The Questions the Death Penalty Cannot Answer
“I Am Ready, Warden,” a new short documentary, exposes the unresolved pain on all sides of a Texas execution.
Did the First American in Space Take an Extra Golf Ball to the Moon?
A new book reveals the secrets of moon memorabilia and the friendship between a famous Texas astronaut and his barber.
A Houston Storyteller Finds the Humor in Hard Knocks
Bayou City comic Ali Siddiq turns street life and incarceration into laughs, while challenging stereotypes and provoking the occasional tear.
The ‘Untranslatable Palestinian Flesh’
What do we owe to language in times of unimaginable violence? Poets linked to both Palestine and Texas help show us the way.
Return to Kíłááhíí
An elder is restored to the Lipan Apache people more than 750 years after her death.
A Small-Town Texas Librarian’s Big Stand Against Book Bans
In Llano County, a local librarian fought back against censorship, prompting a federal court fight and national recognition but losing the job of her dreams.
The Struggle to Fulfill Juneteenth’s Promise and Reckon with Its History
Sam Collins, better known as Professor Juneteenth, says his work to educate Americans about the holiday’s legacy is unfinished.
SIGN UP FOR TEXAS OBSERVER EMAILS
‘Ride’ Paints Cowboy Life in Shades of Gray
A new movie set in Stephenville complicates, without vilifying, one of our state’s central mythic figures.
The Heist
A massive theft of pre-Columbian art reveals troubling truths about Texans’ role in the illicit antiquities trade.
‘In All My Childhood Dreams, I Was a Boy’
An excerpt from "Pretty: A Memoir" by KB Brookins, a new book on coming up Black and queer in Texas