Write America: Deborah and James Fallows
Join Alice-Byrd’s Books for the fifty-seventh episode of “Write America,” featuring Deb and Jim Fallows, as they read and discuss their works intimating how the deep divisions in the country…
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Real Mississippi podcasts: You Can Go Back Home Again
Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science student Raegan Calvert explores the challenges and opportunities in her hometown of Wiggins, Mississippi
Story Maps are at the Center of Community Collaboration in Kent, Ohio
New digital tools give communities innovative and engaging ways to tell their own stories. In Kent, Ohio, a community-wide collaboration among Kent State University, Main Street Kent, and the Kent Historical Society & Museum uses story maps to teach residents about the town's rich history.
If Small Towns Want to Survive, They Need a Plan B
Tim Holt, editor of the Northwest Review contrasts the effective “Plan Bs” of towns including Mount Shasta, CA and Ashland, OR with that of his own town, Dunsmuir, CA. He…
Never Too Soon: Engaging America’s Youngest Citizens Early and Often
Americans know that retaining their young people requires getting them involved in the civic process early and often.
Why Story Maps Matter
People understand the world through stories. People absorb their stories in ever-expanding ways. Here is a preview of a powerful, emerging form of digital story-telling, which we’ll be using frequently in this space.
Real Voices from Real Mississippi
How podcasts are reshaping how high-school students research and tell stories of their hometowns throughout Mississippi.
Think Global, Perform Local
Troubled by the war in Ukraine, 100-year-old Angie Zerad wanted to do something. With help from her daughter, she began the daily ritual of playing the Ukrainian national anthem.
American Institutions That Still Work
Everyone knows about the parts of America that are so polarized and divided that they have lost touch with their basic functions. Here’s a look at some of the people, institutions, and collaborative cultures that provide examples, and lessons, for the rest of us.
Fountains of Youth for Towns
The life and spirit of any town or city depend on its ability to attract and retain people. In a time when many worry about brain drain, how communities keep their young people, or bring them back, or attract newcomers illustrates a place's sense of and attention to renewal.
James Fallows featured on ‘Stand Up with Pete Dominick’
Jim joins host Pete Dominick for his podcast to discuss events of the day. The podcast features “brilliant guests daily.”
Galesburg residents revitalize ‘Appliance City’ by focusing on ‘quality of life’
The exodus of Galesburg, Illinois’ economic anchor in 2004 left the town in identity-crisis mode. Now, Galesburg residents are redefining the heart and soul of the town — which once centered around being a manufacturing hub — by bringing their unique history and heritage to the fore.
Looking at America from up high and on the ground, with Jim Fallows
On this episode of the Vital Center, Jim and podcast host Geoff Kabaservice discuss Deb and Jim’s travels across the country and why politics so often works better at the…
A New Partnership: Community Heart & Soul
Community Heart & Soul and Our Towns Civic Foundation are collaborating to bring national attention to the stories of innovation and renewal in small cities and towns across the United States.
The Local Tavern: The Tradition Continues at Max Taps-Centennial
Entrepreneurship. Gatherings of friends and colleagues. Industry leadership. Great American traditions. These are prime ingredients of successful local community taprooms. And, as forecasted in my December 2021 post, these pieces…
Renewing the Call for a Marshall Plan for America
Seven decades ago, a plan to rebuild fragile, wounded countries swept across Western Europe. That idea should serve as a blueprint for American towns and cities and regions left behind today, argues Michael Cooper.