Anatomy of a Crime
How one reporter followed a notorious jailhouse snitch into one of the ugliest parts of the criminal justice system.
Media
Book Review: Scapegoating the Media Ignores Other Major Problems in American Politics
Yes, the news industry helped get Trump elected — but not to the extent that Nolan Higdon and Mickey Huff argue in their new book, United States of Distraction.
No News is Bad News
As more and more rural Texas communities become “news deserts," the civic life of small towns is suffering too.
The Jim Hightower Column They Don’t Want You to Read
The progressive pundit's criticism of "hedge-fund scavengers" buying struggling newspapers was blocked by his distributor.
Texas Newspaper Readers Unite!
Simply by existing, journalism makes the incentives that guide government and culture marginally better, or at least that's the idea.
The Problem with Facts
There is a misunderstanding that false information spreads because real information is somehow in short supply.
Charlie Sykes’ New Book Shows ‘How the Right Lost Its Mind’
The book is a comprehensive dismantling of a party that has seemingly lost not only its moral compass, but even its ability to decipher fact from fantasy.
SIGN UP FOR TEXAS OBSERVER EMAILS
The Texas Miracle #21: Puffy Tacos and a Texas Whale Watch
On the podcast: San Antonio's Jessica Elizarraras educates us on the magic of the uniquely Texan puffy taco, a deadly Wichita Falls amusement park and the possibility of a purple Texas.
Meet the Texas Scholar Who Unearthed Walt Whitman’s 19th Century Clickbait
A closer look at the poet’s musings on “Manly Health.”