How to Build a Future Scientist

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Here’s an ad that Vodafone is running on billboards around here:

I’m not trying to pick on Vodafone, but I sure see a lot of ads like this. I wish instead that I saw a few more ads like this:

I know, I know. It’s just an ad, and the future doesn’t look all that exciting in mine. I’m just a little weary of endless ads telling us that inspiring children to become scientists is all a matter of fun and games. That’s part of it, for sure, but our future scientists better become proficient in math and research too. Proficient enough that they don’t get scared away the first time they take a real science class, anyway. That means getting used to a bit of routine drudgery.

Yeah, I’m just griping. Get off my lawn blah blah blah. Still.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't find elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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