Texas Monthly

Erykah Badu’s New Album Is Worth the Long, Long, Long Wait

Dan Solomon — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 18:11:02 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Erykah Badu is one of the greatest artists Texas has produced in the past half century. Either you agree with that statement or you don’t know who Erykah Badu is; it’s true, even despite her sporadic recording output. She’s won Grammys intermittently between 1998 and just last year, but her last album was 2010’s New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh, and her most recent nonalbum release, the 2015 mixtape But You Caint Use My Phone, came out more than a decade ago. In the years since, outside of the odd single here and there (such as last year’s Grammy-winning “3:AM,” a collaboration with rapper…

The post Erykah Badu’s New Album Is Worth the Long, Long, Long Wait appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Meet the Mayor of Hair at One of the Oldest Barbershops in Texas

Lauren Larson — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. The city of Conroe is, as residents are quick to tell you, one of the fastest-growing communities in the nation. Fifteen minutes north of The Woodlands, Conroe is an eddy for those flowing into and out of Houston. But at seven o’clock on a Saturday morning, the brick street outside Shepard’s Barber Shop is empty, a bounty of available parking spots. Downtown feels as sleepy as it might have in 1912, when the first incarnation of what is thought to be the oldest continuously operating barbershop in the state opened.Inside Shepard’s a telephone rings, heralding the first customer of the day for barber and owner Leon…

The post Meet the Mayor of Hair at One of the Oldest Barbershops in Texas appeared first on Texas Monthly.

A Mysterious Kidney Disease Has Arrived in Texas

Carrie Arnold — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Some staggered through the hospital’s doors, arriving at all hours of day and night. Others were wheeled in on gurneys, their bodies having given out before they could reach the emergency department. Many had collapsed at work—while painting houses, stapling shingles, or paving roads. All had been born in Mexico or Central America, and most complained of a crushing fatigue they could no longer ignore.Routine blood analyses revealed the cause: kidney failure. They would need dialysis three times per week just to stay alive. What puzzled doctors most was that they didn’t resemble typical dialysis patients, who are older and have long histories of obesity, diabetes,…

The post A Mysterious Kidney Disease Has Arrived in Texas appeared first on Texas Monthly.

The Daily Crossword: August 31, 2026

Texas Monthly — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The post The Daily Crossword: August 31, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Word Wrangler: August 31, 2026

Texas Monthly — Mon, 31 Aug 2026 09:59:00 +0000

The post Word Wrangler: August 31, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

The Crossword: In the Air Tonight

Brandon Koppy — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

This puzzle originally appeared in the September 2026 issue of Texas Monthly with the headline “In the Air Tonight.” Subscribe today.

The post The Crossword: In the Air Tonight appeared first on Texas Monthly.

The Daily Crossword: August 30, 2026

Texas Monthly — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The post The Daily Crossword: August 30, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Word Wrangler: August 30, 2026

Texas Monthly — Sun, 30 Aug 2026 09:59:00 +0000

The post Word Wrangler: August 30, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

The Daily Crossword: August 29, 2026

Texas Monthly — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The post The Daily Crossword: August 29, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Word Wrangler: August 29, 2026

Texas Monthly — Sat, 29 Aug 2026 09:59:00 +0000

The post Word Wrangler: August 29, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Watch: What’s Actually Going On in Big Bend?

Texas Monthly — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 19:33:41 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Earlier this month, images of bulldozers tearing through the earth near the entrance to Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park drew shock and outrage across the state—and confusion. In March, Customs and Border Protection had backed off from a plan to put a steel wall through the national park, but its plans for the area had been constantly shifting and poorly communicated—mostly through changing colors on a “Smart Wall Map” on the agency’s website—as contractors set up staging areas and barreled forward with heavy machinery. (Construction in the park is on pause—for now).And that’s just in the national park. Elsewhere in the region, which sees…

The post Watch: What’s Actually Going On in Big Bend? appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Meanwhile, in Texas: An Austin Raccoon Finds Itself Up a Creek

