In a quarter century in print and eight years online, Mother Jones has broken major news stories, exposed corruption and graft, interviewed history makers, and featured some of the most eloquent and revered voices in public discourse. Sometimes our stories were the first to chronicle a shift in public consciousness; sometimes our reporting led to government investigations or changes in the law.
Discover some buried treasures from our back issues, or check out our groundbreaking online reporting projects.
Good Bill? Or Bill of Goods?
Christopher Hitchens and Michael Kazin square off on the Clinton legacy.
September/October 2000
Muggles in the Ozone
The Seattle protests were an attack on something even more pervasive than free trade — conventional wisdom.
Bill McKibben
March/April 2000
Libby’s Deadly Grace
A decade after W.R. Grace’s mine in Libby, Montana, closed, residents are learning the painful truth about the company’s dangerous waste.
By Maryanne Vollers
May/June 2000
The Dalai Lama
On China, hatred, and optimism.
Interview by Robert Thurman
November/December 1997
Tobacco Strikes Back
Bob Dole’s addiction, ABC’s secret tapes, Big Tobacco’s fake grassroots, and more
May/June 1996
Gloria!
Steinem on politics, fun, and turning 60
Interview by Cynthia Gorney
November/December 1995
Lyin’ Bully
Molly Ivins on Rush Limbaugh
May/June 1995
My Three Sons
The Bush clan’s family business
Stephen Pizzo
September/October 1992
Who’s on Main Street?
Barbara Ehrenreich on postmodern politics
July/August 1992 Read an excerpt
Nader’s Nineties
On the need for a new politics
Ralph Nader
July/August 1990 Read an excerpt
Is TV the Coolest Invention Ever Invented?
“If I start doing those windshield stick-on dolls, the disapproval will be well deserved”
Interview with Matt Groening
December 1989 Read an excerpt
The Best Man
Dick Cheney’s revolving door
June 1989 Read an excerpt
Company Man
George Bush’s Iran-Contra record
Scott Armstrong and Jeff Nason
October 1988 Read an excerpt
Jesse Jackson
What does he really want?
Doug Foster
October 1987
Redemption Day
Alice Walker on discovering Bob Marley
December 1986 Read an excerpt
Slow-Scan to Moscow
Using vintage portable computers, an American and a Soviet plot an electronic detente
Adam Hochschild
June 1986
Imagine the Worst
Kurt Vonnegut on Ronald Reagan’s snow job
October 1984 Read an excerpt
Inside the Slaughter
El Salvador’s victims, El Salvador’s butchers
Adam Hochschild
June 1983 Read an excerpt
Fever All Through the Night
A new disease stalks gay communities from San Francisco to New York City
Nora Gallagher
November 1982 Read an excerpt
Fighting Words for the Future of the Earth
Russell Means’ manifesto against “European thinking”
December 1980 Read an excerpt
From Commune to Condo
A group of counterculture utopians discover their inner capitalists
Michael Weiss
December 1980 Read an excerpt
The Corporate Crime of the Century
Six months in the making, this exposé revealed how products banned in the United States — including the dangerous Dalkon Shield — are routinely dumped in the Third World
Mark Dowie, Barbara Ehrenreich, and Stephen Minkin
November 1979
Under Cover in the New Germany
Abbie Hoffman stalks Europe’s most famous undercover reporter
February/March 1979 Read an excerpt
The Passion of Robert Kennedy
“Think about it. The left has become rather precious in the ’70s…”
Joe Klein
December 1978 Read an excerpt
The Rabbit That Ate Pennsylvania
VW’s mega-subsidy deal
Ron Chernow
January 1978 Read an excerpt
New Populist on the Scene
Who is this maverick attorney general from Hope, Arkansas?
November 1978 Read an excerpt
Inside Mother’s Pocketbook
Advertising? In Mother Jones?
Adam Hochschild
January 1978
Pinto Madness
Following this exposé, Ford recalled 1.5 million Pintos — and Mother Jones was a household name
Mark Dowie
September/October 1977
New Orleans, Before It’s Too Late
In search of Mardi Gras
Michael Goodwin
December 1977 Read an excerpt
A Case of Corporate Malpractice
The Dalkon Shield chronicles
Mark Dowie and Tracy Johnston
November 1976 Read an excerpt
What America Needs to Do Next
Stop Coca-colonization!
Margaret Atwood
September/October 1976 Read an excerpt
They’ve All Gone to Look for America
A veteran of the ’60s wonders: What happened to all the activists?
Bo Burlingham
February/March 1976 Read an excerpt
From the MoJo Wire (now MotherJones.com)
The Mother Jones 400
Our signature interactive database listing the biggest campaign contributors for each election cycle
1996 – 2000
The Bush Files
A daily feature tracing underreported news about President George W. Bush and company, launched just before the 2000 presidential election
Ongoing
Stan Trek
Cartoonist and commentator Ted Rall leads a group of 24 Americans on a tour of Central Asia
Aug. 27 – Sept. 27 2000
Violent Media Is Good for Kids
A thought-provoking essay by one of the world’s foremost comics creators
Gerard Jones
June 28, 2000
Drug Control or Biowarfare?
Motherjones.com uncovers a US-sponsored proposal to use a deadly fungus as part of the war on drugs in Colombia.
Sharon Stevenson and Jeremy Bigwood
May 3, 2000
What’s Mumia Got to Do With It?
This essay, which posited that Mumia Abu-Jamal was a bad poster child for the anti-death penalty movement, sparked much angry mail and discussion.
Marc Cooper
Feb. 9, 2000
Kosovo Coverage
MotherJones.com’s coverage of the NATO bombing in the Balkans, with dispatches from the Serbs and Kosovar Albanians whose lives hung in the balance
June – Sept. 1999
Mother Jones Action Atlas: US Arms Sales
Despots, villains, human-rights violators — who didn’t Bill Clinton sell weapons to? This atlas lets you search by country or by arms manufacturer.
1997
Mother Jones Action Atlas: Coral Reefs
A comprehensive look at the plight of the world’s coral reefs — and what can be done to save them.
1998
Frequent Fliers Database
Our searchable list of passengers on Air Force One, and how much they donated to Democratic campaigns before they flew the friendly executive skies
1997
Executive Slumber Party
Who slept in the Lincoln Bedroom, and how much did they fork over for the privilege?
1997
The Secret GOPAC List
An exclusive database of the donors to Newt Gingrich’s secretive political action committee.
1996
