Loon Star State: That Dog Hunts
Fri, 09 Jan 2026 15:38:53 +0000
To see more political cartoons from Ben Sargent, visit our Loon Star State section. Find Observer political reporting here.
The post Loon Star State: That Dog Hunts appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/loon-star-state-january-february-2026/
Why Houston Oil Majors Are Hesitant to Go All In on Venezuela
Wed, 07 Jan 2026 22:01:14 +0000
President Donald Trump’s deadly invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president could be an unusually clear example of “blood for oil.” The president has nearly said as much himself. But one hitch is that Houston’s oil giants don’t immediately appear eager to buy what Trump is selling. Following the administration’s military coup, Trump suggested […]
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https://www.texasobserver.org/houston-oil-majors-hesitant-venezuela/
Could This State Senate Runoff Be a Tipping Point for Tarrant County?
Wed, 07 Jan 2026 17:41:25 +0000
Even some of his most passionate supporters were surprised by the number of votes Democrat Taylor Rehmet received in the November special election for Texas Senate District 9. His competitors, Republicans Leigh Wambsganss and John Huffman, each had mountains of cash and the backing of major PACs and political players across Texas. Even so, Rehmet, […]
The post Could This State Senate Runoff Be a Tipping Point for Tarrant County? appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/sd-9-special-election-tarrant-county/
Midterm Memo: The C-Team. Maybe B-.
Tue, 06 Jan 2026 13:15:00 +0000
Much like how a sailor, lost and withering at sea, at least gets the chance to see the world, Texas’ ailing Democrats will get the chance this year to recreate some of the magic of the 2018 midterms. You know the drill: Donald Trump’s in the second year of a presidential stint, and his megalomaniacal […]
The post Midterm Memo: The C-Team. Maybe B-. appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-democrats-slate-2026-midterms/
Editor’s Letter: Introducing Our January/February 2026 Issue
Mon, 05 Jan 2026 15:27:47 +0000
Texas Observer reader, Call me biased, but I do believe you’re holding a damn good magazine in your hands right now. Michelle Pitcher continues her ascent as one of the state’s best criminal justice reporters and narrative feature writers. Josephine Lee again takes you into a corner of Houston culture you might otherwise never know […]
The post Editor’s Letter: Introducing Our January/February 2026 Issue appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/editors-letter-january-february-2026/
Our Most-Read Stories of 2025
Mon, 29 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000
Web traffic is a fickle thing, but online readership numbers do at least give us at the Observer a sense of what stories are making a splash with a bigger audience, and that’s useful information for us to have. So, for my benefit and perhaps yours, here’s a moderately curated list of our most-read stories […]
The post Our Most-Read Stories of 2025 appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/most-read-stories-2025/
Our Best Longform Stories of 2025
Mon, 22 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000
In case you find yourself this holiday season with a little extra reading time, or maybe time to return to a story you left open in a tab some many months ago, here are 10 of the best Observer longform stories from 2025 (in chronological order). May they enrich you for the now, and steel […]
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https://www.texasobserver.org/best-longform-stories-2025/
A Light the Darkness Cannot Extinguish
Fri, 19 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000
The editor of this publication wasn’t exaggerating when he called 2025 “this frankly awful year”: Things are dark, and likely to get much darker. Our politics nationally and here in Texas is now firmly in the grip of a narrow, petty tribalism that feeds on enmity. Each day brings new horrors; scrolling through social media […]
The post A Light the Darkness Cannot Extinguish appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/a-light-the-darkness-cannot-extinguish/
At the Texas AFL-CIO, a Changing of the Guard in a Time of Growth
Thu, 18 Dec 2025 13:45:00 +0000
For labor organizing, Texas was long dismissed as a forlorn place. “Right-to-work” laws restrict organizing here, most public-sector workers can’t collectively bargain or strike, and local governments are broadly banned from passing their own worker rights ordinances. Yet total membership in Texas unions has been growing. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, […]
The post At the Texas AFL-CIO, a Changing of the Guard in a Time of Growth appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-afl-cio-changing-of-the-guard/
Hereditary
Thu, 18 Dec 2025 13:00:00 +0000
The train tracks leading to my grandma’s house always reminded me of a spine. Curved & ancient, a body of splintered wood & metal hinges groaned when the train was coming. & my mom once told me that the train tracks split the town in two. Everything here is split in two. If it isn’t […]
The post Hereditary appeared first on The Texas Observer.
https://www.texasobserver.org/hereditary-poem-november-december-2025/