James Ridgeway

James Ridgeway is Senior Washington Correspondent for MOTHER JONES, where he writes both articles for the magazine and a weekly web column on MotherJones.com.

Ridgeway also writes pieces for the GUARDIAN and COUNTERPUNCH, and collaborates on original short videos, available at RidgewayNg.com.

Ridgeway served as Washington Correspondent for the VILLAGE VOICE for more than thirty years, where he wrote the weekly “Mondo Washington” column, as well as features on national and international politics. As part of his broad-based national reporting, he became know for his writing on the American right wing, from the mainstream conservative movement to the racist far-right. He also reported on international stories, from the coup in Haiti to the democratic revolution in Eastern Europe.

Earlier in his career, Ridgeway worked for The NEW REPUBLIC, RAMPARTS, and the WALL STREET JOURNAL and was co-founder and editor of the political newsletters HARD TIMES and THE ELEMENTS. His writing has also appeared in PARADE, HARPER'S, THE NATION, GEORGE, THE ECONOMIST, NATURAL HISTORY, AUDUBON, the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, and other magazines and newspapers worldwide.

Ridgeway is the author of sixteen books, including, most recently, THE 5 UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT 9/11 and IT'S ALL FOR SALE: The Control of Global Resources. Earlier books include BLOOD IN THE FACE: The Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, Nazi Skinheads, and the Rise of a New White Culture; BURN THIS HOUSE: The Making and Unmaking of Yugoslavia(with Jasminka Udovicki); RED LIGHT: Inside the Sex Industry(with photgraphs by Sylvia Plachy); THE HAITI FILES: Decoding the Crisis; THE POLITICS OF ECOLOGY; and THE CLOSED CORPORATION: American Universities in Crisis.

Ridgeway co-directed BLOOD IN THE FACE, a companion film to his book, as well as FEED, a documentary on the 1992 presidential campaign.