A special issue on the politics and corruption of the COVID-19 crisis, featuring stories by David Corn, Kevin Drum, Tim Murphy, Ari Berman, Dave Gilson, Esther Honig, Ted Genoways, and Rowan Jacobsen.

Having a baby is a joy for many families, but pregnancy is also a risky condition for women. With the Supreme Court’s conservative majority expected to overturn the constitutional right to abortion care, Mother Jones editors observe, in “The Right’s Way,” that Roe’s fall is just the beginning. Amy Littlefield profiles the man behind the Texas abortion ban who has an even more radical plan to reshape American law in “The Anti-Abortion Architect.” If abortion is illegal, will every pregnancy lost be a potential crime? This nightmare is explored in “Miscarriage of Justice” by Cecilia Nowell. Forced to give birth, prosecuted for miscarriages, then policed for raising kids? Researcher, Dorothy E. Roberts argues that child protective services needs to be abolished in “Torn Apart.” And Tom Philpott looks at a well-tested method for staving off world hunger. Read on to learn who is trapped inside an “echo chamber,” and discover the teenage novelist who used Oakland’s police sex trafficking scandal as inspiration.

Welcome to Private Equity City, where billionaires have gutted businesses and whole industries for profit. Reporters Hannah Levintova and Ian Gordon assemble an array of stories that reveal all in “Smash-and-Grab Economy,” and a local delivery co-op takes on Big Tech in “Door Dashed.” Can hopeful books tame climate anxiety? Jason Plautz answers it in “Once Upon a Planet” by exploring mental health research aimed at helping kids. In “Lessons Not Learned,” Mark Follman takes a page from his new book, “Trigger Points,” to explain how behavioral threat assessment can stop the next school massacre. The photography by Devin Yalkin heightens Jasper Craven’s investigation into the lives and traumas of cadets at Valley Forge Military Academy in “A Few Good Men,” discovering that the school gets its promise—to break down cadets and build them back better only half right. Kiera Butler takes the word “endemic” for a spin in “Mother Tongue,” explaining how the scientific label has been used to mask political choices. Read these stories and more in the latest issue and find more at MotherJones.com.

The January 6 insurrectionists failed to topple the 2020 election, but Ari Berman argues in “The Coming Coup” that the Republican legislators are seizing control of how—and if—votes are counted. Reporter Kara Voght investigates the other NRA, the restaurant lobby that protected major chains at the expense of the little guys during the pandemic, in “Table Scraps.” Dan Friedman’s “The Influencer” is a totally out-of-this-world tale of the fugitive Chinese tycoon who joined forces with Steve Bannon to blanket the web with far-right propaganda. And Kathryn Joyce writes about militant right-wing activists hellbent on remaking the Catholic Church in “Holy War.”

American workers did not just quit their jobs, they quit mostly low-paid jobs or terrible conditions, bolstered by the greatest workplace leverage they’ve felt in 40 years. In “The Big Quit,” Jacob Rosenberg and Noah Lanard share many first-person stories of the bad bosses who pushed workers over the edge. Tim Murphy in “Better Call Ken” profiles Ken Paxton and the radical legal strategies the Texas attorney general used in his attempt to overturn the election that he is now using to gut Roe v. Wade. In “The Purity Trap,” Becca Andrews writes of her yearlong investigation of the school administrators who blamed and shamed female students for the assaults they encountered at a Bible college. Lori Teresa Yearwood writes of her escape from homelessness in “I am Not Your Project” only to find herself in a new battle with the debilitating projections from the system meant to “help” her.

The climate crisis, racial injustice, immigrants’ rights, and corporate malfeasance are cornerstones of Mother Jones reporting and this issue has them all. Clive Thompson unpacks proposals to pull carbon out of the sky in “Suck It Up.” “Uprooted” by Lauren Markham highlights the researchers studying trees’ urgent migration to outrun climate catastrophe. In “Healing Requires Truth,” Samantha Michaels writes about Margaret Burnham, a Northeastern professor whose civil rights project reexamines hundreds of Jim Crow–era murders to help families move forward. Virginia’s Justice High School is the focus of “Distant Learning,” about  immigrant students’ school struggles during the pandemic. And photographer Matt Black traveled 100,000 miles documenting poverty in America. His epic work is showcased in “Geography Class” by Mark Murrmann.

