An Ode to Austin’s Unsung Proletariat
A new novel about workers at an organic grocery store asks us to consider questions of labor and dignity in the Texas capital.
Austin
Strangest State: There’s No Place Like … Texas
What's weirder than K-Pax? Not much, but here's a couple of other Lone Star oddities.
Murió ayudando a construir la Gigafábrica de Tesla. Tesla no reportó su muerte a funcionarios locales.
Antelmo Ramírez era papá, abuelo y esposo. Su muerte por hipertermia no figura en el informe de Tesla requerido como parte del acuerdo fiscal con el condado de Travis.
He Died Helping Build Tesla’s Gigafactory. Tesla Didn’t Tell Local Officials.
Antelmo Ramirez was a dad, grandpa, and husband. His death by hyperthermia is absent from a Tesla report required as part of a Travis County tax deal.
Mental Illness Shouldn’t Land You in Jail
Up to 40 percent of the people who end up behind bars in Travis County are in crisis. Diversion offers better options.
Strangest State: Ted Cruz Enjoys a White Claw
Smuggling bones. Horses with tail lights. Alcoholic seltzer goes aerial. Just another day in far-flung Texas.
Dragging Democracy into the Future
As the Texas Observer survives to muckrake another day, Steven Monacelli highlights the battle for fundamental rights happening in the Lone Star State.
‘I’ve Always Been a Transplant’: A Global Perspective on Texas Hip-Hop
David Shabani’s life took him on an international journey from France to the Live Music Capital of the World.
Celia Israel’s Got ‘Both Feet on the Ground’
What the historic race for mayor meant for her, for Austin, and women in Texas politics.
Fair Hiring, Unfair Housing
There are laws and programs to help formerly-incarcerated Texans get employed, but finding a home can be far more challenging.