Exploding Pintos, Imploding Politics: Celebrating 50 Years of Fearless Journalism

More To The Story : Over the last half-century, Mother Jones magazine has broken some of the era’s defining stories, including some of the earliest reporting about the dangers of Big Tobacco, its investigation into the exploding Ford Pinto, and Mitt Romney’s now-infamous line about 47 percent of Americans viewing themselves as “victims” who are “dependent on government.” Monika Bauerlein has been part of Mother Jones ’ story for half of its existence, first as an editor and now as the CEO of the Center for Investigative Reporting, which produces Mother Jones , as well as the public radio show Reveal and its sister podcast, More To The Story . This week, Bauerlein joins host Al Letson to look back at the magazine’s Bay Area origin story. Plus, they examine how the politics of the 1970s are strikingly similar to today and look forward to what the next 50 years might bring for independent nonprofit news in the US. Producer: Josh Sanburn | Editor: Kara McGuirk-Allison | Theme music: Fernando Arruda and Jim Briggs | Copy editor: Nikki Frick | Digital producer: Artis Curiskis | Deputy executive producer: Taki Telonidis | Executive producer: Brett Myers | Executive editor: James West | Host: Al Letson Read: Are You Driving the Deadliest Car in America? ( Mother Jones ) Read: My Four Months as a Private Prison Guard ( Mother Jones ) Read: SECRET VIDEO: Romney Tells Millionaire Donors What He REALLY Thinks of Obama Voters ( Mother Jones ) Listen: Trump’s “Pincer Attack” on Journalism Is Working. But There’s Hope . ( More To The Story ) Donate today at Revealnews.org/more

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Exploding Pintos, Imploding Politics: Celebrating 50 Years of Fearless Journalism is an episode from Reveal by The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX.

This episode is 26:56 long.

This episode was published on Mar 18, 2026.

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