Howdy, y’all. Brian Gaar here with The Barbed Wire. Fall’s technically here, but the Texas heat doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo: still sweltering, still relentless, still reminding us why iced tea is practically a survival tool. This week, we’ve got a civil rights pioneer finally getting his due, a young woman turning her […]
Post Type Archives: Newsletters
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THC Chaos, Football, and the Texas History They Don’t Teach You. From The Barbed Wire
Howdy, folks! I’m Brian Gaar, senior editor of The Barbed Wire. Texas keeps serving up chaos: politicians yelling at each other over gummies, former lawmakers suddenly speaking truth to power, football games that feel like action movies, and history classes that skip the real stories of Texans of color. Buckle up, the state of Texas […]
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Pumpkin spice, THC bans, and Cowboys chaos. From The Barbed Wire
Howdy, folks! I’m Brian Gaar, senior editor of The Barbed Wire. The triple-digit heat is finally crawling back to hell, football is on TV, pumpkin spice is lurking in every coffee shop, and Texas politics is still nuttier than a pecan pie left out at Thanksgiving. Let’s dig in. After being drugged and raped in […]
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New School Year, Same Texas Chaos. From The Barbed Wire.
Howdy, folks! I’m Brian Gaar, senior editor of The Barbed Wire. The backpacks are loaded, the buses are here, and Texas is already failing its first pop quiz of the new school year. Kids are getting stabbed across the state, women are still suffering under abortion bans, and in Austin, Facebook detectives are convinced the […]
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Republicans Have Turned the Texas Capitol Into a Prison (With Bathroom Escorts). From The Barbed Wire
Howdy, Texas. I’m Brian Gaar, senior editor of The Barbed Wire. Democracy here is circling the drain, cops are escorting lawmakers to the bathroom, and Texas Republicans won’t be satisfied until the Capitol comes with ankle monitors and a warden. Before we get into the headlines this week, our own Managing Editor Cara Kelly wrote […]
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July 30, 2025
Hi friends! I’m Olivia Messer, editor-in-chief of The Barbed Wire. I’m delighted to share that we’re just weeks away from our 🎂 One Year Anniversary 🎂 on Aug. 26, which means our free The Barbed Wire newsletter is going to look extra fancy while we try to convince you to support us with some of […]
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A THC Ban Is Back on the Menu. From The Barbed Wire
Hi friends! It’s-a-me! Olivia Messer, editor-in-chief of The Barbed Wire. I’ve missed you so much — and I know you’ve missed my emojis 💖. Senior Editor Brian Gaar is on a well-earned vacation, so I’m here to tell you about all of the important, entertaining stories we’ve cooked up for you this week. Welcome back […]
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A heartbreaking week. From The Barbed Wire
Howdy friends, it’s The Barbed Wire senior editor Brian Gaar. I wish I could say this edition of the newsletter was lighthearted. But sometimes events hit you right in the chest — and this week, they broke our hearts. On July 4, as most of us were bracing for barbecue and fireworks, a flash flood […]
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One Family’s Fight for Justice in Amarillo. A Barbed Wire Investigation
Happy belated Juneteeth, I’m The Barbed Wire senior editor Brian Gaar. Today’s newsletter highlights an important piece we’ve published. Felita Bailey was 25, saving up from her job at the Tyson plant in Amarillo while working toward her dental hygienist certification. She went out with her cousins one night over Labor Day weekend — and […]
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Abbott Says FAFO, Texas Cities Say FML. From The Barbed Wire
Howdy and welcome back to your regularly scheduled program of heatstroke, hypocrisy, and high-tech overreach. I’m The Barbed Wire senior editor Brian Gaar, reporting live from a state where the heat index is 100 degrees and civil liberties are falling fast. This week, Texas gave us a governor threatening protesters with bumper sticker slogans, a […]