Indholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2025 i Mother Jones

On the Cover Designer TYLER COMRIE calls creativity a tool for political change; here, his bright, clear style brings life to Ari Berman’s feature on Donald Trump’s schemes to rig the next election.     Contributors What’s the purpose of media in this moment? By the Numbers To see our masthead, visit motherjones.com/about. For questions about your subscription or to make a tax-deductible donation to support our journalism, call (800) 438-6656. To advertise or for other questions, call (415) 321-1700.…

DYLAN BRINGUEL isn’t sure what’s worse: enduring what a federal agency identified as a “hostile work environment because of Bringuel’s transgender status” or that same agency abandoning them after committing to hold their employer accountable. The first blow came in August 2022. Bringuel had just begun a housekeeping job at a Holiday Inn Express in Jamestown, New York. During the interview, Bringuel had been upfront about their gender identity and was told it wouldn’t be an issue. But from the start, their manager made it one—calling Bringuel “it” and a “Transformer” and, in a conversation a co-worker documented, blaming Bringuel for “what is wrong with society.” The day after reporting the harassment to supervisors, Bringuel was fired. Bringuel was accustomed to such hostility, even from family members. So when…

ON AN APRIL episode of the popular Politics War Room podcast, the veteran journalist Al Hunt posed an increasingly common question from listeners to Democratic strategist James Carville. “Is Trump looking to spark enough protest to justify declaring martial law in 2026, thus suspending the election?” Hunt asked. “You’re so correct to be concerned about this,” Carville responded. “It’s getting worse by the day. It is not going to stop getting worse. And I would be—we ought to be—on high, high alert.” Such chatter is widespread these days among Trump’s opponents—and with good reason. Trump is the most openly authoritarian president in US history and has already incited an insurrection in an attempt to remain in office. The good news, according to experts, is that Trump doesn’t have the power to unilaterally…

THEY ENTERED in tight formation. There was Eddie Gallagher, the alleged war criminal Navy SEAL granted clemency by President Donald Trump; Tom Satterly, the Delta Force sergeant major made famous by Black Hawk Down; Christian Craighead, the SAS soldier who led a rescue mission for hostages held by al-Shabaab in Nairobi; DJ Shipley, a second-generation SEAL who served on the prestigious Team Six. And—leading this squad of vets-turned-influencers into the launch event for Tucker Carlson’s new nicotine pouch last December—there was Shawn Ryan. Ryan’s military exploits are less notable—a short stint as a Navy SEAL, a slightly longer career as a security contractor, both for Blackwater and the CIA. His triumphs as a podcaster, however, are significant. In October 2024, the Shawn Ryan Show hit first place on the Spotify…

“NOW MORE THAN ever, the world needs an honest newsroom.” With these words, the little-known Informing America Foundation was awarded the $250,000 Gregor G. Peterson Prize in “venture philanthropy” last December for its “high-quality journalism.” If few had heard of IAF, hinted the nonprofit’s CEO, Debbie Myers, it was by design. “We stay very much under the radar,” she said, accepting the prize at the 2024 annual summit of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the corporate-funded group that works to advance conservative policies at the state level. IAF’s goal, Myers explained, was to create an “ecosystem” of news. The group boasts of funding a network of thousands of platforms that have quietly shaped public opinion by stoking an array of right-wing conspiracy theories, from the alleged corruption of Joe Biden…

NATHALY MAESTRE has tried to follow her doctors’ instructions to the letter. Her obstetrician and perinatologist were clear: At 40, eight months into a high-risk pregnancy, and after a miscarriage last year, she has to avoid unnecessary stress. But that has become impossible. In May, the Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to strip temporary legal protection from hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans living in the United States. Overnight, Maestre and her partner, Luis Guillermo, found themselves without status—despite following all the rules. “You try not to think so much about what’s happening outside,” Maestre told me in Spanish, her voice breaking. But it is hard “with all these sudden, abrupt changes.” Fleeing persecution from pro-government militias in Venezuela, Maestre and Luis Guillermo came to the…

