City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
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‘Our Erie’ Tells Its Story
As we’ve been working away on our book based on our “American Futures” travels over the past four…
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Meanwhile in America: ‘New Americans’ in the Rust Belt
If you’ve read or heard about Erie, Pennsylvania, since the election, it’s likely to be with framing as “declining Rust…
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‘Let's Care About Someone Who Does Not Belong to Our Tribe’
We could use a little positive news at the moment, right? Here you go: Over the past three years…
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The End of the Journey
Arriving in Tucson, we felt the inklings of coming full circle with our American Futures project. Only one more leg…
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In Flight
We took off west from Demopolis, Alabama, prepared for a lot of flying ahead on this last journey for The…
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Flying Into the Deep South
We woke up in Demopolis, Alabama, on day two of the final journey of our American Futures series for The…
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A Big Step for Little Eastport
Since our first visit in the fall of 2013, Deb and I have reported frequently on the grit, vision, resilience,…
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Farewell to Washington
Montgomery County traffic, Cirrus Four-Three-Five Sierra Romeo taking Runway One-Four, VFR (visual flight rules) departure to the west, Montgomery. …
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Happy New Year: See You in June
For me this is the third post of the day, and probably the last in this space for quite a…
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All Progress Is Local: New Year’s Notes From Around the Country
This is the first of three posts on this New Year’s Day, building toward a change in (my part of)…
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Deborah Fallows Returning to Ohio
How a small, Midwestern town has changed over the decades—and where it aims to go
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Deborah Fallows A Post-Election Field Report From America's Refugees and Immigrants
Words and stories from the towns where the newest Americans live
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Missing Thanksgiving Day
When you are an American living overseas, Thanksgiving is an even more powerful nationally unifying holiday than the Fourth of…
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Courtesy of Birmingham Public Library Archives The Treasures of Birmingham
For almost a century, the local library has guarded its city's history.
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Why Not Dodge? Why Not Stockton?
I mentioned yesterday that several local initiatives could mean as much to their communities or states as the outcome of…
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What the Renewable-Energy Economy Looks Like
At its peak, nearly one century ago in 1920, the coal-mining industry employed nearly 800,000 people in the United States.…
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Update on the Eastport Saga
The Boston Globe had a story over the weekend about the never-say-die small city of Eastport, Maine. As we’ve been…
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Refugees, Immigrants, and the Battle Over Who Is American
Deb Fallows has a new post up, about what’s actually involved in settling immigrants from Syria—or Somalia or Congo…
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Deborah Fallows What It Takes to Settle Refugees
The people of Erie, Pennsylvania, have welcomed immigrants and refugees, and believe that their town is better off for having done so.
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Annals of Renewal: MTP Podcast, Knight Competition
1) Meet the Press podcast. Yesterday afternoon I spoke with Chuck Todd for his podcast; the segment has gone…
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