Texas Observer
@texasobserver.org
A nonprofit newsroom covering Texas through investigative journalism & narrative storytelling since 1954.
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Texas Observer
@texasobserver.org
· Sep 29
Work for the Texas Observer
We’re a nonprofit with a strong public service mission; we seek to expose injustice and to produce the kind of impact journalism that makes a difference.
www.texasobserver.org
Are you interested in covering politics in the Lone Star State? The Texas Observer is hiring an intern to help us cover the 2026 elections! Apply here:
From @kitoconnell.com in the archives: “The thing that excited me most [about Meow Wolf] was this idea of the breakdown between the viewer and the art. I really like that it’s truly art for everybody, and art for all.”
Beyond the Refrigerator Door
Multifaceted, multidimensional, Meow Wolf is "art for everybody." Digital Editor Kit O'Connell visits Meow Wolf Grapevine.
www.texasobserver.org
November 30, 2025 at 10:00 PM
From @kitoconnell.com in the archives: “The thing that excited me most [about Meow Wolf] was this idea of the breakdown between the viewer and the art. I really like that it’s truly art for everybody, and art for all.”
Earlier, from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: “In America, this risk [of wrongful conviction] is not only a defining feature of the modern death penalty, but it also results in the disproportionate conviction and execution of innocent Black people.”
New Report Highlights the 'Fatal Flaws' Behind Wrongful Capital Convictions
The ACLU found official misconduct, perjury, and predominantly white juries to be leading contributors to exonerated death sentences.
www.texasobserver.org
November 30, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Earlier, from @michellepitcher.bsky.social: “In America, this risk [of wrongful conviction] is not only a defining feature of the modern death penalty, but it also results in the disproportionate conviction and execution of innocent Black people.”
Catch up with everything from our November/December 2025 issue of our magazine: www.texasobserver.org/issues/novem...
November 30, 2025 at 6:00 PM
Catch up with everything from our November/December 2025 issue of our magazine: www.texasobserver.org/issues/novem...
Featured story from @liseolsen.bsky.social and @psskow.bsky.social: Oil and gas wells produce prodigious amounts of waste. One horizontal well generates upwards of 8,000 barrels—or 336,000 gallons—of waste during the drilling and completion process.
East Texans Fight Oil Waste Pits Run by an Operator Cited for Dozens of Violations
In bucolic areas near the Louisiana line, residents ask, "Why are Texas taxpayers liable for other states’ toxic waste?"
www.texasobserver.org
November 30, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Featured story from @liseolsen.bsky.social and @psskow.bsky.social: Oil and gas wells produce prodigious amounts of waste. One horizontal well generates upwards of 8,000 barrels—or 336,000 gallons—of waste during the drilling and completion process.
From our magazine: Daddy doesn’t live in Clint anymore. He’s in an assisted living facility in the city, El Paso, but he visits for family gatherings. Each time, he asks his daughters “¿Mijas, y mi pueblo?”
‘Mija, Solamente Me Importa Clint’
A daughter’s attempts to help her elderly father understand why his hometown doesn’t look like home anymore
www.texasobserver.org
November 29, 2025 at 10:00 PM
From our magazine: Daddy doesn’t live in Clint anymore. He’s in an assisted living facility in the city, El Paso, but he visits for family gatherings. Each time, he asks his daughters “¿Mijas, y mi pueblo?”
Previously: Residents of Van Zandt County fought back against a proposed dam in a battle that united organizers around issues of water rights, land ownership, and government transparency.
Dammed if You Do: East Texas Locals Fight to Stop an Unnecessary Reservoir
In Van Zandt County, a fight over water rights, government transparency, and land ownership came to a head with a proposed dam project.
www.texasobserver.org
November 29, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Previously: Residents of Van Zandt County fought back against a proposed dam in a battle that united organizers around issues of water rights, land ownership, and government transparency.
“There are enough voters out there who can absolutely turn an election and blow up what they are trying to do.”
The GOP's recent redistricting of the county commissioners court has galvanized progressive organizers heading into 2026.
