Critters
December 20, 2023
Our Top Ten Texas Critters of the Year
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . five feral hogs?
42 Articles
Critters
December 6, 2023
Why We’re Seeing More Green Jays Across South Texas
This tropical beauty is expanding its range beyond the Lower Rio Grande Valley.
Critters
November 10, 2023
Beware the Toxic Trait of the Eastern Newt
The diminutive swamp dragon of the Piney Woods has a fascinating life cycle. Just don’t eat one.
Best Thing in Texas
November 10, 2023
A Texas Marathoner With Down Syndrome Logs Another Historic Run
A viral video of Austin’s Kayleigh Williamson completing the New York City Marathon last weekend inspired athletes from coast to coast.
Critters
October 13, 2023
The Ghost-Faced Bat Is So Ugly It’s Cute
Found along Texas’s southwestern border, the creature has a mug only a mother could love.
Travel & Outdoors
October 6, 2023
Stopping to Smell the Moonflower, One of Texas’s Most Tenacious (and Poisonous) Plants
Unfazed by extreme weather, this dangerous beauty blooms only at night.
Travel & Outdoors
September 11, 2023
The West Texas Desert’s Impossible Garden
The explosion of color found at the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute is not a mirage.
Critters
September 8, 2023
Meet Texas’s Strangest Turtle
Found in the state’s riverways, the spiny softshell looks like a cross between a brontosaurus and a pancake.
Travel & Outdoors
August 11, 2023
In This North Texas Town, It’s Always Shark Week
The small city of Sherman, which lies far from the coast, is a fossil hunter’s paradise.
Travel & Outdoors
July 31, 2023
Denison Is a Cozy, Not-(Yet)-Too-Crowded Getaway in North Texas
Wineries, stylish bed-and-breakfasts, and a beautifully restored old train depot make this North Texas town a great weekend getaway.
Style & Design
July 24, 2023
The Texas Heat Has Me Scrolling Zillow for Fantasy Homes in Cooler Climates
I swear I feel refreshed after looking at a house in Oregon or Virginia. And according to my research, other Texans do too.
Parks & Recs
June 26, 2023
Hikers Are Dying on Texas Trails in Severe Heat
Recent tragedies in Big Bend and Palo Duro Canyon are a reminder to “respect the desert,” says one ranger.
Books
June 26, 2023
Five Great Texas Parks and Books to Read in Them
Is there anything better than a good story with a view?
Critters
May 18, 2023
Meet Your New Nightmare, the Hammerhead Worm
If you try to kill it with a shovel, it’ll just split into two.
Being Texan
March 31, 2023
Texas First: Taking Bluebonnet Photos of My Kid
I didn’t think I’d get to be a mom. Now that I am, the passage of time confounds me.
Parks & Recs
March 8, 2023
Empire, Wide and Glorious
As we celebrate one hundred years of our state parks, they are more popular than ever. But our booming population is overwhelming the state’s scarce public lands. What will the next century hold for Texas’s “best idea”?
Health
March 8, 2023
The Fight for Fertility Preservation for Cancer Patients in Texas
Twelve states require that insurers pay for egg and sperm freezing before cancer treatment. Attempts to add Texas to the list have failed twice, but now lawmakers are trying again.
Critters
January 31, 2023
What the Heck Is Going On at the Dallas Zoo?
After a leopard escape, the suspicious death of a vulture, and the theft of two monkeys, Texans are anxiously awaiting an explanation.
Critters
November 11, 2022
Where to Watch Thousands of Sandhill Cranes Storm the Texas Skies
Each winter, a wildlife sanctuary near the Panhandle hosts one of the world’s largest gatherings of these beautiful birds.
News & Politics
October 27, 2022
It’s Okay to Fear the Robot Dogs Coming to UT
Scientists are unleashing the computerized canines on the Austin campus to study how humans interact with them.
Travel & Outdoors
August 29, 2022
Utopia, Texas, Is Accurately Named
This serene Hill Country town boasts a treehouse hotel and an idyllic swimming hole.
