American Small Towns and Cities

James Fallows and his wife Deborah Fallows talked about their travels to small towns around the U.S. to meet people and hear their stories. They talked about their observations, including the cultural and social changes taking place in the country and how industrious and positive the people were. In their “American Futures” series for The Atlantic, the Fallowses had been exploring America by their propeller-driven plane since August 2013. James Bennet interviewed them about this immersive reporting project, what they had discovered, and where they had yet to go. The most recent article in the series, in the April 2014 issue of The Atlantic, argues that strong mayors such as in Greenville, South Carolina, and Burlington, Vermont, are why cities work when Washington does not. close