U.S. History

This Day In History: A Jack Ruby Playlist

On November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was shot down by Lee Harvey Oswald as he was being driven through the streets of Dallas. Two days later, Oswald himself was killed at the hands of nightclub operator Jack Ruby as he was being transferred to a county jail. There have been dozens of reas ... More >>

5 Ways to Tell If You've Politically Lost Your Damned Mind

If you're a sane person then you are dreading the next four months leading up to the presidential election. Every single election cycle has gotten more and more crazy, but I have a feeling this is going to be the one where we end up developing airborne thorazine to try and chill folks the holy hell ... More >>

10 Best Modern Political Speeches

We'll be hearing a lot of great speeches this election season, but lets take a second to remember the true giants of political rhetoric. 10. Martin Luther King: I've Been to the Mountaintop King delivered this speech in Memphis, Tennessee the day before he was assassinated. After talking for a whi ... More >>

ReWritten in Stone

Crossing the Line: Love the Beans, Hate the Beaner

One of the greatest stories I ever worked on involved neo-Nazis and burritos.

No, George Washington Doesn't Want You Armed Against the Government: E-Mail Debunking Part II

This little infographic has been making the rounds on Facebook among the more pro-gun people... especially a certain kind of pro-gun people. See, there are hunters, there are people who want to own guns for home protection, and there are people who want to own guns simply because they are adults who ... More >>

Harry Truman and Bess: Another E-mail from Your Dad

Like most of you, I get e-mails from my dad full of "facts" that are basically telling me how much better life was in the past than it is now. People were more respectful, politicians were more honest, and values were more...valued? Case in point, yesterday I received a list of trivia about Harry ... More >>

Happy Birthday To James Buchanan, Our First Gay President (Possibly): 5 Odd Facts

We doubt you're reading this, since you are out wildly celebrating the 221st birthday of President James Buchanan. Aren't you? Of course you are. There are so many reasons to celebrate, like these five: 5. Some people believe he IS NOT the worst president ever, so take that!! Whenever a new surve ... More >>

Banning Books in Arizona

Cinema Slap Fight: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter vs. FDR: American Badass

Editor's Note: Please congratulate Jef With One F for breaking the record for number of colons used in a Houston Press headline. Two presidents both alike in regard and respect, in fair Internet, where we store our trailers for upcoming films featuring chief executives that combat supernatural evil ... More >>

Stephen Kellogg & The Sixers

Great News, Texas: Robert Caro's Newest LBJ Volume Comes Out In May

A new perspective on this odd couple​It's been -- as always -- a long wait between volumes of Robert Caro's masterful, majestic and compulsively readable biography of Lyndon Johnson. News has finally come of the new volume, and even better news is that it won't be the last. The new book, Pass ... More >>

Bayou Bend Family Days Independence Day Celebration,

The Five Dark Secrets America's First Ladies Wanted Desperately to Keep Private

Let me tell you what my astrologer said, Warren​The position of First Lady is often a thankless one. A surprising number of presidential wives, usually citing health, were all but recluses during their husband's administration, brooding out of sight like something out of Jane Eyre. Others hav ... More >>

The ALL CAPS chicas

Ron Franscell: Delivered from Evil

Texas Textbooks Ignore Hip-Hop, Thomas Jefferson

"...But history is written by those who have hanged heroes" - Braveheart ​What do you need to know about history? They are the stories that made up America. They are the stories that America made up. That's actually not ours. If you've seen Assume The Position on HBO, you know it's a comedic but ... More >>

Connie Willis: Blackout

Going back to the future might not be an option in this sci-fi adventure story

Topdog/Underdog

Black Box Series makes its Houston debut

UniverSoul Circus

Web exclusive!

Dirty Dealings in Dixie

Web exclusive!

Big River

Web exclusive!

Katherine Howe: The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane

Web exclusive!

Constant Star

Decades before Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus, Ida B. Wells did the same thing on a train

The History of the USA

Web exclusive!

Dryope and Iole

Theatre Suburbia hosts a world premiere play by Nancy Kiefer

Sam Houston's Not The First Politician To Be In A Cheesy Ad

If you needed any more evidence that Comcast was an agent of evil on par with Al Qaeda or whomever makes those peanut-butter-filled pretzels, look no further than the cable company's inescapable local commercials featuring Sam Houston. The former Texas President/Governor is shown engaging in a varie ... More >>

Don’t Blame Me. I Voted for the Duck.

Children’s Hilltop Theatre Festival

Express Children’s Theatre presents four fairy tales

An Elevated Conversation with Perseph One and AndAcc

Oh Slippin'

Over the Weekend: Bar Hopping and Political Posturing

“Women in Jazz”

Houston pays homage to “The Divine One”

“Forgers, Fakes and Pirates: Faking the Book”

See original printings of the Texas Declaration of Independence and Adolph Hitler’s autobiography – Not!

Why do Mexicans want to take back California?

The Mexican replies

Enjoy Some Chocolate

Fit for a King

Supreme Party

Shooting Gallery

Guns were once fit canvases for artisans

Best Place to Launch Fireworks

Crystal Beach

The True-Hearted Traitor

Why did Benedict Arnold defect? The Alley has an unusual explanation

Corny Fun

Sienna Plantation wants you to get lost

Keep History Alive

Paul Matthews puts his collection of military history on display

Westward Ho!

Houstonian Bridger chronicles the evils of manifest destiny with A Ballad of the West

Rebmaster

Web designer George Kalas wanted to re-fight the Civil War. Instead, he started one in his own movement.

American History Xploitation

Nobody's clamoring to claim this uncertain neo-Nazi film

Bright Blues

Ensemble entertains with a sexy, provocative production

The President's Analyst

Letters

Mr. Big

Houston sculptor David Adickes has one message for the art world: large is good

Arming Peggy MacGregor

Why is this winsome public sculpture, created by Mount Rushmore's sculptor, languishing in disrepair? And where is her arm?