State of Mind

The original Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders squad burst onto the field back in 1972—the same year Title IX passed, the same year Deep Throat came out, and a year before Roe v. Wade. Sarah Hepola digs into the untold stories behind the global pop culture phenomenon, from the stripper who allegedly inspired the squad’s creation, to a scandalous Playboy cover shoot that was partly a battle over fair wages, to the ongoing debate about sexuality and women’s bodies in a post-#MeToo world. The result is a vibrant mix of history, cultural criticism, and storytelling, featuring interviews with New Yorker writer Jia Tolentino, award-winning novelist Ben Fountain, Oscar-nominated director Dana Adam Shapiro, local television sports legend Dale Hansen, folk-writing hero Joe Nick Patoski, and a whole bunch of cheerleaders whose names you don’t know yet—but should.

Two Austinites have made it their life's work to document uses for every wild plant in Texas—a project they say could save humanity.

Katie Nodjimbadem on how she was shaped by her family's unlikely choice to make a home in the Chihuahuan Desert.

The poet and performer Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton on risking new connections with nature during a year of tragedy.

Mike Hall tells the story of closing down the legendary Austin club Liberty Lunch in 1999 with a 24-hour performance of Van Morrison’s “Gloria.”