This paper deals with the problem of magneto-thermoelastic interactions in a functionally graded isotropic unbounded medium due to the presence of periodically varying heat sources in the context of linear theory of generalized thermoelasticity with energy dissipation (TEWED) and without energy dissipation (TEWOED) having a finite conductivity. The governing equations of generalized thermoelasticity (GN model) for a functionally graded material (FGM) under the influence of a magnetic field are established. The Laplace-Fourier double transform technique has been used to get the solution. The inversion of the Fourier transform has been done by using residual calculus, where poles of the integrand are obtained numerically in a complex domain by using Leguerre's method and the inversion of the Laplace transformation is done numerically using a method based on a Fourier series expansion technique. Numerical estimates of the displacement, temperature, stress, and strain are obtained for a hypothetical material. The solution to the analogous problem for homogeneous isotropic materials is obtained by taking a suitable non-homogeneous parameter. Finally, the results obtained are presented graphically to show the effect of a non-homogeneous, magnetic field and damping coefficient on displacement, temperature, stress, and strain. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.