James Fallows
Book w/ 'Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America.' Views here=100% personal, not representing any institution.
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Our Towns: What David Halberstam Learned in Mississippi
James Fallows - The Atlantic 45h 1 tweets
The journalist's days at the Daily Times Leader taught him the "nobility of ordinary people."
Our Towns: Can Schools 'Teach Students to Think'?
The Atlantic 4d 1 tweets
A reader argues that schools like the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science get too much credit. A teacher from the school responds.
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James Fallows A college professor in Georgia questions whether an innovative school in Mississippi is all it has been cracked up to be. (Including by ) A teacher at that school, MSMS, replies. 4d
Our Towns: National Policies Have Local Effects
James Fallows - The Atlantic 7d 1 tweets
Two cities on opposite sides of the U.S. illustrate how communities can be shaken by decisions in Washington.
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James Fallows You’ve heard what the trade war is doing to Midwest soybean farmers. Here are some of the consequences for walnut / almond growers in Cailfornia. by me Plus: what refugee crackdown means for challenged industrial cities 7d
Our Towns: Dead Malls, Reborn Cities
James Fallows - The Atlantic 9d 1 tweets
Readers respond to James Fallows about the afterlives of abandoned buildings
'That Makes Me Smart!' Is the New 'Only the Little People Pay Taxes'
James Fallows - The Atlantic 9d 1 tweets
Donald Trump's infamous quote from Monday's debate feels very similar to the one from Leona Helmsley, the American businesswoman who went to prison for federal income tax evasion in 1992.
The Last Family-Owned Daily in Mississippi
James Fallows - The Atlantic 10d 1 tweets
The Commercial Dispatch is showing other local papers a way forward.
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James Fallows Re-upping: A daily newspaper that is hanging on, in small-town Mississippi, credits its survival to skepticism about social media, plus of course an ownership structure that is opposite of VC/chain model. By me. 10d
Our Towns: Dead Malls, Everywhere
James Fallows - The Atlantic 12d 1 tweets
Readers discuss what can be done with an unloved and unsightly part of America’s infrastructure.
Remembering a Man Who Had the Thing Itself
The Atlantic 12d 2 tweets
Richard Todd was an editor at The Atlantic in the 1970s and ’80s. He died in April.
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James Fallows A heartbreakingly beautiful appreciation, by Cullen Murphy, of the sublime editor (and human being) Richard Todd. 12d
Will Iran Be Next?
James Fallows - The Atlantic 14d 2 tweets
Soldiers, spies, and diplomats conduct a classic Pentagon war game—with sobering results
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James Fallows In light of J Bolton et al sending “clear and unmistakable message” to Iran, you might be thinking: "Gee, I wonder if war with Iran would be ‘good and easy to win’?” [cf ] 15 years ago, we argued: No way. Bad idea then, worse now 14d
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James Fallows Re-upping, as I may have to do every day: 1) Before the invasion of Iraq, it was obvious that it would be a catastrophic mistake. 2) Military engagement with Iran would be far stupider, more reckless, and more destructive. 7d
Trump: 'Trade wars are good, and easy to win'
CNBC 445d 3 tweets
Even if new tariffs spark an international trade war, Trump is confident the United States would come out on top.
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James Fallows In light of J Bolton et al sending “clear and unmistakable message” to Iran, you might be thinking: "Gee, I wonder if war with Iran would be ‘good and easy to win’?” [cf ] 15 years ago, we argued: No way. Bad idea then, worse now 14d
Our Towns: What Happens to Abandoned Malls?
James Fallows - The Atlantic 17d 2 tweets
A reader weighs in on James Fallows's dispatch from Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Our Towns: 'Unknown Outside Indiana'
James Fallows - The Atlantic 17d 1 tweets
Readers discuss media coverage of Muncie, Indiana, and the people who've called it home.
A New Approach to College Rankings, Concentrating on Vocational Training
James Fallows - The Atlantic 19d 1 tweets
The Washington Monthly ranks colleges based on how they prepare students for careers.
An Unusual Way to Bridge the Town-Gown Divide
James Fallows - The Atlantic 19d 2 tweets
Muncie public schools were in distress—so the local university stepped in.
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James Fallows Re-upping— Hypothesis: People assume that whole U.S. is as polarized/ paralyzed as its national politics, largely because news of dysfunction travels, and news of renewal/functionality doesn’t. Illustration: innov approach to schools in Muncie IN by me 19d
Fort Wayne Makes Its Own Luck
James Fallows - The Atlantic 22d 1 tweets
Residents are attempting to breathe new life into the remains of what had been its grandest industrial site.
Watergate is a place, too
Curbed 24d 1 tweets
Once at the forefront of D.C. development, can the (in)famous complex adapt for a new generation?
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James Fallows Very interesting story by about the Watergate as a real place, not an allusion. ( is based there.) 24d
A Community Finding a Path Forward
James Fallows - The Atlantic 26d 4 tweets
Our Towns: On the Road, in the Air
James Fallows - The Atlantic 26d 1 tweets
The U.S. Military Will Spend $1.5 Trillion on a Plane That Barely Works
James Fallows - The Atlantic 31d 1 tweets
The F-35 fighter jet was supposed to do everything. Instead, it can barely do anything.
The Urgent Quest for Slower, Better News
The New Yorker 41d 10 tweets
The current system for delivering news online is broken. Readers and journalists will need to work together to find a new one.
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James Fallows In newsmag biz, people would say: three data points=a trend. I give you: -Michael Luo, TNY, on the superiority of for-real print media: -Andrew Ferguson on superiority of real print -And I personally think so too QED! 40d