 | Playmate of the Month: Marlene Janssen, photographed by Arny Freytag and Kerry Morris Queen of the Crop | Marlene Janssen is a small-town heroine who’s learned how to be a winner in L.A. |
 | The World of Playboy (with Playmate Victoria Cooke) |
| Dear Playboy | |
| Playboy After Hours | |
| Men | Male sexuality, by Asa Baber | |
| The Playboy Advisor | |
 | Dear Playmates (Cathy St. George, Cathy Larmouth, Jeana Tomasino, Michele Drake, Linda Rhys Vaughn, Lorraine Michaels) |
| The Playboy Forum | |
 | Playboy Interview: Luciano Pavarotti | A candid conversation about wine, women and arias with the tenor of our time |
 | Fiction: George Mills | It was the trickiest of tricky trades for George — the sorcerer’s apprentice, by Stanley Elkin, illustrated by Ed Paschke |
 | Pictorial: The Women of Braniff | Grounded but not forgotten… |
 | Article: One Last Chance for the Democrats | It looks like they’d survive Reaganism — put if politics is the art of solving problems, they’ve still got a lot of politicking to do, by Arthur Schlesinger Jr., illustrated by Dan Clyne |
 | Attire: A Classic Yarn | Return with us now to those golden days of yesteryear when a man was measured by the cut of his tweeds, by David Platt, photographed by Roberto Rocco |
 | Fiction: The Second Coming | Do you know the story of Mary and Joseph and the angel? You haven’t heard this version, by Mitch Sisskind, illustrated by Kinuko Y. Craft |
 | Modern Living: The Paper Chasers | For undergrads with straight-A ambitions, here’s a dean’s-list guide to electronic quick-study equipment, by Danny Goodman, photographed by Bill Arsenault |
 | Humor: Playboy’s Party Jokes |
 | Article: Circle of Deceit: The Hypocrisy of College Athletics | In an era when there’s not a dime’s worth of difference between student athletes and pros, it’s time to stop pretending there is, by John Schulian, illustrated by Michael Ansell |
 | Accouterments: Personal Best | Luxurious and stylish accouterments for the man of taste, photographed by Richard Izui |
 | Drink: Notables’ Potables | If you want to shake or stir what Woody, Liza, Cheryl, Frank and other superstars are sipping, read on, by Emanuel Greenberg, illustrated by Mort Drucker |
 | Humor: Why Sex is Still Worth It | As the poet said, let us count the ways, by James R. Petersen and Kate Nolan |
 | Personality: The Cheap Agony of Ugly George | Something inside him calls. His answer is to lure women into hallways and convince them to strip for his camera, by D. Keith Mano, illustrated by Tom Ingham |
 | Memorabilia: Celebrity High | OK, fans, this is a pop quiz — how good are you at identifying famous people from their high school photographs?, by Dan Carlinsky |
 | 1983 Playboy Music Poll | Who lived together in perfect harmony this year? You tell us!, photographed by Paul Gremmler, special effects by Jeff Douo |
 | Humor: How I Broke the Bank at the World Series of Handicapping | Can a rank amateur go up against the country’s best horse players and win? Wanna bet?, by Jay Cronley, illustrated by Eraldo Carugati |
 | Article: Sex in Cinema — 1982 | One is tempted to say this year was something of a drag as movies took a long look at alternative lifestyles — and served forth screens full of kids buffing it, by Arthur Knight (with Playmate Kimberly McArthur) |
 | Ribald Classic: The Right to Bear Arms | From the Novellino of Masuccio of Salerno, retold by Carlo Matteo, illustrated by Brad Holland |
 | 20 Questions: Frank and Moon Unit Zappa | Rock’s knight-errant and his valley-girl daughter assess the state of dating, drugs and — gas us with a spoon! — American culture, photographed by Raul Vega |
 | Humor: Playboy Funnies (Cruiser, 5 Cent Mary, Saturday Nite Jive, Through Space and Time with Schwimmer and Jones, Ed Head, The Tales of Baron von Furstinbed, Annie & Albert) |
 | Playboy Potpourri | People, places, objects and events of interest or amusement |
 | Playboy on the Scene: Gear | Under the gun |
 | Playboy on the Scene: Fashion | Winter headways, by David Platt, photographed by J. Verser Engelhard |
 | Playboy on the Scene: Wheels | Porsche 944: The legend lives on, by Gary Witzenburg |
 | Playboy on the Scene: Grapevine (Bruce Springsteen and Clarence Clemons, Eileen Fulton, Kate Jackson, Mike Reno, Burton Cummings, Wendy O. Williams, Allene Simmons) |
 | Playboy on the Scene: Sex News |
 Bernard Kliban |  Buck Brown |  Don Madden |  Doug Sneyd |
 Francis Wilford Smith |  Gahan Wilson |  John Dempsey |  Mike Williams |
 Roy Raymonde |  Phil Interlandi |  Eldon Dedini |
 What Sort of Man Reads Playboy? |  Subscription ad (with Playmate Karen Witter) |
Pipe and PJs 