Our “Rage in the USA” issue tells a trio of origin stories: “Mad as Hell” roots out the rise of political fury, by Kevin Drum; “Ammon’s Army” traces Bundy’s ascension, by Stephanie Mencimer; and “Forbidden Knowledge” unpacks the panic over critical race theory, by Anthony Conwright. An asylum-seeking family’s breathtaking journey is charted by Fernanda Echavarri. And powerful photographers Russel Albert Daniels, Sylvia Jarrus, Stacy Kranitz, and Benjamin Rasmussen share stunning images that provide dimension and context.

In “Facing Down Jim Crow, Again,” Ari Berman writes about the 1866 election in Georgia, where 33 Black lawmakers won state offices only to be expelled by the white-dominated legislature. In Georgia today, another generation of Black lawmakers is battling that familiar enemy. Rebecca Leber warns in “Gaslit” that the fossil fuel industry has worked hard to get Americans to love their gas stoves. Desperate to reopen and loaded with stimulus cash, schools are spending millions on high-tech air purifiers, but Madison Pauly in “Caution to the Wind” says they may not be safe. And Tim Murphy profiles Kyrsten Sinema, the former Green Party rabble-rouser, in “Shape Shifter” as she rises to become a Senate power broker. It’s a political fairy tale, or nightmare.

In “The 'Machine That Eats Up Black Farmland,’” USDA leaders claim they’ve moved past the department’s legacy of discrimination, but our reporting says otherwise. After a century of dispossession, Tom Philpott writes in “Black Land Matters,” young Black farmers are restoring their rightful place in agriculture, and in “The Truth About Reconciliation,” Peter Keating and Shaun Assael look into the reckoning after the 1979 Greensboro Massacre for lessons on how America might heal itself. Kara Voght reflects on Jon Meacham in “Biden’s Muse” and the influence this Pulitzer-winning biographer had on Joe Biden’s presidential campaign. Two feuding tea party leaders are featured in “Stars and Strife” by Stephanie Mencimer, who looks at how these recession-era conservative women helped lay the groundwork for the January 6 insurrection. Julia Lurie and Maddie Oatman report from San Francisco in “Moving the Needle” about a grassroots campaign to protect the Latino community—and the city—from a deadly virus, with photography by Mike Kai Chen.

The twice-impeached president is out of office, but the next generation of Republicans
has moved in to fill the void. In “The Apprentice,” Tim Murphy reports that Josh Hawley
might still have a clear future despite having raised a fist in solidarity with the Capitol
insurrectionists. Voters in Alabama may have helped Democrats gain control of the
Senate, but in “Tyranny of the Minority,” Ari Berman shows how the fight for democracy
remains. And Silicon Valley has released its own poison on democracy: “How Facebook
Broke Us” by Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery outlines the social network’s
deliberate use of its monopolistic power to benefit conservative publishers and
consistently guide users to extremist groups. Will tech help us really understand each
other? Sinduja Rangarajan has her doubts in “Lost in Translation,” writing of her family’s
struggle to get their digital assistant to understand more accents that don’t sound like
stereotypes of white Americans.

What now? asks David Corn in “Back From the Brink” after President Trump brought the
nation to the threshold of autocracy. Nathalie Baptiste helps address that question too,
in “The Racist Next Time,” writing that to fend off tyranny we must conquer bigotry.
Russ Choma looks at the many trials ahead for the outgoing president in “Lock Him
Up?” And in “To Depose a President,” Madison Pauly wonders if the women accusing
Trump of sexual assault will ever have their day in court. Becca Andrews looks at the
contest in Georgia in “Keeping the Faith,” and Jamilah King profiles a formidable new
leader in Congress in “March to Washington.” President Biden will inherit a financial
mess, but we have Kara Voght’s insightful piece “Wonks Progress Administration,” on
the key economists who have been advising Biden on how to fix it.

