1+ week, 6+ day ago  (224+ words) Ben Sargent is the Texas Observer's longtime cartoonist. He launched his career drawing editorial cartoons for the Austin American-Statesman in 1974. He was born in Amarillo into a newspaper family and learned the printing trade from age 12 and started working for…...

2+ week, 6+ day ago  (127+ words) Strangest State: Chases, Chisos, Creatures, and Crossings'The Texas Observer Republish this article for free All of the Texas Observer's articles are available for free syndication for news sources under the following conditions: - A script is included at the bottom of…...

3+ week, 6+ day ago  (224+ words) Ben Sargent is the Texas Observer's longtime cartoonist. He launched his career drawing editorial cartoons for the Austin American-Statesman in 1974. He was born in Amarillo into a newspaper family and learned the printing trade from age 12 and started working for…...

8+ mon, 3+ day ago  (377+ words) Texas writer and director Katherine Craft's Audible comedy depicts a musician's tumultuous return to Plano as she adjusts to new limitations. July 31, 2025, 10:06 AM, CDT There are many words you could use to describe Nicole Tompkins, the disabled protagonist of "Shaky,…...

1+ mon, 2+ week ago  (179+ words) Ben Sargent is the Texas Observer's longtime cartoonist. He launched his career drawing editorial cartoons for the Austin American-Statesman in 1974. He was born in Amarillo into a newspaper family and learned the printing trade from age 12 and started working for…...

1+ mon, 3+ week ago  (170+ words) February 6, 2026, 7:15 AM, CST A version of this story ran in the January/ February 2026 issue. Poems are selected by Poetry Editor Lupe Mendez, the 2022 Texas poet laureate and author of Why I Am Like Tequila. To submit a poem, please send…...

6+ mon, 3+ day ago  (406+ words) And how they could still start winning it. September 29, 2025, 9:56 AM, CDT A version of this story ran in the September/ October 2025 issue. When a land forgets its legends,Sees but falsehoods in the past,When a nation views its siresIn…...

2+ mon, 1+ week ago  (346+ words) An exhibition at the UMLAUF Sculpture Garden and Museum in Austin runs through January 25. January 20, 2026, 4:10 PM, CST "It's all connected'that's the whole thought," Huckaby said at a public talk at UMLAUF in January. "It's about social justice, and I think…...

2+ mon, 5+ day ago  (650+ words) From Veracruz to Texas, he keeps a centuries-old tradition alive. January 28, 2026, 7:05 AM, CST A version of this story ran in the January/ February 2026 issue. On the back porch of his Southeast Austin home, Willy Baltazar displays a vibrant D'a de…...

4+ mon, 2+ week ago  (74+ words) East Texans are uniting to fight oil waste pits in bucolic areas near the Louisiana line'all run by an operator who's been cited for dozens of violations, and a worker's death. East Texans are uniting to fight oil waste pits…...