You’d notice the excavators when driving near this South Texas mining site, but you’d never know about the tiny black-lace cacti nestled among the brush or the people who are patiently working to save them . . .

Cofounded by Sam Houston, the Philosophical Society of Texas has kept a low profile for 189 years, even though its current members include George W. Bush, Charles Butt, and Taylor Sheridan. What do they talk about when they get together? We went to their annual conference to find out.

In 188 years, no journalist has infiltrated the ranks of the Philosophical Society of Texas... UNTIL NOW! Read all about it @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/being-texan/...

For @slate.com I wrote about YouTube corrupting my son's soul (not an exaggeration!) and Fortesa Latifi's excellent new book LIKE, FOLLOW, SUBSCRIBE slate.com/life/2026/04... @hifortesa.bsky.social

“Once we lose it, it’s gone. Some people don’t care and think it doesn’t impact their life, but a person has to decide what’s important to them in this world." Jeremiah McKinney was surprised to find black-lace cacti at a future coal-mining complex. Then he worked with the company to save them.

Conservationists at a coal mining site? Why, yep! In February I went out with a gentle army of cactus gatherers to discover how they're saving the black lace cacti @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/travel/savin...

I've been pitching the NYT Magazine's Letter of Recommendation for ELEVEN YEARS. Here's an ode to the column, and to writerly resilience dinagachman.substack.com/p/goodbye-to...

I don't post on Substack often, but I did today! it's about hope substack.com/home/post/p-...

While nonbiodegradable coffins and cremation are the norm, some loved ones are being wrapped in natural shrouds and pulled in an Amish cart on a prairie. https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/green-burials-texas/

Not everyone will opt to bury a loved one four feet deep in a bamboo container so they decompose faster, providing nutrients to the plants, grasses, and bugs. But people seem to be opening up to the idea... www.texasmonthly.com/travel/green... @texasmonthly.bsky.social

The low-budget indie that launched the careers of Wes Anderson and Luke and Owen Wilson wasn’t a hit, but it’s a Texas classic. Celebrating 30 years of 'Bottle Rocket': https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/bottle-rocket-turns-30-wes-anderson-owen-wilson/

30 years later I revistsed BOTTLE ROCKET to see if it holds up @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...

“It’s so unusual to do what she’s done in jewelry. Kendra very cleverly knew who she was selling to, and she didn’t need the glitz and glamour of New York or L.A. She knew the women who would want to buy her pieces.” https://www.texasmonthly.com/style/jewelry-mogul-kendra-scott-road-to-success/

For @slate.com I wrote about a blank white wall! But really it's about ART and MARRIAGE and COMPROMISE slate.com/life/2026/02...

I'm weary, America. substack.com/home/post/p-...

For @texasmonthly.bsky.social I wrote about where Kendra Scott came from, what she’s built, and where she might be headed www.texasmonthly.com/style/jewelr...

She’s a billion-dollar business, a household name, and one half of a brand-new power couple. Where could Kendra Scott be headed? https://www.texasmonthly.com/style/jewelry-mogul-kendra-scott-road-to-success/

This story appeared in print only in Issue #4 of Mother Tongue Magazine. I've been dying to share it online, and now I can dinagachman.substack.com/p/burn-it-down

Last night Texas Monthly Presents: Life & Death on @pbs.org won a Lone Star Emmy. 💫 You can watch here www.pbs.org/video/texas-... @texasmonthly.bsky.social

Is it too early to pitch a Mother’s Day story? I know it’s like 6 months away but I have a damn good idea 🤓

Through the lens of a female shrimper and a father fighting to preserve his hemp business, the most recent episode of 'Texas Monthly Presents,' featuring writers Russell Gold and Dina Gachman, examines our changing state and the people grappling with an uncertain future.

Train Dreams, which opens today and streams on Netflix this month, is a quiet masterpiece from the Oscar-nominated duo behind Sing Sing.

