Energy
June 18, 2020
The “Mother Fracker” Reckons With the Mother of All Oil Busts
Pioneer CEO Scott Sheffield has been through more ups and downs than just about anyone in the business. This bust, he says, will change everything—forever.
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Energy
June 18, 2020
Can a Renewables Boom Put Texans Back to Work?
After the oil bust, wind and solar energy might be the Permian Basin’s best hope.
Health
May 18, 2020
How the Pandemic Turned Brené Brown Into America’s Therapist
But for heaven’s sake, the best-selling author, unapologetic cusser, and fifth-generation Texan would rather not be called that.
True Crime
May 11, 2020
Five Judges Say Rosa Jimenez Was Wrongly Convicted. So Why Is She Dying in Prison?
First came the sound of someone running hard on the breezeway outside, then a banging on the apartment door. Irene Vera opened it to see her neighbor, twenty-year-old Rosa Jimenez, holding a little boy who lay limp in her arms. “Help me! Help me!” Jimenez cried hysterically in Spanish. The
Business
April 24, 2020
Should Neiman Marcus Exist?
The inside story of the Dallas-born luxury retailer’s struggle to remain relevant—and solvent.
Hunting & Fishing
April 15, 2020
The Great Texas Fishing Safari
Texas offers some of the most-diverse fishing in the country—from stalking monster sharks on Padre Island to fly-fishing from a kayak on the remote Pecos River. And for three months, I got to try it all.
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.
Books
April 14, 2020
I Love Paulette Jiles’s Novels. So Why Won’t She Talk to Me?
My up and down encounters with the brilliant, beloved, and very grouchy western novelist.
True Crime
March 18, 2020
The Aftermath
In 1978, an eighth grader killed his teacher. After 20 months in a psychiatric facility, he was freed. His classmates still wonder: What really happened?
Tacos
March 18, 2020
The Delicate History of the Puffy Taco
Who invented San Antonio’s signature Tex-Mex dish? And why hasn’t it blown up (sorry) around the world?
Being Texan
March 18, 2020
The Lion Tamer
Remembering my grandpa, who soothed wild beasts—and played poker with the devil.
Texas History
February 19, 2020
The Legend of John Holmes Jenkins
He was a notorious deal maker known for bringing priceless pieces of Texas history back to the state. He was also a suspected forger and arsonist. Thirty years ago, he was found dead in the Colorado River near Austin, and to this day a question remains: Could John Holmes Jenkins
Food & Drink
February 17, 2020
Is Houston’s Jonny Rhodes the Most Subversive Chef in the Country?
Rhodes was an unproven 27-year-old chef when he launched Indigo, a tiny restaurant with a radical concept in a low-income Houston neighborhood. Now it's one of the hottest kitchens in the country.
Politics & Policy
January 22, 2020
Art Acevedo Can’t Say That, Can He?
Not long after criticizing Ted Cruz and John Cornyn for ignoring gun violence, the Houston police chief sat down to talk about his headline-making comments, why he’s a RINO, and the balance between criminal justice reform and public safety.
Books
January 22, 2020
Michael Lind Wants to Put America Back Together
The author and UT professor believes our country is falling apart—and he has a plan to fix it.
Being Texan
January 22, 2020
Fredericksburg Is the New Aspen
The jewel of the Hill Country, my hometown, is lovelier than ever. I just wish more of the natives could afford to stick around and enjoy it. Scenes from a town transformed.
Music
January 22, 2020
The Secret Oil Patch Roots of ‘Summer Breeze’
The incredible true story of two brothers raised on the hardscrabble country music of rural West Texas who dropped out, tuned in, found God, and helped launch the seventies soft-rock revolution.
The Culture
January 22, 2020
A Battle for the Soul of Marfa
What happens when a wealthy patron wears out his welcome?
Politics & Policy
December 30, 2019
The Best Texas Monthly Longform of 2019
Settle in for a by-no-means comprehensive list of some of the most popular stories in our pages this year.
Being Texan
December 24, 2019
Miss Girard’s Christmas Gift
When her former student was found wandering the streets a decade after she’d last seen him, Michell Girard immediately agreed to take him in. Then she decided to do far more, including give him the Christmas he’d never had.
True Crime
December 18, 2019
The Doctor, the Dentist, and the Killer
Brenda thought she and Ricky would be together forever, until he left her. Kendra thought she and Ricky would be together forever. Then Brenda took matters into her own hands. Inside the case of jealousy, spying, and murder that shook Uptown Dallas.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
Business
February 13, 2019
Buc-ee’s: The Path to World Domination
Beaver Aplin built the quirky convenience chain into a Texas empire. Will his tactics translate outside the state?
Music
January 3, 2019
Bobby Bones Is Just Getting Started
The unlikely rise (and rise, and rise) of the most powerful man in country music.
Politics & Policy
January 2, 2019
The Texanhood of George H. W. Bush
He built an oil empire, revitalized the state’s Republican party, gave rise to a political dynasty, and forever changed the Lone Star State. Yet the question dogged him his entire life: Was he a real Texan or merely a Yankee transplant?
December 15, 2018
The Best Texas Monthly Longform of 2018
Put your feet up and settle in for our favorite longform of the year.
True Crime
October 27, 2018
The Hero of the Sutherland Springs Shooting Is Still Reckoning With What Happened That Day
One year ago, after Stephen Willeford disrupted the mass murder at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, he was hailed as the ultimate good guy with a gun, but he's still reckoning with what happened that day—and what his life has become.
Politics & Policy
October 11, 2018
The Love Story That Upended the Texas Prison System
In 1967, a 56-year-old lawyer met a young inmate with a brilliant mind and horrifying stories about life inside. Their complicated alliance—and even more complicated romance—would shed light on a nationwide scandal, disrupt a system of abuse and virtual slavery across the state, and change incarceration in Texas forever.
True Crime
September 21, 2018
The Cartel Next Door
How prosecutors tied a brazen murder in an upscale Dallas suburb to one of Mexico’s most violent criminal organizations.
The Culture
September 19, 2018
‘Dallas’ at 40: The Inside Story Behind the Show That Changed Texas Forever
How the trashiest, campiest show on television revolutionized pop culture, rebooted Texas’s reputation, and helped bring down the Romanian government. (Maybe!)
Books
August 24, 2018
The Man Who Walked Backward
When the Great Depression put Plennie Wingo’s bustling Abilene cafe out of business, he tried to find fame, fortune, and a sense of meaning the only way he knew how: by embarking on an audacious trip around the world on foot. In reverse.
Politics & Policy
August 22, 2018
Troubled Waters: A Year After Harvey, Has Houston Learned Anything?
A year after Hurricane Harvey brought Houston to its knees, the city is still wrestling with how to prepare for the next great storm. There’s no shortage of good ideas, but in Houston, that’s never been the problem.