
News & Politics
May 6, 2013
Discovering LBJ’s Austin
The city held a special place in Lyndon Baines Johnson’s heart, and a number of the places significant in his life there are still around.
Texas History
March 11, 2013
Sarah Haldeman, Presidential Archivist
“I get to see things other people don’t get to see.”
News & Politics
February 20, 2013
Texas Is Pro-Work, Right?
Why Texas should think about raising the minimum wage—and why doing so might not be such a good idea in other states.
Arts & Entertainment
February 17, 2013
Matthew McConaughey Has a Presidents’ Day Gift For You
The Texas actor pays tribute to a fellow Hill Country native.
Politics & Policy
February 14, 2013
Dear Lady Bird
Lyndon Johnson's dogged pursuit of Lady Bird further revealed in a cache of never-before-seen love letters.
Film & TV
January 21, 2013
Barbara Walters: LBJ Would Have Loved ‘Pubic Affairs’ Typo
The unfortunate typo on the commencement programs for the LBJ School of Public Affairs was discussed on The View Tuesday.
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
Not Many Texans Think Perry Should Run for Governor in 2014
Only 29 percent of Texans would support Perry for a fourth full term.
Politics & Policy
January 21, 2013
A Tale of Two Robert Caro Profiles
Both Esquire and the New York Times published lengthy profiles of LBJ biographer Robert Caro, who has just finished his fourth LBJ tome, The Passage to Power. But who had the better piece?
Books
January 21, 2013
The Writes of Spring
Robert Caro on LBJ. Marcus Luttrell on war. Douglas Brinkley on Walter Cronkite. James Donovan on the Alamo. Steve Coll on ExxonMobil. Ben Fountain on a surreal Dallas Cowboys halftime show. Dan Rather and Sissy Spacek on themselves. For some reason, May has turned out to be a month like
News & Politics
January 21, 2013
Debating Robert Caro
The fourth volume of an epic LBJ biography stirs more controversy.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
Go Ask Alice
Fifty years ago LBJ won—some say stole—a U.S. Senate runoff. What happened to the South Texas ballot box that saved his career?
Texas Primer
January 20, 2013
Leon Jaworski
At what age was Leon Jaworski the youngest lawyer in the history of Texas?
Books
January 20, 2013
Lady Bird
In this excerpt from Means of Ascent, the shy, withdrawn young wife of Lyndon Johnson reveals a presence and command that took everyone by surprise—including her husband.
Texas History
January 20, 2013
Lyndon Johnson on the Record
Working on his memoir one day in 1969, LBJ spoke more frankly into a tape recorder about the Kennedys, Vietnam, and other subjects than he ever had before. The transcript of that tape has never been published—until now. Michael Beschloss explains its historical significance.
News & Politics
January 20, 2013
The Man Who Saved LBJ
Who deserves credit for Lyndon Johnson's newly burnished reputation? Harry Middleton, the director of the LBJ presidential library, who made hours and hours of White House audiotapes public—and in doing so, remade history.
Texas History
January 20, 2013
Styles and Styles of Texas
The thirty Texans with the most iconic, unforgettable, eye-popping looks, from Davy Crockett to Beyoncé.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Rehabilitation of Charlie Wilson
It happened in twelve steps, which is not surprising, given the legendary Lufkin lawmaker’s history with booze, broads, and bad behavior. For now, at least, it's taking.
Feature
January 20, 2013
L. on Wheels
Eight days in a rental car with Larry L. King, the crotchety West Texan who has written some of the greatest magazine stories of all time, would be enough to drive anyone crazy. Except his biggest fan.
The Culture
December 1, 2012
5 Things You’ll Be Talking About in December
1. When Tea Parties Attack! Article III, Section 9, of the constitution of the state of Texas tells us that when a new session of the House of Representatives is seated, its first order of business is to elect a Speaker. What the constitution doesn’t tell us is that the Speaker’s election
Politics & Policy
March 1, 2012
Power Trio
In this excerpt from Indomitable Will: LBJ in the Presidency, letters, interviews, and historic documents offer a revealing glimpse into the stormy relationship between Lyndon Johnson and the Kennedys.
Texas History
February 1, 2012
ESPN Writer: LBJ Was Not Much of a College Football Recruiter
On National Signing Day, Ivan Maisel recalls LBJ's failed attempt to get Joe Washington to play for Darrell Royal at the University of Texas.
Politics & Policy
December 14, 2011
Holder Holds the Voting Line at LBJ Library
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder talks tough about redistricting, Voter ID, and the 1965 Voting Rights Act at the LBJ Library & Museum in Austin
Arts & Entertainment
August 31, 2011
The Drop Everything List
The Go-Gos, LBJ's Birthday, Houston Theater District Open House, and the Hot Sauce Festival. . .
Books
April 30, 2011
The Presidential Recordings: Lyndon B. Johnson
An excerpt from Volume 8.
News & Politics
July 31, 2008
Luci Baines Johnson
“‘LBJ’s war’ was not a war he had sought. It was a war he had inherited. It was a war he was trying desperately to get out of.”
In the Chute
July 31, 2008
Heart’s Home
LBJ at 100, Beachcomber’s Museum, The Black List Project.
Texas History
August 31, 2007
A Lady First
Today, many younger Texans may be inclined to think of Lady Bird Johnson as belonging entirely to the past. But if her demeanor and style seemed faintly anachronistic, the virtues instilled by her parents back in East Texas—practicality, thriftiness, good manners, and an open mind—made her remarkably effective as a