Rose Cahalan
By Rose Cahalan:
‘TransMilitary’ Is the LGBT Advocacy Film Middle America Needs to See
The documentary shines brightest when it shows trans soldiers simply going about their lives.
It’s April 27, 2016, and we’re in the living room of a modest home in Clarksville, Tennessee. Family photos hang on the wall, and there’s a framed painting of Jesus on a side table. Army Captain El Cook sprawls on … Read More
Strangest State: February 2018
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
Illustration by Drue Wagner LUFKIN // A masked bandit broke into Angelina County’s probation office early in the morning of December 12. “Very cute but very agitated, so he had to go,” an employee wrote on the office’s Facebook page, … Read More
The Observer’s Best Features of 2017
The Observer’s Best Features of 2017 Our favorite longreads of the year. This year our writers delved deep into important topics virtually untouched by other Texas publications. From spotlighting social and environmental injustices to capturing the characters — artists, politicians … Read More
10 Texas Books We Loved in 2017
Get thee to a bookstore.
Of the hundreds of review copies that land in our mailbox every year, only a few dozen books will end up getting the Observer treatment. The criteria for review are intentionally a little fuzzy, but in general, we look for … Read More
Sunk Costs
Back-to-back record flooding along the Brazos River has forced people in Richmond to make an excruciating choice: Stay or go?
Back-to-back record flooding along the Brazos River has forced people in Richmond to make an excruciating choice: Stay or go? Read More
Strangest State: December 2017
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
Drue Wagner ROCKWALL COUNTY // Responding to a complaint that someone was hunting from a public road, a Texas game warden found three men standing next to a pickup truck. One of the three “was only wearing a trucker hat, … Read More
‘Under Surveillance’ Author on the Hidden Costs of Being Watched
Randolph Lewis’ new book focuses on the “soft-tissue damage” caused by living in a surveillance state.
Photo by Ghost Presenter from Pexels There’s a moment in Under Surveillance — Randolph Lewis’ accessible, ruminative, anxiety-ridden new book on American surveillance culture — when the author travels to Walden Pond. He’s come in search of the same pastoral … Read More
‘Fail State’ Delves into the Shadowy World of For-Profit Colleges
The film details how the for-profit college industry began, its rise to power and why legislative attempts to rein it in have had only limited success.
You’ve seen the ads: smiling, fresh-faced young graduates praising schools like DeVry University and Corinthian Colleges for changing their lives. In a 2008 TV spot typical of the genre, brothers Wilfredo and Manuel Siliezar pose in front of shiny cars, … Read More
Strangest State: October 2017
Weird news from far-flung Texas.
FORT WORTH // When he caught a thief in his walk-in freezer, a restaurant owner slammed the door and locked him in while waiting for cops to arrive. Francisco Islas, owner of Paco’s Mexican Cuisine, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram … Read More