With the election fast approaching, our “Make It Stop” issue dives deep into this high-
stakes moment with Pema Levy’s feature “The Social Network,” highlighting an effective
campaign method that showed results even before the pandemic upended traditional
mobilization efforts. Adam Hochschild looks at the transformative movement to break
the cycle of punitive justice in “Break It Up,” and Edwin Rios goes inside the decades-
long effort to get police out of Oakland’s schools in “Cop Out.” Also on the school front,
Daniel C. Vock asks whether GreatSchools, the go-to source for information on local
schools, may be making segregation worse. And learn about the history of the Negro
Leagues; the photographers who unwillingly joined the Shot in the Eye Club; and the
reasons Susan Collins’ brand is growing old with seniors.

From policing to the presidency, our September+October issue tackles two of the most consequential topics in America, including investigations of properties run by the Trump Organization, and police unions that function as shields to accountability. Reporter Samantha Michaels tells the inside story of how so many violent officers escape discipline, in her feature “The Shield.” She also spent the last year reporting on an alternative policing program in Oakland, California, that attempts to increase social services and reduce officers’ use of force, in “Whose Streets?” Contributor Zach Everson paints a vivid portrait of Trump’s Washington, DC, hotel, formerly the Old Post Office, where cronies, lobbyists, and special interests have boosted revenue. And reporter Russ Choma takes us behind the scenes of Trump’s Scottish golf resort in Choma’s feature “In the Rough” (illustrated by Jan Feindt), tracing how lawmakers in Edinburgh want to know where the hundreds of millions of dollars came from that have poured into the struggling property.

In our cover story, “Purged,” Ari Berman uncovers the continuing assault on voter rights in many swing states where, by design, voters will find they can’t cast a ballot. And like the coronavirus, viral misinformation relies on quick transmission to do its damage, a theme explored by Monika Bauerlein in “Building a Social Immune System,” which calls on news organizations and all of us to help slow the spread of harmful falsehoods. Meat processing is not a pretty business, but in Huron, South Dakota, immigrant workers have transformed the town into a haven for refugees in the heart of Trump country, as Noah Lanard reports in “We Are Huron.”

Is time up for Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s chief defenders? In our cover story, “Southern Strategy,” Kara Voght profiles Jaime Harrison, the Democratic Party operative and challenger to Graham. And as the #MeToo movement spreads, more men accused of sexual misconduct are suing their alleged victims for defamation. In “She Said, He Sued,” Madison Pauly reports on the ramifications that go well beyond the courtroom. The stunning photography by Danny Wilcox Frazier in “The Black Hills Are Not for Sale” captures the mood of Delilah Friedler’s reporting on the centuries-long struggle by the Lakota people to reclaim stewardship of their historic lands. From the 1868 treaty through the discovery of gold, the incident at Wounded Knee almost 50 years ago, and the recent demonstrations at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access pipeline, a new battle has emerged to protect their sacred sites from uranium mining.

We need a massive climate war effort, and only massive R&D can save us, writes Kevin Drum in “Warming Is Over!” This cover story and the illustrations, by John Tomac, evoke the Allies’ mobilization during WWII as a model for today’s climate action. In “Count Me Out,” Ari Berman points to Republican-controlled states as the new front line in the war on voting rights. Their campaign aims to increase restrictions on who can vote, and redraw district lines to disadvantage many voters of color. Tim Murphy profiles Texas Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a rising star of the Republican Party, in “All the Rage.” And Monika Bauerlein, in “Bullies United,” reminds us why hard-hitting journalism scares the world’s authoritarians.

In our exclusive report “Marshals Law,” Seth Freed Wessler exposes the federal detention empire that is flying under the radar—and the deaths on its watch. Donald Trump’s mysterious $50 million loan, and whether it is evidence of tax fraud, is investigated in Russ Choma’s bombshell report “I Am the Bank.” In “House of Cards,” Tim Murphy takes a closer look at Joe Biden’s role in building up Delaware as the Company State. And in “Get Out,” Samantha Michaels explores whether cities’ crime-free housing programs are good at making communities safer—or just keeping them white.

