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This week, we present the final edition of the Texas Miracle, the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State. We mentioned this a couple of episodes ago, but now it’s really time to say goodbye. Observer staffer Patrick Michels and Miracle host Andrea Grimes, are heading out to California — the Bay area — as he takes on a great new investigative reporting gig and Andrea restarts her freelancing career with a side of social justice activism. We'll say a proper goodbye at the end of the show, so stay tuned. On the show: We’re featuring — y’all! We asked Texas expats (Texpats!) to call into the Texas Miracle hotline to tell us what they miss most about home. The overwhelming winner? Tex-Mex food. We’ll be featuring your messages throughout the show. We’ll head out to the Texas Tiki Shed for one last news roundup, discussing Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick's top ten "legislative priorities" with Tom Philpott from Mother Jones, our resident anthropologist Dr. Jenny Carlson, and Observer managing editor Rose Cahalan. And in our final edition of Strangest State, Patrick will regale us one last time with weird tales from far-flung Texas, including the downright adorable story of Texas' biggest garbage truck fan.

This week on the Texas Observer's weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn't, about the Lone Star State: What the heck just happened, guys? And what the heck happens next? We’ll autopsy the election, and maybe American democracy, with confused British journalist and Observer freelancer Alex Hannaford, Dallas Morning News reporter Lauren McGaughy, and the Houston Chronicle’s Bobby Cervantes. Blake Rocap, legislative counsel for the pro-choice political org NARAL Pro-Choice Texas, will also stop by the Texas Tiki Shed to talk about what a Trump presidency could mean for access to legal abortion in the United States, since Texas could very well be be the source of another seminal abortion rights case, this one decided by anti-abortion, Trump-appointed justices. And as usual, Observer staffer Patrick Michels takes us on a tour of the wildest and weirdest news from far-flung Texas, which this weeks includes tips on how to ride out the coming apocalypse... in luxury.

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: What should the media do when our elected officials — or those hoping to become our elected officials — use vulgar language not just casually, but in the most predatory and misogynistic ways? We're talking, of course, about that Sid Miller tweet from Tuesday, and host Andrea Grimes will make the case for un-censoring ourselves. As always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news with the Texas Tribune’s Bobby Blanchard, our own Patrick Michels and the Texas Miracle’s favorite anthropologist, Dr. Jenny Carlson, who’ll parse the meaning of Texas’ still stunning early turnout numbers and a shocking — a downright shocking — claim about queso. And of course, things will get weird when Patrick, who trawls the pages of small-town newspapers week after week looking for the wildest Texas news, stops by to bring us strange stories from far-flung Texas, including the spooky tale of the jacuzzi of despair.

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State. This week: We’re revisiting one of our all-time favorite interviews — a conversation with a Central Texas hospice chaplain who’ll give us some tips on how to do right something you only get to do once: Die. As always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news with everyone’s favorite journalistic trio, Lauren and the Bobbys! That’s Dallas Morning News reporter Lauren McGaughy, the Texas Tribune’s Bobby Blanchard, and Bobby Cervantes of the Houston Chronicle, who’ll take on Texas’ incredible early voting turnout numbers, engage in rampant speculation about the future of American democracy and help our host make a pretty serious dent in a box of wine. And Observer staffer Patrick Michels, who trawls the pages of small-town newspapers week after week looking for the wildest Texas news, will also stop by the Texas Tiki Shed (along with Fizzy the hound dog, who took a particular dislike to yet another clown story) to bring us strange stories from far-flung Texas.

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: Remember when we all used to make fun of how dumb George W. Bush sounded? When his folksy ramblings were an embarrassment to Americans the world over? After the first eight minutes or so of this episode, you’re going to be damn near convinced the man was a certified genius. As always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news with Observer staffers Naveena Sadasivam and Patrick Michels, plus Observer veteran Alexa Garcia-Ditta to talk about Rewire's deep-dive investigation into the anti-abortion program that Texas spends millions on each year, and the child welfare program our lawmakers don't seem to want to allocate another dime to, plus a new fracking study that reveals — hold on to your hats, y'all — that fracking isn’t the healthiest thing on earth. Patrick will also stop by the Texas Tiki Shed to bring us wild, weird and in this case fowl news in our Strangest State segment, featuring a (literal) turkey trot and a (literal) chicken toss.  

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: Clowns, more clowns, and Capitol crime! And also dancing. By popular demand, our Dancing with the Stars correspondent Becky Grimes (host Andrea Grimes knows her as “mom”) is back on the show to break some tough news: We’re now down to just two Texans left on America’s favorite reality footwork show. As always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news with Texas Monthly’s Dan Solomon and Houston Chronicle reporters Andrea Zelinski and Bobby Cervantes to catch up on the latest Ken Paxton securities fraud foibles, the San Antonio cops caught in Donald Trump gear and the Capitol-scaling criminal who vandalized a gubernatorial portrait to the tune of $10,000 in damage. Oh, and we mentioned clowns, right? Observer staffer Patrick Michels returns for a very clowny Strangest State segment featuring the wildest and weirdest news from far-flung Texas. (Clown-phobic listeners are encouraged to skip the first ten minutes or so of this week's episode. We're very sorry. The clowns are not.)

