Houston’s Historic Black Theater at 50
For five decades, the Ensemble has brought Houstonians together to laugh, cry, and talk back to plays representing all aspects of African-American life.
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Politics ⋆
‘Up Against a 500-Pound Gorilla’: Can Dems Make Inroads in Deep-Red West Texas?
With a candidate on the ballot in every state and federal race, the minority party is trying hard to gain some ground in the GOP’s electoral firewall.
Santa Ana’s Last Stand
Congress repeatedly shielded the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge from the border wall. Now, construction has begun—and an irrigation district lawsuit may be the only option left to buy time for lawmakers to act.
Politics ⋆
Does Joe Rogan Care Who Wins the Texas Senate Race?
An exhaustive accounting of the Austin podcast giant’s thoughts (and lack thereof) on James Talarico, Ken Paxton, and the electoral contest between them
Opinion ⋆
70 Years After Mansfield’s Desegregation Crisis, a New Debate over Representation
The time has come for this North Texas school district, and others like it, to move from an all-at-large board to a mix of geographic districts and at-large seats.
Opinion ⋆
How Texas Can Lead in Fighting Anti-Asian Racism
Bo French is dead wrong. Rather than demonize immigrants as forever foreigners, the Texan thing has been to document and celebrate their longstanding commitments to the state.
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Politics
The State’s Bible-Only Reading List Is a Disservice to Texas Kids
A new required list doesn’t meet the need to learn about the major religious traditions that make up Texas today—and it could impair public schools’ ability to serve diverse populations.
Free Tickets, Familiar Jokes, and an Unsettled Party Grasping for Unity—and a Fight
At the unusual midterm convention, Republicans pleaded with voters not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
In Laredo, a County Judge and MAGA Convert Seeks to Topple Henry Cuellar
Tano Tijerina, who prominently switched parties after Trump’s 2024 inroads in South Texas, is trying to cash in on political connections while also casting himself as the insurgent outsider.
Border and Immigration
ICE Contractor for Controversial Camp East Montana Is Trailed by Fraud Allegations
To continue running the deadly El Paso detention center, the feds turn to a company that’s faced numerous lawsuits from labor unions and former employees and is actively fighting a whistleblower in court.
Mexico’s Deportation Capital
Tapachula, five miles from Mexico’s border with Guatemala, has become a principal destination for the world’s deportees. And in a cruel twist, even Mexicans expelled from the United States have found themselves there, regrouping after being deported—not home to Mexico—but first to Central America.
‘Living like Vampires’: ICE Surge Fractures Daily Life in Deep South Texas
“It’s gotten that bad: People don’t want to register their children to school. They don’t want to do groceries. They don’t even want to stop by the store for their morning coffee.”
Culture
Can We Survive Naomi Klein’s Depiction of ‘End Times Fascism’?
Klein and co-author Astra Taylor’s new book is too bleak and unfocused for our shameless and sharp-edged political moment.
Why Texans Live and Die by the Gun
At the firearms training center, fear becomes the foundation of the state’s violent obsession.
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September/October 2026
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