The GOP's recent redistricting of the county commissioners court has galvanized progressive organizers heading into 2026.
In Tarrant County, a Grassroots Coalition Pushes Back on Christian Nationalists
The recent redistricting of the county commissioners court has galvanized progressive organizers heading into 2026.
www.texasobserver.org
November 29, 2025 at 6:00 PM
“There are enough voters out there who can absolutely turn an election and blow up what they are trying to do.”
The GOP's recent redistricting of the county commissioners court has galvanized progressive organizers heading into 2026.
The GOP's recent redistricting of the county commissioners court has galvanized progressive organizers heading into 2026.
Reposted by Texas Observer
Since 1973, at least 201 people on death row have been exonerated—meaning cleared of any responsibility for a crime. Eighteen of those people were in Texas. A recent report reveals how racist the ultimate punishment really is:
New Report Highlights the 'Fatal Flaws' Behind Wrongful Capital Convictions
The ACLU found official misconduct, perjury, and predominantly white juries to be leading contributors to exonerated death sentences.
www.texasobserver.org
November 27, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Since 1973, at least 201 people on death row have been exonerated—meaning cleared of any responsibility for a crime. Eighteen of those people were in Texas. A recent report reveals how racist the ultimate punishment really is:
Reposted by Texas Observer
This is not a story about right and wrong.
This is a very personal story.
This is a story about the messed up American system.
This is a story about the virtual impossibility of living a normal life after surviving abuse and abandonment as a young girl.
This is a very personal story.
This is a story about the messed up American system.
This is a story about the virtual impossibility of living a normal life after surviving abuse and abandonment as a young girl.
Our top story: Pam Perillo doesn’t celebrate the fact that she walked free after expecting to be executed. She has no explanation for why she was spared, except that “God must still have a lot of work to do.”
Pam Perillo’s Sisterhood of the Condemned
She's a death row survivor, but she doesn't think she's really any different from her friends who are still set to die.
www.texasobserver.org
November 28, 2025 at 8:28 PM
This is not a story about right and wrong.
This is a very personal story.
This is a story about the messed up American system.
This is a story about the virtual impossibility of living a normal life after surviving abuse and abandonment as a young girl.
This is a very personal story.
This is a story about the messed up American system.
This is a story about the virtual impossibility of living a normal life after surviving abuse and abandonment as a young girl.
Our top story: “The State of Texas makes every inmate seem like the most evil, horrible [person]. We demonize them, and we don’t see the trauma of people like Pam Perillo.”
Pam Perillo’s Sisterhood of the Condemned
She's a death row survivor, but she doesn't think she's really any different from her friends who are still set to die.
www.texasobserver.org
November 29, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Our top story: “The State of Texas makes every inmate seem like the most evil, horrible [person]. We demonize them, and we don’t see the trauma of people like Pam Perillo.”
Previously: "I want to slow down, bend down, look, and really see. Humans have been doing this for millenia: matching shapes on the ground to meaning and story."
Jane Goodall, the Natural World, and Why I Track Skunks
Whenever I see one, I think: fashion show. Something from Chanel. A bit of art deco. That black and white aesthetic.
www.texasobserver.org
November 28, 2025 at 10:00 PM
Previously: "I want to slow down, bend down, look, and really see. Humans have been doing this for millenia: matching shapes on the ground to meaning and story."
Our top story: Pam Perillo doesn’t celebrate the fact that she walked free after expecting to be executed. She has no explanation for why she was spared, except that “God must still have a lot of work to do.”
Pam Perillo’s Sisterhood of the Condemned
She's a death row survivor, but she doesn't think she's really any different from her friends who are still set to die.
www.texasobserver.org
November 28, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Our top story: Pam Perillo doesn’t celebrate the fact that she walked free after expecting to be executed. She has no explanation for why she was spared, except that “God must still have a lot of work to do.”
There's still time to apply!
Are you interested in covering politics in the Lone Star State? The Texas Observer is hiring an intern to help us cover the 2026 elections! Apply here:
Work for the Texas Observer
We’re a nonprofit with a strong public service mission; we seek to expose injustice and to produce the kind of impact journalism that makes a difference.
www.texasobserver.org
November 28, 2025 at 5:46 PM
There's still time to apply!
