When the Prophetic City Fails
The unexpected fate of Houston’s Northside holds lessons that the city’s boosters may not wish to hear.
Essays
The ‘Untranslatable Palestinian Flesh’
What do we owe to language in times of unimaginable violence? Poets linked to both Palestine and Texas help show us the way.
In El Paso, a Migrant Death Crisis Emerges amid Extreme Heat
As an emergency physician, I see the cost of climate change and border militarization first-hand—ice-filled body bags and all.
A Visionary in the Borderlands
While he lived, Eduardo "Eddie" Canales saved countless lives in the remote South Texas ranchlands. A statewide center in Texas to identify missing migrants would be a fitting legacy.
The Wages of Inequality—Behind Bars
Because the state refuses to pay us for our labor, incarcerated women rely on money from the outside to get by.
Why I Stayed Silent
Women aren't talking about their sexual assaults. Why aren't we talking about that?
Between the Concertina Wire and the Cartel
As a border physician, I see firsthand the violence of Operation Lone Star, which has made America a key partner in a dangerous triad targeting refugees.
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Powerful Words from Texans Trapped in Solitary Confinement
Texas disappears more people in long-term solitary cells than all other states and the federal system combined.
70 Years of Skewering
The “magic dust” of adding funny drawings to words has been an important part of the Texas Observer.
Texas Exotic Hunts Are Dangerously Unregulated
Some hunting ranches in Texas routinely offer hunts of endangered or threatened exotic species. This should not be allowed.