The Crypto Racket
Public officials at all levels are propping up a Texas Bitcoin mining boom that’s threatening water and energy systems while afflicting locals with noise pollution.
Rural Texas
A Slice of Life in Watermelon Country
The annual Luling Watermelon Thump has been a Central Texas staple for more than 70 years.
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.
‘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.
Texas Exotic Hunts Are Dangerously Unregulated
Some hunting ranches in Texas routinely offer hunts of endangered or threatened exotic species. This should not be allowed.
The Epic Texas Panhandle Fire Is Just a Preview
Texas officials go to bat for oil and gas while the climate-fueled Smokehouse Creek Fire still rages.
Uninsured Country: Affordable Health Care Eludes Many Family Farmers and Ranchers
Americans who operate small family farms and ranches often cannot get adequate health care and insurance. A journalist who spent her summers on her family’s Texas ranch writes about family members’ struggles and the challenges rural residents face today.
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Strangest State: Hello Possum, Goodbye Fish
Sharing the latest dispatches from far-flung Texas.
Abbott’s Border Standoff Fueled by a Climate Crisis He Helped to Create
Record levels of forced migration are tied to an environmental collapse that Republicans worsened on behalf of the fossil fuel industry.
After Abortion Ban, Texas Teen Birth Rate Rises
The increase reverses a 15-year trend. And unwanted pregnancies will rise, researchers predict.