Do you want to know what the hell is going in Washington right now? Do you also want behind-the-scenes looks at the often crazy machinations in politics and the media? How about a book, movie, and music junkie’s tips on what is worth your time? Well, we’re here to assist.
I’m Brian Hiatt and my job at Mother Jones is to develop online membership, and I’m damn excited to tell you that today we’re launching to the MoJo community a new product that will do all that: Our Land, a newsletter from our Washington bureau chief, David Corn.
Over the past few months, we’ve been cooking up this great new way for you to get the inside scoop from David, and we think you’re going to love it. Okay, that’s a big promise: an email newsletter to be excited about. So let me tell you about it.
Our Land is designed to be unlike anything else in your inbox. Twice a week, David puts together an email that, as you’d probably guess, covers the news of the day, delivers his incisive analysis, and features the hard-hitting reporting you’d expect from Mother Jones. Sign me up for that! David’s hot smart take that helps us understand what the hell is going on is worth receiving on its own.
But wait, there’s more!
We’ve been piloting Our Land to a group of readers for a few months now, and they’ve been really thrilled with it (see the glowing review from NPR’s Peter Sagal below!). Personally, my favorite part is how David riffs on whatever is on his mind and wholeheartedly engages with subscribers. He shares behind-the-scenes stories of his work over the years and recounts the unexpected encounters with powerful people that happen often in DC. Not to mention the Dumbass Comment of the Week that readers can submit nominations for.
David’s a huge fan of film, music, books, and television, and he shares what he’s been enjoying and asks the community what they’ve been into. Every once in a while, a story from his old rock ’n’ roll days finds its way in, like the time he was slugged by Iggy Pop. It’s the combination of all of this—politics, journalism, culture, and what David calls “crusty anecdotes”—that makes Our Land totally unique.
All in all, it provides a lot of color to his reporting and gives you a sense of what makes David tick—he’s definitely one of those folks you’d love to have a beer with (though he tells me these days he has switched to hard cider, which sounds delightful too). And starting soon, he’ll be hosting live online Q&As and discussions with Ourhttps://www.motherjones.com/media/2021/10/this-land-by-david-corn/
Land subscribers to provide even more opportunity for readers to interact with him and each other.
If you’re sold on that—and why wouldn’t you be?—sign up for a trial today. You’ll get your first installment of Our Land when David sends it within the next few days.
“We all have way too much to read, and we waste too much time reading it, but I am enjoying—and learning things I did not know!—from my pal @DavidCornDC’s newsletter, ‘Our Land.’ Try it out!”
—Peter Sagal, host of NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me and a Our Land reader
Our Land is also a big experiment for Mother Jones.
With it, we’re trying something new for us: a paid newsletter with exclusive content and insider access for readers who want to go deeper and engage directly with writers. We hope that will be worth a few bucks to the many of the you have told us you want more from David and really value his work and passion.
So after a free 30-day trial, we’ll ask you to pay $5 a month to keep receiving Our Land as a new way to help fund all of Mother Jones’ nonprofit journalism. (You can also pony up now and skip the trial if you’re already all in!)
$5 a month to send you more email?!?! Yep. Trust us, it’s a great product you’ll want to receive twice a week, and it’s a small way for a lot of folks (we hope!) to support our independent reporting, which, let’s be real, is always needed.
It’s actually quite the bargain: Our Land is a fun, informative email that makes you smarter and occasionally laugh—all for $5 a month after a free trial. Here’s David marking the withdrawal from Afghanistan, 20 years after being one of far too few journalists who seriously questioned the march to war post-9/11, and here’s David setting off a spirited debate among readers on the age-old question: Lennon or McCartney?
But the core of it, as with David’s entire career, is some badass reporting: He knows his facts, gets big scoops, and tells it like it is. Personally, I’ll always remember this particular paragraph explaining William Barr’s handling of the Mueller investigation, to give you a sense of what you’re in for:
For rogues, scoundrels, tyrants, princes and princesses of corruption—and their henchmen—the truth is a threat. It must be crushed. It must be vanquished. Abuse of power cannot exist alongside accountability. Malefactors cannot survive within an atmosphere of truth. It is a suffocating poison for them. So they must deceive, and they must dissemble. That is what the United States’ top law enforcement officer demonstrated this week.
Fire—expect plenty of that in Our Land when you start your free 30-day trial today.
To recap: What is Our Land and what do I get for $5 a month after my free trial?
- Twice-weekly emails with original and thought-provoking writing from David Corn to help you really understand the big stories of the day.
- History, whimsy, stories about his work and life as a DC reporter, and tales from his punk rock days—and whatever else happens to be on his mind while sitting down to write.
- Film, music, book, and TV recommendations that David selects to share with the community.
- The Dumbass Comment of the Week (which, in retrospect, maybe we should have asked Ted Cruz to sponsor).
- Access to David’s inbox to ask questions about his work and the day’s news and have the chance to share just about anything else with him and your fellow readers in a future installment of Our Land.
- Invitations to subscriber-only live online Q&As or discussions with his politics and media friends. Our first one will be announced soon!
- The ability to help us make Our Land even better, more useful, and more fun as we go.
- The warm feeling of knowing that your $5 a month also supports all of Mother Jones’ journalism. It will really add up when thousands of your fellow MoJo readers sign up, too.
I hope you’ll say yes to a free trial today. I just know so many of you will love it as much as I have and as much as David has enjoyed putting it together these past couple months.