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: Road trip! Staffer Patrick Michels and host Andrea Grimes head to Corpus Christi — not to spend a day at the beach (the surf is full of bacteria, we're sad to report) but a day standing in line with literal thousands of Selena fans who lined up to witness the world debut of the Tejana superstar’s branded makeup line. We also stopped by the flagship location of Texas’ favorite fast food chain, so that Andrea could take her first-ever (yes, first ever) what-a-bite of a Whataburger. And as always, we'll take the podcast out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news with Austin journalist and food writer Paula Forbes, Observer contributor John Wright and staffer Naveena Sadasivam to talk about the creepy clown craze sweeping the nation, Baylor University’s latest Title IX failure and a Houston Democrat’s plan to put Texas ninth graders through police interaction training.

This week on the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: Staffer Patrick Michels brings us wild and weird news from far-flung Texas. In the queue: the East Texas NASCAR enthusiast who won a year’s supply of Braum’s ice cream, a school district where teachers are armed and ready for battle, and the not-so-burgeoning "clown lives matter" movement. As always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news with Texas Monthly’s Andrea Valdez, our resident anthropologist Dr. Jenny Carlson and our favorite New York import, freelancer Annamarya Scaccia, to reflect upon the Clinton-Trump debate, the state of Ted Cruz’s conscience and the role of capitalism in the socio-political oppression of bodily autonomy. (It’s a hoot, we promise.) But sadly, this week Rick Perry shot for the stars — and missed. Perry’s three-week tenure on Dancing with the Stars is over, but not before our bespectacled former governor developed a bromance with fellow Texan, Vanilla Ice. We’ll get the Miracle’s Dancing expert, host Andrea Grimes' own mom, on the line to break it down.

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: We talk to Stephanie Toti, the young lawyer who took Texas and its anti-abortion regulations all the way to the Supreme Court, and won. She’ll tell us what it was like going up against the guys of the Texas Attorney General’s office in the courtroom, and how she and her team at the Center for Reproductive Rights prepped to win the most important abortion rights case in a generation. As always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news with Lauren and the Bobbys — Austin journalists Lauren McGaughy, Bobby Blanchard and Bobby Cervantes — who’ll catch us up on the latest campus carry kerfuffle at the University of Texas and debate the ethics of politics journalism — specifically, whether Politico’s latest reporting on the presidential race has gone too tabloid. We'll also analyze how former governor Rick Perry held on to his Dancing with the Stars spot by the skin of his boots with the world’s foremost Dancing with the Stars expert — host Andrea Grimes' mom, Becky. What can Perry can do to stay in the running (or, perhaps, the foxtrotting) for that mirrorball trophy? Tune in to find out.

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: We talk to Dallas performer Nicole Stewart, the co-founder of the live storytelling show Oral Fixation. Stewart was in the process of terminating a much-wanted pregnancy at 22 weeks on the day that Wendy Davis stood for her 13-hour filibuster against unconstitutional abortion regulations. Now, Nicole and her husband are sharing their experience through their true-life live storytelling series that’s sweeping abortion stigma out from under the rug with honesty, compassion and even humor. Plus: former governor Rick Perry has made his reality television debut, and we’ll talk to the world’s foremost Dancing with the Stars expert about Perry’s moves. And as always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news, which this week includes walking Texas stereotype Sid Miller’s New York Times debut, a troubling Houston Chronicle investigation into Texas public schools and the Texas climate change "skeptic" who heads up the House Science Committee.

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Observer‘s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: We’re talking tacos. Puffy tacos, that is -- the magical, uniquely San Antonian specialty that puts competitors crispy and soft to shame. The San Antonio Current’s food and nightlife editor Jessica Elizarraras will join the show to tell us where to find Texas’ finest puffy specimens. As always, we’ll go out to the Texas Tiki Shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news, which this week includes the Dallas Morning News’ historic endorsement of a Democrat for president, and we’ll talk to a Texas energy and environment scholar who will unpack the latest example of Texas lawmakers’ typical conservative cruelty: ending an electric bill assistance program for poor Texans. And we'll turn to Texas Observer staffer Patrick Michels, who scours the pages of small-town Texas newspapers for the wildest and weirdest stories, including an East Texas whale watching excursion and the most dangerous theme park in Wichita Falls.