For many women in the United States, the right to abortion services guaranteed by the Supreme Court since 1973 has eroded with the passage of hundreds of restrictions in state legislatures. In this issue, reporter Becca Andrews explores the current post-Roe era in Mississippi, where services have largely disappeared. Women are creating their own alternatives to clinic services and using other support strategies to help others. Several states have banned abortion with no exceptions, so Michaela Haas talked with people forced into custody battles with their rapists. Also in the September/October issue, read why the devastation from California’s wildfires may not end soon; learn about Carlos Spector, a tirelessly passionate asylum lawyer in El Paso; and Matt Gaetz, the Florida Republican who has cultivated a Trumplike persona and used his own father’s deep pockets to bully his way to political stardom.

In The July/August issue cover story, "Weight of the World," David Corn writes about the climate scientists who see disaster unfolding and are filled with despair when nobody listens to their warnings. In “Map Quest, by Ari Berman the former Obama Attorney General is now focused on a strategy to get Dems to pay attention to state and local elections. That is where the power to draw electoral maps for the next decade will play out. Shane Bauer’s special investigation on the compromises and costs of American involvement in Syria continues in, "Behind the Lines, Part 2." Subscribe today for more important stories in each issue. 

The May/June 2019 issue includes the first part of a two-part investigation “Behind the Lines” by our award-winning senior reporter, Shane Bauer. He went to Syria to understand America’s role in one of the 21st century’s greatest tragedies. Part two will appear in the July/August 2019 issue. “Beto and the Builder” by Tim Murphy looks at Bill Sander, the real estate mogul who helped launch his son-in-law’s political career. In “Not in My Backyard” Eric Reidy writes how one Arizona desert town came together to keep the peace and beat back armed vigilante groups, anarchists, and anti-immigration extremists. Find these features and more in the latest Mother Jones.

The Mar/Apr 2019 cover story “With Friends Like These…” by Clara Jeffery and Monika Bauerlein, compares what the company says it does connecting people around the world on its platform and what is actually going on that threatens our democracy. In other stories, Julia Lurie examines the loosely regulated rehab industry that baits recovering drug users into a deadly cycle in “Hooked”. Clive Thompson warns musicians in “We Will Bot You” that artificial intelligence could put a lot of composers out of work—and transform the way we make music. Read stories about livestreaming, blogger Damon Young, the “secret bodega” for abortion pills, the cost of feeding prisoners junk, and more in this issue of Mother Jones. Subscribe today.

The post-midterm election era is here with lots of new developments on the winners and losers. "Kind of Blue" by Tim Murphy features what Beto O'Rourke has done to power a resurgence in Texas despite his near win. and the actions David Corn says the Democrats can make as they take over the House in 2019, "Hammer Time." We also have good news coming  from Kiera Butler's report about one of the best preschools in the South. No kiddings, read "Alabama Miracle." Then there is the story about people trying to do more for sick kids, "The Fight for Moira" and others on a mission to shed the safety net from families in need, "Welfare Warrior."  We have it all. Every issue. Please subscribe.

We are not kidding. The November midterm elections in the US will determine whether Donald Trump's two-year assault on democratic norms will be repudiated—or validated. Mother Jones CEO, Monika Bauerlein, argues that it is time for journalism to ditch the "view from nowhere."  David Corn interviews former conservative pundit, Max Boot. Luke Mullins writes that the DCCC will do whatever it takes to win. Ari Berman tells of the plan to restore voting rights to 1.4 million Floridians. Will the angry teachers and parents succeed in expelling Scott Walker? Numerous debates on climate change, medicaid expansion, the opioid crisis, and gun control have fired up the country. Will it be enough to get people to vote?

