Music
January 20, 2013
Home Girl
Most people from Dallas who make it big in the music business get out of town as soon as they can. “That’s what celebrities do,” Erykah Badu says. “I never wanted to be a celebrity.”
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Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Man Who Isn’t There
In word and deed, the George W. Bush now residing in the White House bears little resemblance to the Texas governor I gladly sent to Washington. That's why I'm so ambivalent about reelecting him.
News & Politics
January 20, 2013
The Evolver
“All you’ve got is a famous name,” a Republican operative told George W. Bush. But six years later he was governor, and six years after that he was president. And six years after that, his place in history—not to mention the fate of the world—is a little uncertain.
Texas History
January 20, 2013
The Aggie Bonfire Tragedy
What’s so important about a stack of wood? Every Aggie knows that the answer is tradition—which is why, after a catastrophe that took the lives of twelve young men and women, the decision of whether to continue, change, or call a halt to the bonfire looms so large at Texas
True Crime
January 20, 2013
Lust in Space
The lovesick antics of diapered astronaut Lisa Nowak are some combination of funny and sad but seemingly not revealing of anything larger, until you realize that her tragic, tabloidy breakdown says everything you need to know about NASA’s many troubles.
Politics & Policy
January 20, 2013
The Desert of the Dead
While politicians and bureaucrats endlessly debate the best ways to secure our borders, undocumented immigrants are dying to get into America—literally.
Business
January 20, 2013
The Next Frontier
How has the state’s most storied ranch managed to survive and thrive in the twenty-first century? By operating in a way that its founder, Captain Richard King, would scarcely recognize.
True Crime
January 20, 2013
The Beating of Billy Ray Johnson
The short, slight, mentally disabled black man was found on the side of a road in Linden, huddled in a fetal position. He was bloody and unconscious—the victim of a violent crime. But another tragedy was how residents of the East Texas town reacted.
Style & Design
January 20, 2013
Sweet 15
For the longest time, quinceañeras were simple, down-home celebrations held in parish halls and backyards. Then along came the stretch Humvees, the carriages and thrones, the choreographed dance routines, the smoke machines, the climbing walls, and the dinners for four hundred bedazzled guests. One thing remains the same, though: It’s
Sports
January 20, 2013
The Real Troy Aikman
His dreams. His fears. The truth about his love life. A candid chat with Texas’ most misunderstood sports hero.
True Crime
December 1, 2012
The Innocent Man, Part Two
Michael Morton spent 25 years wrongfully imprisoned for the brutal murder of his wife. How did it happen? And who is to blame?
Texas History
December 1, 2012
11/22/2013
In one year the eyes of the world will turn to Dallas's Dealey Plaza for the fiftieth anniversary of John F. Kennedy's assassination. Is the city ready?
Feature
December 1, 2012
The Unsinkable Lisa Blue
Her husband, Fred Baron, helped bankroll John Edwards's presidential campaign, only to die of cancer amid the most sordid political scandal in recent history. But before long, Dallas's newest rainmaker had emerged from the wreckage—with every hair in place.
Sports
November 6, 2012
Texan Tweens Turning Heads In Adult Endurance Athletics
Meet the two preteen sisters from Alvin who compete against, and beat, adult runners.
Texas History
October 31, 2012
My Name Is Cásares
And the story of how I started spelling it that way (with the accent) begins with a kidnapping.
Politics & Policy
October 15, 2012
Jeb Bush Says Texas Could Turn “Blue” In Just Four Years
Joe Hagan profiles the Bush dynasty for New York magazine.
Sports
September 30, 2012
Turnover!
Two decades ago, a barbarian from Arkansas named Jerry Jones bought the Dallas Cowboys and rebooted the franchise from the ground up. Inside the wild first days of the most hostile takeover the NFL has ever known.
Art
September 30, 2012
Portrait of the Artist as a Postman
The only American ever to design scarves for the exclusive French fashion house Hermès is Kermit Oliver, a 69-year-old postal worker from Waco who lives in a strange and beautiful world all his own.
News & Politics
September 30, 2012
Storming the Ivory Tower
For the past four years, a group of passionate reformers has been steadily trying to remake how higher education works in Texas—over the screams and howls of many professors and school presidents. Last year the battle came to UT. And the bombs are still flying.
The Culture
August 31, 2012
And Away They Go
Sending a Texan off into the world—and hoping he’ll return.
Texas History
August 15, 2012
The Children of Texas
I was never certain how to explain the importance of the state to my three daughters. Now that I have two grandsons—named Mason and Travis, no less—I’ve realized something that I should have known all along.
Sports
July 31, 2012
The Negotiation
Every year, hundreds of Texas high schoolers are aggressively recruited by the nation’s top college football programs. It’s a dream come true, but some kids must go through the bewildering process alone. And according to the rules of the NCAA, there aren’t many places they can turn to for help.
Politics & Policy
July 31, 2012
Mothers, Sisters, Daughters, Wives
In 2011 the Legislature slashed family planning funds, passed a new sonogram law, and waged an all-out war on Planned Parenthood that has dramatically shifted the state’s public health priorities. In the eighteen months since then, the conflict has continued to simmer in the courts, on the campaign trail, and
Critters
June 18, 2012
A Blind Man’s View of the Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup
Canadian journalist and author Ryan Knighton—who is blind—communes with reptiles he can't see for VICE magazine.
March 19, 2012
Sex, Love, and Lawrence v. Texas
A new book, Flagrant Conduct: The Story of Lawrence v. Texas, explores the history of the men behind the landmark Supreme Court case and questions the conventional wisdom of the story.
Art
March 1, 2012
The Tree of Strife
For a quarter of a century, the Art Guys, Michael Galbreth and Jack Massing, have been Houston’s master provocateurs, stirring up discussion with their wacky, thoughtful, and tenaciously marketed “social sculptures.” But have they finally gone too far?
