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Faith Pennington was raised in an evangelical Christian family where she and her sisters were home-schooled, weren’t allowed to go to college, and couldn't work outside the home. When she ran away from home at age 18, she discovered she had no way of proving who she was.

Genevieve Keeney discovered her life's work after a series of untimely deaths.

Twenty-four year old Victor Erives was brought to the United States when he was just one year old. He's been living undocumented ever since. He says the DACA Act, which is being argued before the Supreme Court in April, changed his life. The ruling could benefit or deny millions of other undocumented kids like Victor the ability to live and work in the country they call home. 

When neighbors in Mineola learned that Roy Eubanks was a murderer on the run from the law, many were ready to forgive the man they thought they'd known for so long. But for one family, the news only confirmed their worst suspicions.

Dara Musick was a career criminal who spent nearly two decades behinds bars. So how did she end up doing theater?

Jen Chance was 16 years old when she told her parents she was gay. They responded by sending her to reparative therapy, hoping it would convince her to be straight. Here's what it was like for a kid to grow up in an environment where she's told over and over again that who she genuinely feels herself to be, is wrong.

Theme to "Observatory," the Texas Observer's upcoming podcast featuring stories from across the state. Music composed by Anthony Barilla.