Travel & Outdoors
April 27, 2022
First Look: The $22 Million Makeover of Big Bend National Park’s Chisos Mountains Lodge
Tentative plans call for the beloved dining-hall structure to be rebuilt and modernized—with even better views.
Books
March 28, 2022
A Clever Comic Book Wants to Change the Way We Talk to Moms
Austin artist and doctor Grace Farris’s debut, ‘Mom Milestones,’ inverts the patronizing parenting-book formula.
Food & Drink
March 8, 2022
Though New to Some Tea Drinkers, Yaupon Is Steeped in History
More than a thousand years after Indigenous Texans began brewing yaupon, the tea—and its aggressive holly plant—is everywhere.
Critters
February 23, 2022
Meet the Texas Woman Who Punched a Shark in the Face
Conroe native Heather West was snorkeling near the Florida Keys when she fought off a six-foot lemon shark.
Food & Drink
February 10, 2022
11 Texas Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat
Recipes and tips for wild and unconventional foods—from chile pequin to yaupon—that you can find in your own backyard.
Critters
January 26, 2022
Why Scientists Keep Discovering Strange New Wasps on the Rice University Campus
The newest species is named after the grad student pub Valhalla, on whose grounds it was found.
Hunting & Fishing
November 24, 2021
Texas First: Killing and Cooking My Own Thanksgiving Turkey
As an impressive quantity of hot, steaming blood poured over my bare hands, I wondered how I, a vegetarian for most of my life, had ended up here.
Best Thing in Texas
June 14, 2021
Swimmers, Rejoice: Balmorhea State Park Is Reopening
A West Texas oasis, the world's largest spring-fed pool has been closed for the better part of three years.
Food & Drink
April 27, 2021
It’s Berry Season in Texas. Here’s Where to Pick Your Own.
Kid-friendly, socially distanced, and just a darn good way to spend a Saturday, the state's berry farms are open for visitors.
Best Thing in Texas
April 6, 2021
UTRGV Just Won Its Third Consecutive National Chess Championship
Bow down to the greatness of the Vaqueros, who are the best in the nation (again).
Meanwhile, in Texas
February 9, 2021
“I’m Not a Cat,” Says West Texas Attorney Who Accidentally Applied Zoom Filter
“If the country can have a chuckle at my expense today, I’ll accept it," he says.
Books
January 28, 2021
Why Is the Death Penalty on the Decline in Texas?
Maurice Chammah’s “Let the Lord Sort Them” is a searing history of the rise and fall of capital punishment.
Best Thing in Texas
January 21, 2021
The Best Thing in Texas: Bernie Sanders Travels Across the State as a Meme
He’s visited the Alamo, waited in line at Franklin Barbecue, and cheered on the Astros (virtually).
Music
December 21, 2020
A Texas Monthly Blue Christmas Playlist
Feeling less than merry this December? Here are twelve great sad holiday songs to remind you that you’re not alone.
Travel & Outdoors
November 5, 2020
Now Is the Time to Plant Wildflowers in Texas. Here’s How to Do It Right.
Eight tips from expert gardeners.
Film & TV
October 2, 2020
A Tenderhearted New Documentary Follows a 17-Year-Old’s Bid for Houston City Council
‘Ready or Not’ is an affectionate portrait of Marcel McClinton, a teen activist and mass shooting survivor who challenged incumbent councilman Michael Kubosh.
Art
July 31, 2020
This Houston Artist Paints Nostalgic Watercolors for Homesick Texans
In dreamy, finely detailed paintings, Jim Koehn revives old watering holes and mom-and-pop spots around the state.
Criminal Justice
July 7, 2020
‘Outcry’ Offers a Nuanced Look at a Wrongful Conviction in Central Texas
The five-part Showtime docu-series avoids the worst pitfalls of the true-crime genre, favoring character over sensationalism.
News & Politics
May 27, 2020
In Texas’s Food Deserts, Food Banks Struggle to Do More With Less
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to what one expert calls “a perfect storm”: more hungry people, fewer volunteers, and declining donations.
Critters
May 7, 2020
New to Backyard Chicken-Keeping? Here’s Some Eggspert Advice
As Texans flock to the hobby in record numbers, we convened a virtual staff roundtable to share tips.
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.