Food & Drink
March 1, 2012
Where Is My Home?
A culinary obsession that began decades ago in my grandmother’s kitchen sent me on a quest through Central Texas (and way beyond) for kolaches—not the best ones but the ones that would lead me to myself.
February 7, 2012
Meet the Man Who Received the Nation’s First Full Face Transplant
Dallas Wiens, a Fort Worth man who lost his face after brushing against a power line, was profiled by the New Yorker's Raffi Khatchadourian.
True Crime
February 1, 2012
Sex, Lies, and Hit Men!
Yvonne Stern knows that her husband, the wealthy Houston attorney Jeffrey Stern, had a steamy affair with a woman named Michelle Gaiser. And she knows full well that two years ago Gaiser hired a series of men to kill her. But she refuses to believe that Jeffrey was in on
Politics & Policy
February 1, 2012
Is There Life After Rick Perry?
When Rick Perry, the longest-serving governor in Texas history loses his first campaign ever, what happens to him? More importantly, what happens to us?
True Crime
January 1, 2012
Hannah and Andrew
On October 3, 2006, a four-year-old boy named Andrew Burd died in a Corpus Christi hospital. The cause of death was determined to be salt poisoning, an extremely unusual occurrence. Even more shocking was what happened next: his foster mother, Hannah Overton, was found guilty of killing him. But could
December 28, 2011
Year-End Favorites: The Basketball Scandal That Rocked Odessa
Texas Monthly senior editor Michael Hall on why GQ's story about Jerry Joseph, the too-good-to-be-true athlete in Odessa, was one of his favorites of the year.
Style & Design
December 21, 2011
“Garden and Gun” Builds a Profile Around Architects Lake/Flato
Writer Guy Martin talks to Ted Flato, one half of the visionary architect duo from San Antonio, about the merciless sun, the Texas breeze, and Tommy Lee Jones.
December 15, 2011
Border Fence Threatens America’s Remaining Ocelots
Biologists are worried that the U.S.-Mexico border fence adversely impacts endangered species and other animals.
The Culture
December 15, 2011
Abilene Strippers Suing Over Backpay
Four strippers from Abilene are suing their employer in hopes of recouping overtime and unpaid wages they would have been entitled to if they were considered employees instead of contractors.
December 12, 2011
Suspected Jewel Thief Dishes with Reporter
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram lands an interview with John O’Brien, the main suspect in the “rooftop burglaries.”
Feature
December 1, 2011
Up in the Air
No state has defied the federal government’s environmental regulations more fiercely than Texas, and no governor has been more outspoken about the “job-killing” policies of the EPA than Rick Perry. But does that mean we can all breathe easy?
November 29, 2011
Rick Perry Wages a “Spiritual” War on Abortion
A 5,000-word piece in Religious Dispatches details the “spiritual” war on abortion in Texas under Rick Perry’s watch.
News & Politics
November 28, 2011
Karl Rove Has Reinvented Himself as a Powerful Fundraiser
Since leaving the Bush White House, Karl Rove has become “the dominant private citizen in the Republican Party,“ according to a new profile in the New Republic.
True Crime
November 1, 2011
Who Killed Mary Eula Sears?
In 1982 a man named Wayne East was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of one of Abilene’s most prominent citizens. To this day, he maintains his innocence. And one member of the victim’s family believes him.
Feature
October 31, 2011
Give Me Shelter
Dallas’s ritzy Park Cities is the sort of place where Jerry Jones Jr. can buy a four-story castle with twelve bathrooms and a nine-car underground garage for a reported $8.7 million and some people regard it as a steal. Welcome to the fabulous world of Erin Mathews, the very discreet
Sports
October 31, 2011
Farmers Flight!
Texas A&M’s announcement that it was bolting the Big 12 for the SEC signaled the end of a passionate rivalry with the University of Texas that has defined the two schools for more than a century. But what does the end of Aggies versus Longhorns mean for the rest of
Feature
September 30, 2011
Non-Prophet
When Warren Jeffs fired his attorneys and decided to represent himself in his sexual assault trial, many predicted, accurately, that he would fail miserably. Few realized just what a wild show he would put on.
9/11
August 31, 2011
Karen Wagner’s Life
She lived outside the spotlight, quietly serving her country as most members of the military do, until one terrible day.
Critters
August 1, 2011
Whole Hog
Texas has a serious problem with feral hogs, which cause more than $400 million in damage every year. But it can be solved—one delicious bite at a time.
Texas History
August 1, 2011
The Skirmish Will Be Followed by a Ladies’ Tea
The Civil War may be 150 years old, but that doesn’t mean it can’t still stir up a fuss (Confederate license plate, anyone?). Just ask one of the hundreds of very accurately uniformed reenactors who descend on Jefferson every year to die for the cause.
Energy
July 31, 2011
A Mighty Wind
The unlikely story of how a handful of dreamers, schemers, and (all too often) failures made oil-and-gas-rich Texas the leading wind power state in the country.
The Culture
July 31, 2011
Cowgirl Up
The word probably makes you think of rhinestone-studded jeans, floppy-brimmed hats, and Nashville queens, but “cowgirl” ought to stand for the tough pioneer women who built ranches and went on cattle drives and the hardy rural women who are out there today doing their fair share of the work, usually invisibly,
Food & Drink
June 30, 2011
Do I Dare to Eat a Peach?
As a kid I was the pickiest eater you have ever seen, and family meals gave new meaning to the words “food fight.” But I gritted my teeth and overcame it.
Feature
May 31, 2011
Mind Games
Baylor College of Medicine neuroscientist David Eagleman is out to change the way we think about guilt and innocence (and time and novels and, well, neuroscientists). Can he pull it off?