Reposted by Texas Observer
Earlier: Texas Department of Public Safety and ICE signed a pair of agreements that will authorize state police within DPS’s Criminal Investigations and Highway Patrol divisions to effectively operate as ICE agents, on a statewide basis.
Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump
The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.
www.texasobserver.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Earlier: Texas Department of Public Safety and ICE signed a pair of agreements that will authorize state police within DPS’s Criminal Investigations and Highway Patrol divisions to effectively operate as ICE agents, on a statewide basis.
Reposted by Texas Observer
“Who is believed, and who isn’t, at different stages of investigation and conviction?” she said. “The way that bias affects the system is such a multifaceted issue, the solution also has to be multifaceted.”
Since 1973, at least 201 people on death row have been exonerated—meaning cleared of any responsibility for a crime. Eighteen of those people were in Texas. A recent report reveals how racist the ultimate punishment really is:
New Report Highlights the 'Fatal Flaws' Behind Wrongful Capital Convictions
The ACLU found official misconduct, perjury, and predominantly white juries to be leading contributors to exonerated death sentences.
www.texasobserver.org
November 27, 2025 at 11:10 PM
“Who is believed, and who isn’t, at different stages of investigation and conviction?” she said. “The way that bias affects the system is such a multifaceted issue, the solution also has to be multifaceted.”
From our magazine: "My dad’s list is short and simple. He loves the Marines, his grandsons, menudo on Sundays, and Clint. ... Daddy is a sentimental man plagued with nostalgia for his hometown."
‘Mija, Solamente Me Importa Clint’
A daughter’s attempts to help her elderly father understand why his hometown doesn’t look like home anymore
www.texasobserver.org
November 27, 2025 at 10:00 PM
From our magazine: "My dad’s list is short and simple. He loves the Marines, his grandsons, menudo on Sundays, and Clint. ... Daddy is a sentimental man plagued with nostalgia for his hometown."
Reposted by Texas Observer
Learn more about the Dallas Express and how it fits into a bigger political influence campaign at the Texas Observer.
www.texasobserver.org/dallas-hero-...
www.texasobserver.org/dallas-hero-...
The GOP Megadonor Behind the Bid to Break Dallas City Government
Conservative hotelier Monty Bennett and a California-based company that offers protesters-for-hire have seeded an “astroturf” right-wing influence network that has kicked into overdrive to push contro...
www.texasobserver.org
November 26, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Learn more about the Dallas Express and how it fits into a bigger political influence campaign at the Texas Observer.
www.texasobserver.org/dallas-hero-...
www.texasobserver.org/dallas-hero-...
Reposted by Texas Observer
The Dallas Express, a right wing "news" website that routinely quotes groups that were secretly funded by the website's publisher Monty Bennett, has been given a White House press pass under the "new media" program that also includes folks like Russian-funded podcaster Tim Pool.
November 26, 2025 at 4:49 PM
The Dallas Express, a right wing "news" website that routinely quotes groups that were secretly funded by the website's publisher Monty Bennett, has been given a White House press pass under the "new media" program that also includes folks like Russian-funded podcaster Tim Pool.
Since 1973, at least 201 people on death row have been exonerated—meaning cleared of any responsibility for a crime. Eighteen of those people were in Texas. A recent report reveals how racist the ultimate punishment really is:
New Report Highlights the 'Fatal Flaws' Behind Wrongful Capital Convictions
The ACLU found official misconduct, perjury, and predominantly white juries to be leading contributors to exonerated death sentences.
www.texasobserver.org
November 27, 2025 at 8:00 PM
Since 1973, at least 201 people on death row have been exonerated—meaning cleared of any responsibility for a crime. Eighteen of those people were in Texas. A recent report reveals how racist the ultimate punishment really is:
Reposted by Texas Observer
From @gabrielarana.bsky.social in 2021: This Thanksgiving, tell your racist aunt she is a racist. Call your sexist uncle a misogynist. Inform your transphobic cousin that kids don’t deserve to suffer because of his fragile masculinity.