Hi! This Sunday I'll be on the new episode of Texas Monthly Presents: The Story on PBS. The series is nominated for 4 Lone Star Emmys, y'all @texasmonthly.bsky.social @pbs.org If you don't catch it on PBS it'll be streaming a day or so later. Here's a preview: www.texasmonthly.com/texas-monthl...

A Texas A&M entomologist keeps colonies of them as pets in her home. . . 🪳 Holding one in your hand may change your perspective on what this magazine once called “the world’s most despicable bug.” https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/who-knew-cockroaches-could-be-cute/

BOO! Read about my time with hissing cockroaches... IF YOU DARE! @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/travel/who-k...

Now that a new generation woke up going "who the hell is Elizabeth Taylor" thx to Taylor Swift, I wrote a comic book about her ages ago and you can read it! www.barnesandnoble.com/w/tribute-di...

"I settled into my camping chair beneath a canopy of lilac and pecan trees near the bank of the creek, doused myself in bug spray, and opened 'Poems & Prayers,'" writes Dina Gachman. https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/matthew-mcconaughey-poems-prayers/

I went into the woods with Matthew McConaughey's Poems & Prayers and this is what happened, y'all www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta... @texasmonthly.bsky.social

Charlie Sheen spoke to our reporter about his new memoir and documentary, in which the actor known for “Two and a Half Men,” “Platoon” and a debauched life that nearly killed him puts it all out there.

This is a first. My profile of Charlie Sheen is today’s Great Read in the @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/b...

Last month I went to LA to talk to Charlie Sheen (!!) about his upcoming memoir The Book of Sheen and so much more @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/b...

I don't care what the hat says I would never put a red accessory of any sort on my head ever again www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/s...

I'm in a tizzy on Substack again, this time over Robert De Niro and recording devices substack.com/home/post/p-...

5. "All Hail the Mighty Snail" @dgachman.bsky.social "Gietl decided to take Gary home and learn everything she could about raising snails so that he could have a happily ever after." www.texasmonthly.com/travel/snail...

"It’s a lovely reminder that despite what’s going on in the world, despite the grim news cycle, wonder still exists, if you stop and take the time to look." Thanks @kristastevens.bsky.social for understanding why I was so pumped to write about snails longreads.com/2025/08/08/t... @longreads.com 🐌

"What makes Gary such a hit in the online snail communities is that he has a dark, almost black, body, which is rare for a milk snail." @dgachman.bsky.social @texasmonthly.bsky.social www.texasmonthly.com/travel/snail...

For @texasmonthly.bsky.social I talked to Emily Hunt Kivel about her magical and oh so relevant Texas-set novel DWELLING www.texasmonthly.com/arts-enterta...

Sunday @nytimes.com read about the wild world of Texas cotillion! 🪩🪩

“A lot of people don’t understand the fascination with snails or why anyone would ever have a snail as a pet, but they’re so interesting to watch. I could talk about snails forever.”

Some days it feels like the world is falling apart but you know what helps? SNAILS! I swear, the sound of a snail chewing lettuce can be deeply healing. See for yourself! www.texasmonthly.com/travel/snail... @texasmonthly.bsky.social

Being my dad's dating coach kind of sucks, so I wrote about setting him up with Christie Brinkley! substack.com/home/post/p-...

For @slate.com I wrote an expanded story about this heavy week in Texas slate.com/life/2025/07...

This is a new one: I got an email from a PR person asking me to write about a memoir that I ghostwrote 😂

Follow @dgachman.bsky.social for her deeply impactful, beautiful words

Here’s a working link dinagachman.substack.com/p/you-dont-m...

Some thoughts about this horrible weekend in Texas 💔 dinagachman.substack

Over at Substack I wrote about my hatred of using AI as a writing "tool" and the mantra I will keep saying to my son for life dinagachman.substack.com/p/dont-be-bo...

The @nytimes.com asked me to tag along to a Texas cotillion ball with photographer Eli Durst. Here's what he saw/I heard 🍽️ www.nytimes.com/card/2025/06...

I'll be talking to @mallarytenore.bsky.social about her memoir SLIP at Lark & Owl in Georgetown next month, come say hi! www.larkandowlbooksellers.com/products/mal...