THE SEEDS OF a court case that has lasted for more than 20 years were planted in February 2001, when the parents of 11-month-old Yates Hazlehurst took him to the doctor for a routine measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Soon after, his family would allege in a court hearing, Yates became “wild,” “very hyperactive,” and “out of control.” “By the summer of 2001,” a US federal appeals court judge would later write, “Yates had lost all meaningful speech, even though he had previously used words such as ‘mama,’ ‘please,’ and ‘thank you.’ At about the same time, he developed chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain. Following a series of evaluations in July 2002, Yates was diagnosed as exhibiting a pattern of behavior consistent with autism.” In 2003, the Hazlehurst family…

“WHAT DOES IT mean? What is it, exactly? Is it real?” That’s what Joe Rogan asked Dr. Gabor Maté about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder when he hosted the Canadian family physician and bestselling author on his podcast in 2022. A health and wellness influencer known for his nurturing approach to healing from trauma and addiction, as well as his penchant for challenging standard medical advice, Maté had recently published his fifth book, The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness & Healing in a Toxic Culture, and was making the publicity rounds. ADHD is real, Maté replied; after all, he, too, has been diagnosed with it, as have two of his children. But then he offered the kind of anti-establishment response tailor-made for Rogan’s massive audience: It’s just not what the medical establishment claims…

In addition to writing for television, you’re an author of farcical speculative fiction. In your new novel, The Payback, the protagonist, Jada, leads a trio of down-on-their-luck retail workers in a fight against the fictitious Debt Police, leading to a madcap heist. What inspired this malevolent enforcement agency? I compare it to the Department of Education, which has been really enforce-y lately. All of a sudden, they can garnish wages, they can yank your driver’s license if you’re not paying back your student loans. In America, if you have financial problems, there isn’t a ton of infrastructure to help you solve them. You are forced to come up with your own individualistic solutions to these big societal issues. I drew up three girls who were just like, “We are all…

EARLIER THIS SUMMER, Tara McDermott, who’s in charge of policy communications for a New York state solar developer called EmPower Solar, was telling me a woeful tale a lot like others I’d been hearing lately. A customer whom I’ll call Pam had tried to put solar panels on top of her home in Mount Vernon to save money and help the planet. EmPower submitted its first permit application to the city in September 2023 and then went back and forth with them for months as the city asked for revisions, updated proof of insurance, and other documentation from Pam. Eventually, one of McDermott’s colleagues got fed up and reached out to the mayor for assistance—in fact, he drove to City Hall and asked to see her. Upon being told that…

WHEN DEPORTATION forces descended on Los Angeles, a new reality set in for many Angelenos: the fear of living in a city under constant threat from ICE. For many, it means sheltering in place—avoiding work, social life, or even a walk outside. Maria (below), an undocumented 22-year-old from Mexico, says she’s often afraid: “I feel like they’re just scaring us and desensitizing people from these things.” For his part, Bob (right), a 36-year-old naturalized citizen from Brazil, worries he could lose his citizenship: “So if I’m out there on the streets, let’s say I’m protesting against Donald Trump—‘Oh, you’re a domestic terrorist.’”  …

  January 10, 2017: Before Trump’s first term, Kennedy claims he was asked to chair a commission on “vaccine safety.” It never comes to pass. June 29, 2021: A new edition of The Vaccine Court: The Dark Truth of America’s Vaccine Injury Compensation Program has a foreword by Kennedy. May 9, 2022: Kennedy tweets that “the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program protects government agencies and corporations, not vaccine-injured children.” April 19, 2023: Kennedy announces his run for president. August 23, 2024: Kennedy suspends campaign and backs Trump, pledging to work on “the chronic disease epidemic” with him. September 5, 2024: Kennedy debuts the “Make America Healthy Again” slogan in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, attracting a new cohort to Trump’s fan base. November 14, 2024: Trump nominates Kennedy to serve…