Joseph Bullington grew up in the Smith River watershed near White Sulphur Springs, Montana. He is the editor of Rural America In These Times.
ViewpointRural America
The Latest Plot To Privatize Public Lands
With no provisions to address the affordability crisis for locals, a new plan to open public land to housing developers would only speed the wealthy's takeover of the West.
Joseph Bullington
DispatchRural America
Can Native Voters Carry Montana?
From Billings to Fort Peck, organizers are working to register Indigenous voters—and believe they might shift the needle.
Joseph Bullington
ViewpointElection 2024Rural America
Republicans Will Weaponize Rural Suffering as Long as Democrats Ignore It
JD Vance is a poser, but he’s telling a dangerously compelling story about rural America that Democrats are doing nothing to defuse.
Joseph Bullington
Dispatch
The Farmers Who Can’t Afford Farms
Thirty-eight percent of young farmers—including 62% of young Black farmers—have student debt, which can make it impossible to take on farm loans.
Joseph Bullington
DispatchRural America
In Texas, SpaceX's Rocket Facility is Blocking Public Beach Access
A proposed land trade would hand over even more of Boca Chica to SpaceX.
Joseph Bullington
DispatchRural America
Can Tenants Take Back Bozeman?
Luxury construction is pushing locals out of their homes, but Bozemanites are not going quietly.
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
How To Privatize a Mountain
As a wave of wealth sweeps Montana, landowners are blocking the public from public lands.
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
A Farmer’s Almanac for the End of This World
The Earthbound Farmer’s Almanac offers a place for sharing stories, experiments and strategies for food autonomy in our age of ecological devastation.
Joseph Bullington
Viewpoint
A Billionaire Conserving Montana Is Funding the Group Bulldozing the Atlanta Forest
Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank is helping fund the forces behind Cop City.
Joseph Bullington
Rural AmericaInvestigationGoodman Institute
The Vail-ification of the West
In part two of our series, we visit the Colorado ski towns at the extreme edge of rural gentrification.
Joseph Bullington
Rural AmericaInvestigationGoodman InstituteEn Español
Los Trabajadores en Vail no Pueden Darse el Lujo de Vivir Ahí
En la segunda parte de nuestra serie, visitamos las ciudades de esquí de Colorado a borde de la gentrificación rural.
Joseph Bullington
Rural AmericaInvestigationGoodman Institute
In Montana, an Avalanche of Wealth Is Displacing Workers
The people who feed, clothe and clean up after the West’s rich newcomers can’t afford to live alongside them.
Joseph Bullington
Rural AmericaInvestigationGoodman InstituteEn Español
En Montana, Una Avalancha de Riqueza Está Desplazando a los Trabajadores
Los trabajadores que alimentan, visten y aseean para los ricos recién llegados a occidente de Montana no pueden darse el lujo de vivir cerca de sus trabajos.
Joseph Bullington
LaborRural America
After Yellowstone Floods, Tourism Workers Lose Their Jobs—And Their Housing
Many Yellowstone workers depend on their bosses for a place to live. When the flood washed away their jobs, they lost their housing, too.
Joseph Bullington
DispatchRural America
Trailer Park Residents Take on Venture Capitalists—and Win
As gentrification sweeps the West, investors are buying up mobile home parks. Residents of this Colorado park got together and bought it themselves.
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
In Defense of Hunting
In our age of ecological collapse, hunting animals for food is as relevant as ever.
Joseph Bullington
FeatureClimateRural America
After Ida, This Louisiana Tribe Is Organizing Its Own Recovery
Armed with agricultural knowledge and mutual aid networks, the Houma people aren't waiting on the government to rescue them.
Joseph Bullington
ViewpointRural America
GDP: A Countdown to Doom
The numbers we use to measure the economy’s recovery from Covid also measure the rate at which we barrel into ecological catastrophe.
Joseph Bullington
ViewpointRural America
2020 Was The Year the Mask Came Off
We learned some things this past year that we shouldn’t forget. Here’s a roundup of stories from Rural America In These Times that bear re-reading.
Joseph Bullington
ViewpointRural America
No Parks for the Poor
In the face of budget cuts, some land management agencies are ramping up user fees — and betraying the egalitarian promise of public lands.
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
‘People Are Still Putting Their Bodies on the Line to Stop this Pipeline’
A court found that the Dakota Access Pipeline was built unlawfully. These water protectors are still in prison for trying to stop it.
Joseph Bullington
Feature
The Pandemic Is Exposing the Rotten Core of Our Industrial Food System
While industrial farms have been thrown into chaos, local agriculture has proved to be a more resilient model.
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
In Montana, Food Banks Battle Surging Demand and Shifting Supply Chains
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
For Democrats, the Road to Victory in 2020 Runs Through Rural America. This Report Offers a Road Map
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
First Amendment Loses as Pipeline Industry Scores Another Win in Wisconsin
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Getting Stuck Is a Rural Rite of Passage
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Organic Food Hurts the Earth? Sorry, But It’s More Complicated
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Standing Rock Felony Defendants Take Plea Deals, Still Face Years in Prison
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Why Cutting Up Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument is a Bad Idea
Joseph Bullington
Feature
In Defense of Wildfire
What climate activists, right-wing loggers and Smokey Bear get wrong
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
A “Progressive Ticket” Sweeps Helena, Montana’s Municipal Elections
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Federal Judge: Environmental Law was Broken in Rushed Review of Dakota Access Pipeline
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Blacks, Latinos and Indians Think About Climate Change in Ways that Most Other Americans Do Not
Joseph Bullington
Feature
Don’t Blame Montana Voters for Quist’s Loss: Blame the Frailty of Our Democracy
The Montana race exposed the structural impediments to progressive politics.
Joseph Bullington
Feature
The Progressive Movement Just Scored a Huge Win in Philly’s DA Race
Larry Krasner’s victory was a referendum on Trump as well as on a whole host of issues that predate the president: immigrant rights, the war on drugs and mass incarceration.
Joseph Bullington
Dispatch
The Folk Singer vs. the Millionaire: A Berniecrat Aims for Montana’s House Seat
Rob Quist's House campaign draws on Montana's populist spirit.
Joseph Bullington
Labor
The Chicago Reader Staff Just Voted Unanimously To Authorize a Strike
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Radical Joy for Hard Times: How to Live on a Damaged Planet
Joseph Bullington
Rural America
Camp Raid Begins as Standing Rock Eviction Deadline Passes
Joseph Bullington
Announcing In These Times’ New Agreement with the National Writers Union
Freelance contributors are essential to the quality and success of In These Times and independent media, and this agreement is one way to demonstrate their value to our publication and our commitment to transparency.
For more information about the National Writers Union, visit nwu.org.
Read the full agreement, which reaffirms a floor for the rates of our freelance editorial content, as well as our current rates (which are higher) and submissions guidelines below.