A Love Letter to the Black Woodswomen of Deep East Texas
Where I’m from, the Afro-Texans who made me know our lives are forever woven into the ecology of the Thicket.
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The Latest
Opinion ⋆
‘Where Do We Go from Here’: Forward or Backward?
In our nation’s civil rights fight, we seem to be losing the hard-fought progress for which so many bled and died.
Books ⋆
Excerpt: How to Close a Camp
Detention was sold as both a law-and-order necessity and an economic opportunity, welding together the racist politics of the drug war with the rise of private prisons.
The Tides of Tarrant
In Texas’ key swing county, Democratic commissioner Alisa Simmons is turning to voters to oust the arch-conservative county judge.
Opinion ⋆
The Real Lesson Behind Texas’ New Bible Curriculum Requirements
Going forward, students will learn that life circumstances are beyond their power to change. They will learn that their place and the place of others in the economy and larger society should not be questioned.
Books ⋆
Inside the Dark World of Romance Scammers
An Austin author’s new novel delves deep into the scammer networks that exploit the vulnerable and the lovelorn.
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Politics
The Hard Ceiling over Texas Cities’ Climate Plans
From the biggest cities to smaller towns, local officials wrote serious climate plans. One law at a time, state policy has narrowed the tools to carry them out.
Unity and Discontent at the Texas Dems’ Corpus Convening
The convention showcased populism as the core of the party’s messaging. Will it hold true in November?
Texas’ Refusal to Plan for Climate Change Created a Crisis in Corpus Christi
Stubbornly unrealistic assessments of the region’s reservoir system turned this year’s drought conditions into an emergency.
Border and Immigration
Worker’s Death at SpaceX Factory Followed Hundreds of Injuries in Recent Years
A 25-year-old died last month of “blunt force trauma due to a fall.” An Observer analysis found that the injury rate at “Starbase” was well above an industry national average.
Deaths Uncovered in Laredo Show the Ongoing Toll of Border Militarization
“The people we’re finding now dying on the U.S. side of the border are the people who could not wait.”
In Laredo’s Last Stand Against Trump’s Border Wall, Are City Leaders Making a Deal with the Devil?
“A lot of the same arguments for why you wouldn’t build it in Big Bend are the exact same arguments for why you wouldn’t build it in Laredo,” say opponents of the wall, as local officials have sought to accommodate the feds’ demands.
Culture
A Birth Plan for the Dying
When an ultrasound reveals a lethal fetal anomaly, each image is the unwinding of a miracle. Then, Texas’ abortion ban makes the nightmare even worse.
The Bats of Bracken
As many as 20 million of the winged mammals gather at one Texas Hill Country cave, creating one of nature’s most jaw-dropping displays.
Throwing the Book at Books in Prison
Inside Books Project volunteers have sent used books to Texas inmates for nearly 30 years. A new crackdown is threatening their work.
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July/August 2026
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