Meher Yeda — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Two Austin paddleboarders amassed more than three million likes on Instagram after they posted a video of themselves saving a raccoon who was struggling in the currents of Lady Bird Lake during a storm.After a Brazos County deputy reportedly tried to stop a car that appeared to have a flat tire and nonworking taillights, authorities say the driver fled, leading officers on a pursuit that ended only after 52 miles and a third deployment of spike strips.A federal committee rejected a proposal from a SpaceX fan in Mississippi to rename Boca Chica Beach to Cyber Beach.While playing video games in his bedroom, a thirteen-year-old Cypress boy…

The post Meanwhile, in Texas: An Austin Raccoon Finds Itself Up a Creek appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Two Austin Barbecue Guys Bring Their Talents to a New Cuisine

Daniel Vaughn — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Cade Mercer and Chuck Deason have been compatriots for most of their careers. When Mercer started in the kitchen at Lamberts, in Austin, in 2013, Deason was the sous chef under Reid Guess. When Guess moved to Waco to open Guess Family Barbecue, Mercer and Deason followed. In 2021 the duo combined their creative forces in Austin for CM Smokehouse, which now has three locations. They’re partnering once again on a restaurant, this time with a different focus: Outlaw Pizza opened in June, in North Austin. But where there’s Mercer and Deason, there’s bound to be barbecue too.“I don’t really do anything without something smoked or…

The post Two Austin Barbecue Guys Bring Their Talents to a New Cuisine appeared first on Texas Monthly.

A Weekend in Huntsville, a College Town With Dueling Claims to Fame

Emma Balter — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Two small dogs walk into a bar in matching black-and-white-striped prisoner onesies and faux-shackle leashes. This is not the beginning of a joke but a real scene I observed during my trip to Huntsville, whose foremost claim to fame is its penitentiary. “Aren’t they cute?” the dogs’ owner cooed to a friend.Perhaps some in Huntsville would prefer the city be best known for its most famous native: one Sam Houston, commander in chief of the Texian Army, the first (and third) president of the Republic of Texas, U.S. senator for Texas, governor of Texas (and of Tennessee), and the namesake of Sam Houston State University.When it…

The post A Weekend in Huntsville, a College Town With Dueling Claims to Fame appeared first on Texas Monthly.

The Mystery of Houdini’s Disappearing Bookcase

Katy Vine — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. The origin story of Harry Houdini’s bookcase, which will be unveiled at Austin’s Harry Ransom Center, at the University of Texas, this week as part of a major exhibit, sounds like the type of lore the legendary illusionist would have invented if it weren’t true.The record begins in the early 1900s, when, on the rare occasion that Houdini wasn’t traveling the world entertaining audiences with his disappearing act and other magic tricks, he was at his townhouse in Harlem, New York. There, wearing his usual rumpled, striped button-down, he’d putter around rooms that were bursting with stacks of books. Since he’d finally started making money, he’d…

The post The Mystery of Houdini’s Disappearing Bookcase appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Ken Paxton Took His $1,000 Pen. He Has Not Forgotten.

Robert Downen — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Every so often in Texas, a political scandal arises that is as ridiculous as it is emblematic of the man at its center. A governor’s attempt to pressure his political opponent ends in criminal abuse-of-power charges and an infamous ice cream cone. A senator’s Cancún vacation plans are interrupted, sort of, by an ice storm that leaves millions freezing and without power. For Ken Paxton, one such moment came fourteen years ago this month. Long before his unlikely election to attorney general—before the divine intervention at a Dairy Queen, and before the indictment, affairs, lawsuit settlements, and impeachment—Paxton was in line for security at a Collin County…

The post Ken Paxton Took His $1,000 Pen. He Has Not Forgotten. appeared first on Texas Monthly.

