Tag Archives: Houston
Swamp City Serenade
Bryan Washington’s remarkable debut book, "Lot," captures Houston in meticulous, tenderhearted detail.
The wonder of Houston can sometimes be difficult to explain to those not born and bred in the Bayou City. Yes, it is indeed sprawling, as so many have said pejo...Read More
Ancestors in a Strange New Land
In Houston, an exhibit of vibrant, playful Egúngún costumes speaks to Nigerian tradition and migration.
Visitors to “Ara Oru Kinkin (Masquerades Mythology),” the current show by the artist Akirash at Lawndale Center for the Arts in Houston, will find themselve...Read More
The Strange, Record-Setting Weather Extremes Texans Faced in 2018
Scientists predict temperatures, seasonal extremes and flooding will continue to intensify if carbon emissions aren’t immediately reduced.
In 2018, natural disasters touched nearly every part of the country. Hurricanes Michael and Florence hit the East Coast, killing at least 89 people and causing ...Read More
Meet Jim Allison, Texas’ Newest Nobel Laureate (and Three-Time Cancer Survivor)
The Houston immunologist talks about growing up in small-town Texas, creationism in public schools and what it means to talk about a cure.
Just a few years ago, Jim Allison was considered something of a “snake oil salesman” by other cancer researchers. The ruddy-faced, scraggly-haired scientist...Read More
State-Sanctioned Secrecy Shields Texas’ Death Penalty Machine from Scrutiny
New revelations about the source of Texas’ execution drugs underscore the risks of capital punishment shrouded in secrecy.
Shortly before he died by lethal injection earlier this year, Anthony Shore, Houston’s infamous “tourniquet killer,” exclaimed that he felt a burning sens...Read More
What I Learned from Ray Hill, Houston’s Citizen Provocateur
On Saturday, Uncle Ray, as he was known to many, died in hospice at age 78. His legacy of unrepentant rabble-rousing made Texas a more welcome place for the underdog.
The story goes that Texas singer-songwriter Gerald Bates was driving in Houston one night and tuned his radio to KPFT, a listener-sponsored community station, w...Read More
The GOP Machine in Texas Seems to Finally Have Slipped a Gear
Over the last few years, something has been stirring in Texas. The midterm elections may signal a seismic shift in state politics.
After Beto’s near-victory, a thumpin’ in Harris County and surprisingly poor GOP performance in conservative strongholds Tarrant, Williamson and Collin coun...Read More
‘Beyoncé in Formation’ is a Texas Professor’s Love Letter to Queen B
Part memoir, part pop-culture scholarship, this slim, engaging book uses Beyoncé as a springboard for wide-ranging ruminations on sexuality, motherhood and activism.
Omise’eke Tinsley made headlines in 2014, when the University of Texas at Austin announced that she would be teaching a new course titled “Beyoncé Feminism...Read More
The Midterms Trigger a Seismic Shift in Harris County’s Courts
Among the Democrats who won all 59 judicial seats at play in the midterms: a socialist and 19 black women running on criminal justice reform.
The Democratic sweep in Harris County Tuesday night could remake one of the largest criminal justice systems in the country. When the blue wave crashed into Hou...Read More