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Observer's weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star state: You shouldn’t read the comments, but perhaps you should sew them. That’s the philosophy of Dallas Morning News reporter Hannah Wise, who’ll be joining us to talk about how she has literally stitched up some of the best (or maybe worst) comments the paper gets on their big stories in a labor of love she's calling "Sew Many Comments." We’ll also go out to the Texas tiki shed to get caught up on the latest and greatest-slash-worst Texas news, which this week includes Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood, who has taken his crusade against vaccinations to — where else? Facebook. Plus, the Dallas Morning News’ Lauren McGaughy will catch us up on embattled Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest foibles, and our own Naveena Sadasivam will unpack the conspiracies around climate science. And as always, we turn to Texas Observer staffer and Strangest Stater Patrick Michels, who scours the pages of small-town Texas newspapers for the wildest and weirdest stories, including East Texas counterfeit cash and a South Texas coach who bit (literally) one of his students.

This week on the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: We’ll hear the sounds of Donald Trump’s recent visit to Austin — there are some USA chants involved — and check in with how Trump supporters are feeling as their candidate hops on the trail — and trails and trails — across Texas. Plus, Texas Monthly journos and contributors Dan Solomon, Doyin Oyeniyi and Jessica Luther head out to the Texas Tiki Shed for this week’s news roundup to discuss cocks and glocks — in terms of the be-dildoed campus carry protest taking place on the University of Texas campus this week. We'll also tackle a shocking Austin American-Statesman report on the sexually abusive doctors allowed to keep their licenses thanks to the Texas Medical Board, and we'll ruminate on the latest news about now-former Travis County GOP chairman (and anime pornography fan) Robert Morrow. And as usual, Observer staffer and Strangest Stater Patrick Michels will bring us the wildest news from small-town Texas and small-town Texas newspapers, including some decidedly unsportsmanlike conduct from a kids' soccer coach. Strap in, or perhaps, strap-on, y’all — it's time to witness another Miracle.

This week on the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State: We’re stacking the show with the best of our first four months -- our best forty minutes or so. We’ve got it all! Texas politics, Texas food, and Texas secession. Sort of. Almost. First up, we’ll talk to former Texas state senator Wendy Davis, who you may remember from a little 13-hour filibuster against medically unnecessary abortion regulations. Plucked from our essential filibusterversary episode, Davis will tell us about feeling the Texas state Capitol literally shake that day back in 2013, and reflect on whether, three years later, she feels a little like that star high school quarterback who can never top that one big game. Then, we’ll visit another act of obstruction from our seventh episode live from the 2016 Texas GOP convention back in May. There, some Lone Star patriots tried to put a vote over Texas secession in motion — and while debate was fiery, it was also hilariously rife with parliamentary procedure and a particularly Texan brand of hyperbole. Then, from our third episode: We’ll meet a Houston mother who lost her son to police violence, and who’s created a radio space for other grieving family and friends -- across the nation -- to come together to speak their pain, and seek solutions. Next, to Dallas and the aftermath of the police shooting that left five officers dead, to ask: As state lawmakers privilege the loss of those who wear blue, what are they saying about those who are black? Finally, we’ll go all the way back to the beginning to talk to three-time James Beard award-winning food critic and chili authority Robb Walsh to find out why Texans never put beans in chili. Or do they?

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Observer's weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn't, about the Lone Star State: Our Stump-A-Ferner (that's foreigner, for you ferners) game show pits a real live New Yorker against a Houston native to see who knows more about the six flags of Texas. Going into this week's round, the current score is Ferners: 0 and Texans: 0. Will this be the week someone pulls ahead? Tune in to find out. And: What's weird in Texas? Observer staffer and Strangest Stater Patrick Michels brings us the wildest news from the far-flung Friendly State, including a vampire heist at a Texas hair salon and a be-hooved Taco Bell patron in Fort Worth. Plus: As American cops become more and more militarized, what are we to make of the unprecedented use of a killer robot in Dallas this summer? Our journalist roundtable — the Houston Chronicle's Andrea Zelinski, Observer freelancer Alex Hannaford, Austin food writer Paula Forbes and host Andrea Grimes — ponders this strange new reality, along with exploring Sid Miller's latest fantasy: That he's on Donald Trump's agricultural squad.

