City Makers: American Futures
The people, organizations, and ideas reshaping the country. A journey piloted by James Fallows with Deborah Fallows.
Columbus, MS
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‘The Last Best Hope for Public STEM Education in Mississippi’
Over the years my wife Deb and I have frequently mentioned the remarkable Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. You…
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Budget Challenges at a Remarkable Mississippi School
Over the past two years my wife Deb and I have reported frequently on the remarkable Mississippi School for Mathematics…
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A Police Shooting Case in Mississippi
Over the past few years we’ve mentioned many of the positive developments underway in the three counties of northern Mississippi…
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Deborah Fallows Mississippi Students Write About Life in Their Home State
Inspiring young writers connect with their literary legacy
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Wikimedia commons Punching Above Their Weight in Mississippi
Mississippi schools come in #49 in many national rankings. Read these essays and poems by high school students from Columbus, Mississippi. Then tell the folks who make up the rankings that they need a different algorithm.
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Columbus Dispatch It Takes a Village—to Staff a Factory
"It indeed is an oasis, but the passion and commitment are replicable elsewhere." A Kenyan-born man working in Mississippi on some of the things the state has done right.
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East Mississippi Community College Raj Shaunak and the Economic Boom in Eastern Mississippi
It's one thing to draw high-skill, high-wage jobs to a place that has historically lacked opportunities. It's something else altogether to find people qualified to fill them. A local answer to a national question.
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Now That Mississippi Is in the News
Can the media avoid a freak-show tone?
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Reuters Build Your Own 3D Printer
High-school science projects from Mississippi
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Photos by Deborah Fallows The Modern Orphans of Mississippi
"Actually, the children live very well."
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Heavy Industry in the Mississippi 'Prairie': Why Are These Factories Here?
"Live every second as if your ASS is on fire," and other words of wisdom.
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Mapping America's Prospects, in Mississippi and Elsewhere
Images that illustrate the challenges and opportunities Americans face region-by-region
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Photos by Deborah Fallows Theories of History: Joe Max Higgins and the Golden Triangle of Mississippi
"When Eurocopter came here, people started walking upright a little bit." Why has this part of Mississippi pulled ahead of some others?
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A Real Story of Memorial Day
The origins of this weekend's holiday, linking Mississippi and The Atlantic
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Students From Mississippi Write About Their State
"MSMS is often referred to as the most diverse square mile in the state of Mississippi, alluding to academic interests, ethnicities, belief systems, aspirations, and much more," a high school senior writes. "It's true."
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Photos by Deborah Fallows A Mississippi School Striving for Excellence
“I am so happy to be here. I have so many opportunities. I am so fortunate.”
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Emancipation Day Commemoration in Eastern Mississippi
"It's not a black thing. It's not a white thing. It's an American thing."
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Severstal company video The New Industrial Belt: The Deep South
Does America still "make things?" Come take a look ... in Mississippi.
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James Fallows A Song of America's Downtowns
A heartening surprise of our travel so far: the breadth, seriousness, and—in some places—success of the effort to revitalize small-town downtowns. Or, what 3 programmers from Uzbekistan taught us about America.
