February 4, 2020

New Podcast Episode: What the Iowa Caucus Debacle Means

“Why are we doing it this way? Isn’t there a better way?”

Jack Kurtz/Zuma

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We’re putting out the latest edition of the Mother Jones Podcast a little bit early this week in order to bring you the very latest from Iowa, where Democratic officials are still scrambling to tabulate final results from the Monday night vote, blaming “inconsistencies” in the reporting data. Meanwhile, precinct-based volunteers running the contest on the ground slammed the party’s reporting app and said even calling in on the phones was causing problems. Officials have said they will begin to release partial voting data later this evening.

Senior reporter Tim Murphy has been criss-crossing Iowa for Mother Jones, and in this show we’ll take you right there, to his rental car, for his immediate reaction and to hear what voters are telling him about this headache-inducing vote.

You’ll also hear from our voting rights reporter (and Iowa native) Ari Berman, who analyzes what the debacle foretells for voting in America in 2020. And while we wait to assess the final votes, Micah Cohen, the managing editor of FiveThirtyEight, examines the trends as election season gets underway.

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ONLY HOURS LEFT—AND EVERYTHING RIDING ON IT

A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

With just hours left, we need a huge surge in reader support to get to our $400,000 year-end goal. Whether you've given before or this is your first time, your contribution right now matters. All gifts are 3X matched and tax-deductible.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do. That’s why we need you right now. Please chip in to help close the gap.

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