‘Earth Has No Sorrow’: Visions of a Caldwell County Long Gone
The Observer resurfaces a 50-year-old collection of fine arts photography and unique oral history.
Culture
Why Texans Live and Die by the Gun
At the firearms training center, fear becomes the foundation of the state's violent obsession.
Kam Franklin Goes Solo
The accomplished Houston musician, known as lead singer for The Suffers, draws on surprising sources of inspiration and puts “the message into the music” in her new album, "Land of the Neon Sun."
‘Cocks Not Glocks’ at 10
A decade on, the iconic campus protest has come to symbolize a time of relatively free expression.
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.
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Cycling the Rio Grande as Trump’s Wall Looms
“We’re gonna be riding around areas where most everybody thinks it’s unsafe, and you’re gonna see that there’s really nothing to be worried about.”
A Love Letter to the Black Woodswomen of Deep East Texas
Where I’m from, the Afro-Texans who made me know our lives are forever woven into the ecology of the Thicket.
The Bats of Bracken
As many as 20 million of the winged mammals gather at one Texas Hill Country cave, creating one of nature’s most jaw-dropping displays.