From The Readers Archives

Inside the Buffalo Ridge Brewery, one of the sights for RuralX 2021.

Ben Speggen
July 27, 2021

“Our Towns” Reader Response Roundup features film screening feedback, a unique effort to support libraries nationwide, and national perceptions being addressed at the local level.

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HBO Documentary

‘Our Towns’ Viewer Response Roundup

Ben Speggen
June 29, 2021

Viewers respond to 'Our Towns' HBO documentary.

People rowing on a river under a bridge with sunlight.

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Education

The Sport That’s Like Playing in a Jazz Quartet

James Fallows
September 8, 2020

"Rowing is a sport, everything else is a game."

Bent Paddle’s newly distanced outdoor seating.

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Breweries & Distilleries

What happens to small companies now?

James Fallows
July 31, 2020

The path small, locally conscious firms are taking to survive the current economic and public health disaster.

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Local Journalism

On the Virtues of Statewide Journalism

James Fallows
November 12, 2019

A few days ago I published an item about a year-old online effort to revive local news coverage in Tennessee, The Daily Memphian. It was part of an ongoing series about efforts to…

The science building at Central Oregon Community College, in Bend, Oregon (James Fallows / The Atlantic)

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Community Colleges & Technical Training

The Power of a Community College

James Fallows
August 12, 2019

Last week I reported on a conference of community-college leaders that Deb Fallows and I attended in Michigan, and about some of the reasons we’ve come to believe that community colleges are…

Jobbers Canyon Historic District was a warehouse area located in downtown Omaha, Nebraska. In 1989, all 24 buildings in Jobbers Canyon were demolished, representing the largest National Register historic district lost to date. (U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)

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Economic Development

How Danville Has Avoided Omaha’s Mistake

James Fallows
June 21, 2019

How the bittersweet heritage of old buildings in Danville, Virginia has helped them avoid the mistakes of Omaha..

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Civic Life

What Does All This Local Reporting Add Up To?

James Fallows
May 30, 2019

Yesterday, Deb Fallows and I sent an email to various loyal readers of The Atlantic. You can see what was in that message in the “Continue Reading” section of this post.…

Seniors at the Mississippi School of Mathematics and Science are shown on "senior reveal day" this month. They wore white lab coats, and then pulled them off to reveal shirts of the colleges they will be attending. (Courtesy of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science)

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Education

Can Schools ‘Teach Students to Think’?

Deborah Fallows
May 16, 2019

A reader's response

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Economic Development

Dead Malls, Everywhere

James Fallows
May 9, 2019

Readers weigh in on malls past their prime

A closed Sears retail store sits vacant at Crossroads Center mall in St. Cloud, Minnesota (Nic Neufeld / Shutterstock)

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Economic Development

Dead Malls, Reborn Cities

James Fallows
May 6, 2019

Ideas from the readers

Interior of the abandoned Wayne Hills Mall in Wayne, New Jersey (John Arehart / Shutterstock)

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Economic Development

What Happens to Abandoned Malls?

James Fallows
May 4, 2019

Opinions differ

The Ball State University campus in Muncie, Indiana (Courtesy of Ball State University)

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Economic Development

The previous four “Our Towns” posts have been about Indiana: One about Angola and the importance of its relationship with Trine University; one about Fort Wayne and its ambitious reconstruction of a cavernous abandoned GE works;…

A cowboy with his herd in Maine, en route to Turkey. (courtesy Quoddy Tides)

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Economic Development

Cattle Drives in Down East Maine

James Fallows
September 10, 2016

Last night my wife Deb put up a report called “Little Town, Big Art.” It’s about how a surprisingly ambitious effort in The Arts—painting, sculpture, photography, drama, music, festivals (like…

Downtown Eastport, with the collapsed breakwater visible on the right; this is looking from The Commons building at the center of town (James Fallows / The Atlantic)

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Economic Development

Notes From the Rest of the Country: ‘Now That I’ve Got a Look at This Place, It’s Not So Bad!’

James Fallows
August 29, 2016

'Now That I've Got a Look at This Place, It's Not So Bad!'

Aviation

From the Air Traffic Controller’s Perspective

James Fallows
June 30, 2016

Two days ago I mentioned the unflappable, multi-tasking and multi-dimensional competence with which an air-traffic controller at Denver’s Centennial airport handled a sudden shift in winds, and the resulting complete re-organization in…

From The Readers

Brimming with a Sense of Possibility and Positivity with the Wind Finally at Our Backs Again

‘Our Towns’ Viewer Response Roundup

The Sport That’s Like Playing in a Jazz Quartet

What happens to small companies now?

On the Virtues of Statewide Journalism

The Power of a Community College

How Danville Has Avoided Omaha’s Mistake

What Does All This Local Reporting Add Up To?

Can Schools ‘Teach Students to Think’?

Dead Malls, Everywhere

Dead Malls, Reborn Cities

What Happens to Abandoned Malls?

‘Unknown Outside Indiana’

Cattle Drives in Down East Maine

Notes From the Rest of the Country: ‘Now That I’ve Got a Look at This Place, It’s Not So Bad!’

From the Air Traffic Controller’s Perspective