The Daily Crossword: August 28, 2026

Texas Monthly — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The post The Daily Crossword: August 28, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Word Wrangler: August 28, 2026

Texas Monthly — Fri, 28 Aug 2026 09:59:00 +0000

The post Word Wrangler: August 28, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

What We Learned From Netflix’s New Vince Young Documentary

Dan Solomon — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 19:32:37 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Vince Young’s story is, in some ways, a typical football tragedy. The Houston native was a prized high school recruit whose lack of a father meant a difficult early life; he then found a father figure in Mack Brown, his Longhorns coach in the early aughts, and excelled. But as that relationship ended upon Young’s transition to an NFL career, he learned that not every locker-room leader would treat him with the same care that Brown had: He became another Black quarterback in the NFL paired with a coach who didn’t believe in him, and after six seasons in the league, he washed out despite immense…

The post What We Learned From Netflix’s New Vince Young Documentary appeared first on Texas Monthly.

For Roughnecks in the Gulf, This Paramedic Is a Lifesaver

David Courtney — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Working Life is a monthly column in which Texans talk about their jobs. For nearly a month at a time, a long way from his home in Kingwood (near Houston), Eric “Clark” Victorin, who is 62, plies his trade in the Gulf of Mexico. His sunrises are pristine, his food is good, and his internet is, somehow, fast. But come a medical problem, he must react—typically on his own, no matter the hour.I grew up in northern New Jersey and went to college in Saratoga Springs, New York. I stayed in the New York and New Jersey area and spent 22 years in the pharmaceutical industry. Then…

The post For Roughnecks in the Gulf, This Paramedic Is a Lifesaver appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Texas Barbecue Brought These Brothers Closer to Their Vietnamese Roots

Daniel Vaughn — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. The huge tables at Jasmine Asian Cuisine, in Houston, were built for sharing. I sat at one of them with Don and Theo Nguyen, the founders of local Khói Barbecue, and their parents, Thuc and Tiffany. A huge lazy Susan in the center barely held all the platters and side dishes that came with the “bò 7 món,” a seven-course beef feast that had influenced the brothers’ own menu, including their bò lá lốt sausage. I had visited Khói the day before, and Don was describing bò lá lốt to me before deciding he’d rather show me, so there I was, chopsticks in hand, as Tiffany…

The post Texas Barbecue Brought These Brothers Closer to Their Vietnamese Roots appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Texas Students Are Buying Into the Luxury Dorm Room Trend

Brooklyn Moore — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 11:00:00 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Earlier this month at Texas Christian University, a select group was allowed into campus housing a week before the official move-in period. Days before anxious parents and eager freshmen showed up with their luggage, pillows, and supplies, interior designers and their installation teams had already done their thing, transforming small, poorly lit cinder block rooms into spaces worthy of big reveals on TikTok—custom oases awash in pleated curtains, lacquered cabinets, flowing bed skirts, and original artwork.Chief among the early entrants was Shannan Bower, a longtime Fort Worth designer with her own studio. Last year she began offering both prepackaged designs and custom and installation services. This…

The post Texas Students Are Buying Into the Luxury Dorm Room Trend appeared first on Texas Monthly.

The Daily Crossword: August 27, 2026

Texas Monthly — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 10:00:00 +0000

The post The Daily Crossword: August 27, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Word Wrangler: August 27, 2026

Texas Monthly — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 09:59:00 +0000

The post Word Wrangler: August 27, 2026 appeared first on Texas Monthly.

Dolly Parton Made Me Proud to Be a Texan

Aaron Parsley — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:40:51 +0000

Digital subscribers can listen to this article. Subscribe today for unlimited access to Texas Monthly. Already a subscriber? Log in. Texans like to think we’re special, and in many ways we are. But a lot of us are hurting today, in a way that makes us a lot like everyone else.It’s not special to say “Dolly Parton meant so much to me.” That’s how it is for all kinds of people, all over the world. But there’s something wonderful about sharing that sentiment, even if part of me wants to believe that my appreciation, my melancholy is special.Truly, it was Dolly who was special, simply for her singular ability to touch us all, no matter where we came from. Who else could get our Republican governor…

The post Dolly Parton Made Me Proud to Be a Texan appeared first on Texas Monthly.