Swan Dive
Beatriz Lopez / Design by Zeke Barbaro
Volume 43, Number 5
ON THE COVER:
news
Austin’s Sole Federal District Judge May Be the Most Overburdened in America
The case of the missing judges
BY MAGGIE Q. THOMPSON
Headlines / Quote of the Week
City Must Give Secret Police Records to the Chronicle, Texas A.G.’s Office Says
Come out, come out, wherever you are
BY AUSTIN SANDERS
Drag Ban Is Unconstitutional, Judge Rules
Drag is art and art is free speech
BY BRANT BINGAMON
Texas to End Execution Hiatus on World Day Against the Death Penalty
After execution-free summer, death scheduled Oct. 10
BY BRANT BINGAMON
AISD Accepts Monitor in New Deal With Texas Education Agency
Lesser of two evils?
BY BRANT BINGAMON
Is Kyle’s Water Problem a Microcosm of Central Texas Drought Issues?
Straight outta water
BY LINA FISHER
Eastside Residents Decry Cluster of Rock Crushers
TCEQ says it’s out of their hands
BY LINA FISHER
AI Experts Gather in Austin to Consider Ethics, White Men, and Mass Layoffs
Preparing for an AI world
BY BENTON GRAHAM
Judge Finds Texas Book Banning Unconstitutional
A win for BookPeople and First Amendment
BY BRANT BINGAMON
Hays County: Teen District Clerk Drops Suit Against D.A.
BY BRANT BINGAMON
food
Austin Bicycle Meals Offers Pedal-Powered Distribution to the Streets
Meals on (two) wheels
BY KEVIN CURTIN
Circle Brewing Company Closes; épicerie and Franklin Barbecue Bring the Brisketed Croissanty Brilliance; There’s a Coffee Festival and a Craft Brewers Festival and a Mediterranean Festival and – So Much Going On!
All the news that’s fit to get your taste buds quivering
BY WAYNE ALAN BRENNER
Austin's Best Food and Drink Events This Week
Dinner parties, farmer's markets, beer, wine, and more for the week of September 28, 2023
BY WAYNE ALAN BRENNER
music
Nemegata's Folkloric Futurism Boosts Austin's Budding Colombian Music Scene
Local trio powers up its magnetic roots fusion in new release Voces
BY RAOUL HERNANDEZ
Review: Explosions in the Sky, End
ATX instrumental band's seventh studio album is also its first in seven years
BY AUSTIN POWELL
Review: Willie Nelson, Bluegrass
Late-career genre exercise disappoints
BY KEVIN CURTIN
Review: SKAM, No Name
Drag City revives lost Eighties hardcore recordings
BY JULIAN TOWERS
Crucial Concerts for the Coming Week
Molly Burch, Arooj Aftab, and Mobley lead our recommended shows
BY LAIKEN NEUMANN, KEVIN CURTIN, MICHAEL TOLAND, RAOUL HERNANDEZ, AUSTIN POWELL AND DEREK UDENSI
Live Music in Austin
BY DEREK UDENSI
Screens
Film Reviews
The Creator
Spectacle and wonder in the AI wars never quite finds its emotional core
Expend4bles
Pointless action sequel should have gone straight to video
Fair Play
Office romance and intrigue intersect for tension with little weight
Flora and Son
Joseph Gordon-Levitt steals the show in this Irish musical drama
On Fire
Stock footage saves uninspiring faith-tinged disaster drama from tedium.
PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie
Animated pup adventure opens surprising doors for talks with your kids
The Re-Education of Molly Singer
Back-to-school comedy updates the curriculum for modern laughs
arts & culture
Austin’s Longest-Running Stand-Up Showcase Ends After a Decade of Making Stars
Sure Thing is a wrap at 512
BY VALERIE LOPEZ
Five Big Nights Out for the Visual Arts
From folk traditions to fancy fundraisers, events that make galleries social
BY WAYNE ALAN BRENNER
Review: Austin Playhouse's The Norwegians
Revised revisiting of this dark comedy remains a guilty pleasure
BY BOB ABELMAN
Arts Events
Art galleries, theatre, comedy, dance, and more
BY WAYNE ALAN BRENNER
Community Events
Local events, volunteer opportunities, kids' activities, and more
BY KATHERINE MCNEVINS
columns
Opinion: The Conflict of Interest at the Center of AI Regulation Talks
Should Congress really be asking top tech CEOs how best to regulate their industry?
BY JANE BERNHARD
The Austin Chronic: Inside Texas’ Busiest Medical Cannabis Facility
State restrictions are bonkers, but that hasn't stopped Texas Original from expanding
BY KEVIN CURTIN
Qmmunity: Queer Comedy Pipeline
Ivy Le talks the impact of Tongue in Cheek, a queer comedy open mic providing fertile ground for Austin's LGBTQ comics
BY JAMES SCOTT
Day Trips: Abilene State Park, Tuscola
An unexpected wooded oasis in the West Texas bushland
BY GERALD E. MCLEOD
The Luv Doc: Secret Traditional Family Birthday Cheesecake
The Luv Doc's family is already blessed – with a history of heart disease
BY THE LUV DOC
Mr. Smarty Pants Knows
BY MR. SMARTY PANTS
Free Will Astrology
Your weekly horoscope, September 29 - October 5
BY ROB BREZSNY
Feedback
Letters to the editor, published daily
sports
The Verde Report: How Austin FC Ended Up on the Brink of a Lost Season
The next match is a must-win
BY ERIC GOODMAN
comics
