Jessica Lenamond

Voting in Texas has never been easy. Prior the 2020 presidential election, political scientists from the likes of Northern Illinois University and Wuhan University in China compiled a “cost-of-voting index” that ranked states by the ease in which residents could both register and cast their ballot.

By Jessica Lenamond Reporting Texas A little over five years ago, Jesse Gould booked a solo trip to Peru in an attempt to save his life. Gould, in his early forties at the time, was in search of the mind-altering hallucinogen ayahuasca—a plant-based brew traditionally used in South American religious ceremonies or for medicinal and ritualistic uses, with the guidance of a shaman. The former U.S. Army Ranger needed help as soon as possible, even if that meant seeking treatment in another country.

1 / Go for a drive through Peppermint Parkway at Circuit of the Americas and be dazzled by their numerous decorated “villages,” such as Candycane Lane, Gingerbread Alley, Frozenland, and Club Sleigh. 2 / Throw on your tackiest holiday wear and do a pub crawl across Austin with Better Bar Crawls. (Dec. 11) 3 / Keep Austin weird by strolling along W. 37th Street, home to some of the city’s most unique and eclectic Christmas decor.