In the four months since we launched, we have (hopefully!) made you laugh and think with clever and hard stories. In 2024, over 123 working days, our small team of three full-time editors published approximately 252 stories under 29 bylines — short and long; silly and serious; essays, features, and exclusives. The majesty, absurdity, diversity, […]
Category: Opinion
Posted inMusic
‘Beyoncé Bowl’ NFL Halftime Performance Was a Master Class in Black Joy & Authenticity
“As Black people, the world is a lot more surreal,” Tony- and Emmy-nominated multidisciplinary artist Daniel J. Watts told me in 2023. “You have to pay attention to it enough to acknowledge — awareness — and you can’t stare too directly at it, or it’ll steal your ability to do anything. So, it’s threading the […]
Posted inTexana
The Most Delicious Winter Beverage Is Hot Dr. Pepper & Lemon
My dad, now 70, grew up working on farms and in oil patches in South Texas, where the only true choice of tonic during a scorching day was a crisp, cold Dr Pepper from the service station. “They had ice crusted on the edges,” he says. “But you don’t drink cold drinks in the winter.” […]
Posted inOpinion
In Texas, Bipartisanship Is on Life Support. Republicans Could Pull the Plug.
It’s old hat to say everything is bigger in Texas. True connoisseurs know that things in the Lone Star State are also often wilder and weirder than what you see on the evening news. Every two weeks, Steven Monacelli will explore the dystopic, desperate, and despicable realities of contemporary Texas and channel the sense of […]
Posted inOpinion
I’m a Muslim High School Student. I Fear the New Bible-Infused Curriculum.
“But not everybody is Christian,” my 10-year-old sister said. “Who allowed this?” We learned last month that Bible lessons could become part of her elementary school curriculum starting in 2025. For 10 minutes, she sat in disbelief, voicing the same questions on a loop. “Who allowed this?” “Why did they let this happen?” “What about […]
Posted inPolitics
National Republican Morons Are Mad About the Texas House Speaker Race
The race for speaker of the Texas House continues to get stupider as one candidate has dubbed himself “speaker-elect” (which is not a real thing) and national Republicans weighed in this week. To catch you up, there’s been a scramble for the top state House post after the current speaker, state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, […]
Posted inPolitics
Texas Republicans Are the New Big Government Establishment
It’s old hat to say everything is bigger in Texas. True connoisseurs know that things in the Lone Star State are also often wilder and weirder than what you see on the evening news. Every two weeks, Steven Monacelli will explore the dystopic, desperate, and despicable realities of contemporary Texas and channel the sense of […]
Posted inCulture
This Holiday Season, Give Yourself Some Peace of Mind
Hey there listeners, and welcome back. It’s that fallow period between Thanksgiving, Christmas (Hanukkah!), and New Year’s. Time barely counts, calories sure as shit don’t, and your bank account is full of Monopoly money. I am not the man to tell you what to do with all that cash burning a hole in your pocket. […]
Posted inPolitics
Comic Book Villain Ken Paxton Sues to Shut Homeless Shelter Days Before Thanksgiving
Texas Attorney General and Scrooge-for-life Ken Paxton is back at it again — and by that we mean he’s going after another group that’s trying to help other people. This time, the MAGA Grinch is targeting a South Austin nonprofit that dares to provide care and compassion to people experiencing homelessness. Yes, in a bold […]
Posted inOpinion
Trump Taps Texas Nobodies Over Fan Boys Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton
We almost feel bad for Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Both Republicans have been desperately vying for the attention of President-elect Donald Trump, with Abbott yapping about protecting Texas from the evil influence of communists (Chinese, not Russian — it’s not the 1980s) and Paxton boldly standing up for Elon Musk’s […]