This week on the Texas Miracle, the Observer's weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn't, about the Lone Star State: What's weird in Texas? Observer staffer and Strangest Stater Patrick Michels brings us the wildest news from the far-flung Friendly State, including a woman who's literally dead of the 2016 presidential race, a plagiarism-prone alligator and kitten who escaped death by dragon. Then: From the Fifth Circuit's voter ID smackdown to wholesale disaster in the Dallas County GOP, the state of Republican politics in Texas is more fragile than it's been in decades. Can Dems capitalize on the moment? Our journalist roundtable — featuring Mother Jones' Tom Philpott, the Houston Chronicle's Bobby Cervantes and Observer freelancer John Wright, plus host Andrea Grimes — ponders that possibility, along with exploring Donald Trump's, er, jagoffery. Finally: On this edition of our Stump A Ferner (that's foreigner, for you ferners) game show, an Ohio transplant faces off with an East Texas native to see who knows more about the sports halls-of-fame (of course there's more than one) of Texas. Going into this week's round, the current score is Ferners: 0 and Texans: 0. Will this be the week someone pulls ahead? Tune in to find out.

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star state, Observer staffer Patrick Michels introduces us to a woman who didn’t exist until she was 20 years old. Faith Pennington ran away from a conservative Christian family that had kept her even from having a birth certificate, and wound up at the Texas state Capitol, fighting for her ability to, well — be. Then, we’ll head out to the Texas tiki shed for a news roundup with host Andrea Grimes, Dallas Morning News reporter Lauren McGaughy, Texas Monthly's Dan Solomon, and Patrick, again, to talk about Attorney General Ken Paxton’s latest ethical troubles — this is becoming a recurring segment of its own — and whether organized basketball can help defeat bigotry. And on this week’s Ask A Texan segment, we’ll ask NARAL Pro-Choice Texas lobbyist Blake Rocap about how Governor Greg Abbott — not one to give up after that crushing Supreme Court defeat back in June — is sneaking new abortion restrictions in through the back door.

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star state, we’ve got Pokemon, we’ve got politics and we’ve got the president of the United States — ish. We don’t actually have Barack Obama on the show, but we do have the Texas country artist who appeared on last week’s televised presidential town hall about race and policing. Coffey Anderson is this week’s featured Texan for our Ask A Texan segment, and you might recognize him from a viral video he produced this month called “What to do when you get pulled over.”  We'll talk with Coffey about that video — and about some of the negative responses he's gotten — as well as hear his take on what really happened between Obama and Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick on the parts of that presidential town hall you didn't get to see. In our second-ever installment of our new game show, Stump-A-Ferner, quizmaster and Observer staffer Patrick Michels will see whether a native Dallasite can beat the Observer’s own brilliant environmental reporter, Naveena Sadasivam, at Texas trivia. As always, we'll go out to the Texas tiki shed for this week’s journalist roundtable, talking Ted Cruz’s sassy non-endorsement of Donald Trump at this year’s Republican National Convention, Greg Abbott’s push to pass a hate crimes law protecting police, and the latest on transgender potty policing by Texas lawmakers And finally, in our Strangest State segment, Patri

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Texas Observer’s weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn’t, about the Lone Star State, we're talking about race. Specifically, we’re talking about Black lives, and we’re talking about Black lives mattering. If that offends you, host Andrea Grimes invites you to listen to this episode particularly closely — maybe take notes, too — as Black Texans talk about what it is like to walk in their shoes, or, perhaps, their skin. We’ll start off with a message for white folks, and for anyone else who thinks “Black lives matter” means others do not, from Dr. David Brockman, the Observer’s resident theologian. Then we’ll go to Prairie View, Texas, where, one year ago this week, Sandra Bland was pulled over and put in jail, where she later died. We’ll hear from poets, pastors and students who are working to make sure that Sandy still speaks, even after she’s gone. And finally we’ll head into the studio for an in-depth roundtable discussion with University of Texas professors Peniel Joseph and Christen Smith and Austin Justice Coalition co-founder and second-year Southern University Law Center student Fatima Mann to talk about the media’s misrepresentation (and conflation) of the Black Lives Matter movement, its place in the history of Black Americans' human rights struggle, and the Black women who are so often ignored when we talk about whose lives matter.

This week on the Texas Miracle podcast, the Observer's weekly compendium of everything you need to know, but maybe wish you didn't, about the Lone Star state: We'll start off with a brief note about the attacks on police that followed a peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstration in Dallas on Thursday night. Host Andrea Grimes will intro the show by wondering: Whose lives matter? After tragedy strikes, for whom do we lower our flags? And we'll also get to the business of our sort-of-usual frivolity. In the Miracle's new Stump-A-Fer'ner segment, we'll see if a Belgian can beat a Texan at her own Texas trivia game, and go out to the Texas tiki shed for our news roundup. Dallas Morning News writers Bobby Blanchard and Lauren McGaughy, and Austin freelance writer Paula Forbes will discuss campus carry, Browser the library cat and some behind-the-scenes attempts to change Texas abortion regulations in the wake of the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Whole Woman's v. Hellerstedt. And because we never miss an opportunity to Ask A Texan, we've tapped Central Texas librarian Allison Steger for her recommendations of the best Texas books to read with your kids — or on your own, we won't judge you. Promise.