This Thanksgiving, Call Your Racist Uncle a “Racist”
Avoiding political conflict at the dinner table is overrated.
www.texasobserver.org
November 26, 2025 at 7:38 PM
From @gabrielarana.bsky.social in 2021: This Thanksgiving, tell your racist aunt she is a racist. Call your sexist uncle a misogynist. Inform your transphobic cousin that kids don’t deserve to suffer because of his fragile masculinity.
Community meetings, such as those organized by the 817 Podcast, have galvanized Tarrant County residents in recent months. Here's how this type of organizing is changing politics in North Texas:
In Tarrant County, a Grassroots Coalition Pushes Back on Christian Nationalists
The recent redistricting of the county commissioners court has galvanized progressive organizers heading into 2026.
www.texasobserver.org
November 27, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Community meetings, such as those organized by the 817 Podcast, have galvanized Tarrant County residents in recent months. Here's how this type of organizing is changing politics in North Texas:
Our top story: “The State of Texas makes every inmate seem like the most evil, horrible [person]. We demonize them, and we don’t see the trauma of people like Pam Perillo.”
Pam Perillo’s Sisterhood of the Condemned
She's a death row survivor, but she doesn't think she's really any different from her friends who are still set to die.
www.texasobserver.org
November 27, 2025 at 4:00 PM
Our top story: “The State of Texas makes every inmate seem like the most evil, horrible [person]. We demonize them, and we don’t see the trauma of people like Pam Perillo.”
Earlier: Texas Department of Public Safety and ICE signed a pair of agreements that will authorize state police within DPS’s Criminal Investigations and Highway Patrol divisions to effectively operate as ICE agents, on a statewide basis.
Texas Turns Its Sprawling State Police Force Into Immigration Agents for Trump
The notorious 287(g) task force program has finally reached DPS, raising fears of widespread racial profiling.
www.texasobserver.org
November 26, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Earlier: Texas Department of Public Safety and ICE signed a pair of agreements that will authorize state police within DPS’s Criminal Investigations and Highway Patrol divisions to effectively operate as ICE agents, on a statewide basis.
Reposted by Texas Observer
Featured story: Weeks after a transphobic attack, dozens of trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming folks gathered on the “free side” of Austin’s Barton Springs to swim, celebrate, and fearlessly take up space.
@kitoconnell.com was there to witness this moment of queer joy and resilience...
@kitoconnell.com was there to witness this moment of queer joy and resilience...
At Barton Springs, Trans Existence Becomes Resistance
Following a transphobic incident earlier this year, community members gathered to "protect trans joy."
www.texasobserver.org
November 24, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Featured story: Weeks after a transphobic attack, dozens of trans, nonbinary, and gender-nonconforming folks gathered on the “free side” of Austin’s Barton Springs to swim, celebrate, and fearlessly take up space.
@kitoconnell.com was there to witness this moment of queer joy and resilience...
@kitoconnell.com was there to witness this moment of queer joy and resilience...
Reposted by Texas Observer
“There are enough voters out there who can absolutely turn an election and blow up what they are trying to do.”
New from Edward Brown: A broad coalition in Tarrant County are fighting for the spirit of their community, after GOP redistricting galvanized community organizers into action.
New from Edward Brown: A broad coalition in Tarrant County are fighting for the spirit of their community, after GOP redistricting galvanized community organizers into action.
In Tarrant County, a Grassroots Coalition Pushes Back on Christian Nationalists
The recent redistricting of county commissioners court precincts has galvanized progressive organizers heading into 2026.
www.texasobserver.org
November 25, 2025 at 6:06 PM
“There are enough voters out there who can absolutely turn an election and blow up what they are trying to do.”
New from Edward Brown: A broad coalition in Tarrant County are fighting for the spirit of their community, after GOP redistricting galvanized community organizers into action.
New from Edward Brown: A broad coalition in Tarrant County are fighting for the spirit of their community, after GOP redistricting galvanized community organizers into action.