Read "Unforgivable" about a generation downing in student debt to understand how badly a national forgiveness program has failed to help them.  Reporter Saul Elbein returns to Southeast Asia to track down an ISIS financier suspected of aiding a plot to attack Times Square in, "The Terror Connection," with stunning photography by David Maurice Smith. A growing elder care crisis is making life hell for families, says Nina Liss-Schultz in "Assisted Living, but the state of Maine is considering a radical solution. And there is more, M.I.A.'s refugee roots, cops against rape culture, the threat of hacking on the election system, and asylum-seekers who find food and hope all in this issue of Mother Jones.

How people join hate groups has been studied extensively, but researchers are still learning how people quit. In the July/August cover story "Addicted to Hate," Wes Enzinna reports on the some of the programs designed to help the men in extremist groups when they try to leave them. Life was hard enough for California's vineyard workers, then Trump threatened to deport them. Maddie Oatman travels with photographer, Mark Murrmann to examine the impact this has on this agricultural community in "Grapes of Fear".  First time director, Raymond "Boots" Riley chats with reporter Michael Mechanic about his new film, "Sorry to Bother You." Also in this issue, the growth of solar in China, an Illinois town gets caught up in Ben Carson's crusade against fair housing, and vertical farming might not be the wave of the future as some have predicted. 

We're only beginning to understand how our democracy was rigged—and what we can do about it.  Nearly every decision the Trump administration and its allies in Congress have made has served a single goal: when you can't persuade enough voters to actually choose your ideas, inflate the share of white people and under count communities of color to hack elections.  Ari Berman writes  of the dangers ahead in "Hidden Figures" of the increasingly politicized 2020 census.  And reporter Andy Kroll, digs into the story behind Cambridge Analytica's rise and fall in "Cloak and Data." Our timeline of how the NRA-Russia dalliance and our investigation of how much further Russian attacks could go shows there has never been a more important time to connect the dots. Read about them in this issue of Mother Jones.

In the Trump administration Scott Pruitt's job as the chief of the EPA is to protect the environment. In the cover story, "Toxic Avenger," reporter Rebecca Leber details his long history and systematic attack on those protections.  In "Least Likely to Succeed," James Pogue follows the rise and fall of the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow, the misguided company that led the Republican charter school revolution. Now the state of Ohio is out millions of dollars and thousands of kids are screwed. Find out how squatters in Oakland, California are pioneering a bold—and possibly legal—way to combat the housing crisis in Bryan Schatz's story, "Retake the House." There is more to read in this issue about podcasting behind bars, the long tail of lead paint, and why the activists determined to provide women with reproductive choice are avoiding the medical establishment. 

One overdose, one dealer, one country, one cop. In "Busted" Julia Lurie creates a portrait of the opioid crisis consuming America.  Another aspect of the health care crisis is explored in, "Go Fund Yourself" where begging for health care is the new safety net.  In a story by Rebecca Leber and AJ Vicens, "Ctrl. Alt. Repeat." looks back at the stolen emails at the heart of climategate. Seven years before Russia hacked the election, someone did the same thing to climate scientists.  Also you can read about: Puerto Rico, US Senator Kamala Harris, and one man's life after the wildfires in California.

The feature stories in this issue shed light on the last election and prepare us for the next one.  Ari Berman in "Rigged," documents how voter suppression in Wisconsin impacted the 2016 election results. In "Iron Man," Tim Murphy profiles Randy Bryce, a Democratic candidate and viral superstar who is challenging Paul Ryan in Wisconsin's 1st District. Andy Kroll reports on the Sinclair Broadcast Group in "Remote Controlled" and their strategy to replicate a conservative message as they take over local stations around the country. Kevin Drum argues in "You will Lose Your Job to a Robot" that it doesn't matter what you do for a living, machines are about to do it better.  

How fast are things changing in Texas? In this issue's cover story, Tim Murphy reports on the future prospects of a Democratic senator in, "Houston, We Have Progress."  You can also read about the growing guest worker program that may be trapping Indian students in virtual servitude, the Chinese project to plant trees to stop the desert from devouring the countryside, and an interview with Ken Burns who thought he understood the Vietnam War—until he started working on a film about it. Great issue. Important stories. Subscribe now.

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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.

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Mother Jones - July/August 2020

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