Bearing Witness
Alan Pogue has spent his life documenting progressive struggle. Along the way, he captured the history of the Observer, too.
Featured Stories
The Latest
Will Texas Finally Wind Down Border Security Spending?
Top state officials have already made promises that, under Trump, money can be shifted to education. But that didn’t happen last time.
TEA Exoneration of Mike Miles’ Charter Schools Leaves Questions Unanswered, Raises New Ones
An agency report challenging media stories overlooks the charter schools’ compliance with federal tax and state business laws, on the watch of the now-HISD superintendent, while revealing new out-of-state payments.
Culture ⋆
The Questions the Death Penalty Cannot Answer
“I Am Ready, Warden,” a new short documentary, exposes the unresolved pain on all sides of a Texas execution.
The Phones Are Still Ringing
Lou Dubose edited the Observer for longer than anyone before or since. He expanded the publication’s coverage south of the border and later co-authored books with Molly Ivins.
The Trump Picks Who Could Decide Our Climate Future
It’s not just the EPA. From Elon Musk and RFK Jr. to Marco Rubio and Doug Burgum, Trump’s choices to lead key agencies are poised to set a very different climate agenda.
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Politics
‘They Bought a Legislature’: What the GOP’s Gains Mean for Vouchers in Texas
Republicans nearly ran the table in state House races, shoring up Governor Abbott’s school voucher majority for the 2025 session.
Texas House Dems Trip Over Their Own Low Bar
On Tuesday, the most modest of boasts became famous last words for the lower chamber’s dwindling Ds.
Border and Immigration
How Texas Jails Built Migrant Incarceration
Following a 1925 investigation, immigrant detention in the Galveston County Jail was declared “a crime against humanity.”
She Fled Mexico as a Child. Now, She Teaches Migrant Kids in Tamaulipas.
“When I see a mom with her child trying to cross, it’s like I see myself in her.”
The Deep Roots of Deportation
In a divided political climate, many now hold their breath, waiting to see if deportation rhetoric becomes reality.
Culture
Texas’ Hotbed of Taiwanese Nationalism
For decades, Houston families like mine have helped keep the flame of independence burning.
Seeing the Unseen
New collections of fiction and nonfiction build on Dagoberto Gilb’s long career as chronicler of the working-class Southwest.
Did the First American in Space Take an Extra Golf Ball to the Moon?
A new book reveals the secrets of moon memorabilia and the friendship between a famous Texas astronaut and his barber.
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November/December 2024
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