In this issue

Three-Ring Circus: In this issue, Mother Jones gives you everything you need to know about the history—and the stakes—of candidates who challenge our two-party system. In “Spoiler Alert,” Washington Bureau Chief David Corn writes that third-party candidates never win national elections but can decide the future. A visual timeline lays out the history of righteous outrage and electoral opportunism. Readers sound off on the perils and promise of third parties. And national correspondent Tim Murphy tracks how Trump’s rise gave the Libertarian Party unprecedented success—before the fallout. Lest you fear that all is hopeless, our package notes how America can dare to upgrade how we choose our leaders. Voting rights correspondent Ari Berman reports on how the Founding Fathers lit the fuse on the crisis tearing the nation apart. Reporter Abby Vesoulis details how Ruben Gallego’s battle against Kari Lake in Arizona could decide the fate of the Senate—and democracy itself. And writer Carrie Arnold reveals how dialysis clinics are making a killing off deathly ill patients.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT - CRIME OF THE CROP

Will GMOs harm my kids? Your pediatrician's response might not be grounded in science.

3 mins

ECONUNDRUMS - CHATBOT QUACKS

AI was supposed to fix online health misinformation. Instead, it's making it worse.

4 mins

WELL PLAYED

One man’s mission to make gaming a little less white

9 mins

FIGHTING CHANCE

RUBEN GALLEGO'S BATTLE AGAINST KARI LAKE COULD DECIDE THE FATE OF THE SENATE-AND DEMOCRACY ITSELF. NO PRESSURE.

10+ mins

BLUUD MONEY

Tommy Alba could be a pain in the ass.

10+ mins

Become Ungovernable

The spectacular implosion of the Libertarian Party

10+ mins

Spoiler Alert

Third-party candidates never win national elections, but they can still have serious consequences.

10 mins

THE DEMOCRACY BOMB

A day ahead of the third anniversary of January 6, President Joe Biden traveled to Valley Forge, Pennsylvania-where George Washington encamped during the Revolutionary War-before delivering what he described as a \"deadly serious\" speech framing the stakes of the 2024 election.

10+ mins

OH CRAP - SLUDGE REPORT

Can Maine lead the way to a future without forever chemicals?

5 mins

JERSEY BOYS - AGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

Young voters are powering Rep. Andy Kim's challenge to Trenton's powers that be.

5 mins

TASK FORCE - GUN FOR HIRE

The operative who invented Swift Boating could put Trump on course for reelection.

7 mins

Let Them Eat Kelp

Is seaweed farming the wave of the future?

3 mins

To Match a Predator

Dating apps promise to hook you up with romance. But they can deliver con artists, rapists, and murderers.

10+ mins

A Pennsylvania Prophet

Meet the Christian nationalists who want to assert dominion-starting with the Keystone State.

7 mins

"I'm Not Turming the Other Cheek Any More"

Radicals took over the Michigan GOP. Now they can't stop losing.

10+ mins

"Absolutely Do Not Send Them There"

Foster kids have few advocates and little agency. That makes them the perfect cash cow for the country's biggest psychiatric hospital chain.

10+ mins

RICH DOC, POOR DOC

Why do the most important kinds of doctors earn the least money?

5 mins

FREEDOM READERS

Authors of banned books-like me-are battling right-wing censorship daily. But we can't do it alone.

9 mins

VAPOR TRAIL

After a cannabis product turned up at my kid's school, I rode into the Wild West of unregulated pot.

6 mins

MEDICAL RESTRAINTS

How health care companies use debt to trap nurses on the job

6 mins

Bad Neighbors

Tightly packed poultry and pig farms could be incubating the next deadly flu.

3 mins

What Is Justice for You?

After police violence, the state protects cops. Survivors have to protect each other.

10+ mins

Against a Sea of Troubles

Isolated and abused, women in the Merchant Marine are finally speaking out.

10+ mins

UNHAPPY BIRTHDAY

How booting 18-year-olds from disability rolls has lifelong consequences

6 mins

TIDES OF WAR

Dr. Olga Shpak was a leading whale researcher. Then Putin invaded her home country.

6 mins

NOT IN YOUR BACKYARD

The red-state horror show is coming for blue cities.

7 mins

LISTENING TO OUR GUTS

Can wastewater surveillance help prevent the next pandemic?

5 mins

STATE OF EMERGENCY

Our crises require more than a never-ending series of duct-tape fixes.

3 mins

TOO HOT FOR HOLLYWOOD

Climate change has become a relentless backdrop to everyday life. Why is it missing from our entertainment?

9 mins

DEBT SENTENCE

JESSICA MADISON WAS A PIONEER OF THE STUDENT LOAN CANCELLATION MOVEMENT. BUT SHE DIDN'T LIVE TO SEE RELIEF BECOME A POSSIBILITY FOR MILLIONS.

10+ mins

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Mother Jones is a nonprofit news outlet that delivers bold and original award-winning reporting on the urgent issues of our day, from politics and climate change to education and the food we eat. We investigate stories that are in the public and the nation's interest. From revelatory scoops to deep-dive investigations, Mother Jones journalism is storytelling that informs and inspires 9 million monthly readers.

We are headquartered in San Francisco and have bureaus in Washington, DC, and New York City. Mother Jones has been nominated for more than 30 National Magazine Awards and has won seven times, including for General Excellence in 2001, 2008, and 2010. In addition, Mother Jones has been recognized repeatedly with top industry honors, including two National Press Club Awards, three Online News Association Awards, and the Society of Professional Journalists Sigma Delta Chi Award two years in a row. Mother Jones has also been named a finalist for eight Data Journalism Awards.