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Posts by author

Deborah Fallows

150 posts
Deborah Fallows is a writer, linguist and fellow at New America. She has written extensively on language, education, families and work, China, and travel for The Atlantic, National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, The LA Times, and The Washington Monthly.
View Post
  • K-12

Outstanding Programs in Public Education from the American South

  • Deborah Fallows
  • September 3, 2023
Lessons from Mississippi for the rest of the U.S.
Aerial view of the ocean and the town of Easport, Maine.
View Post
  • Media

Our Towns Returns to Eastport, Maine, Ten Years Later

  • Deborah Fallows
  • August 23, 2023
Deb and Jim Fallows talk with David Dahl of The Maine Monitor.
View from the right seat of the Cirrus. Storms near Bowie, Arizona. (Deborah Fallows)
View Post
  • Travel

Summer in Our Towns

  • Deborah Fallows
  • August 7, 2023
How the summer of 2023 looks from the air and on the ground.
Entrance to the main library in Columbus, Ohio, a city that is putting the "Open to All" motto into effect (Deborah Fallows)
View Post
  • Libraries

Libraries in the Age of Book Bans

  • Deborah Fallows
  • June 26, 2023
Across the country, libraries are coming under political pressure. Here is how they are upholding their role as anchors for their communities, 'Open to All.'
The Impact Code Podcast logo.
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  • Media

‘America is the most interesting place in the world at this moment’

  • Deborah Fallows
  • January 10, 2023
Deb and Jim Fallows discuss the Our Towns journey with Brett Hollenbeck on 'The Impact Code' podcast.
Porcello House on Main Street in Mount Blanchard OH (Deborah Fallows)
View Post
  • Citizen Engagement

How One Small Ohio Town Practices Democracy

  • Deborah Fallows
  • October 24, 2022
Small is big in Mount Blanchard, Ohio. The town approached change in two ways, and Deborah Fallows reports on the impact she and her husband, James, saw during their travels there.
The staff of The Ball State Daily News gather in their campus offices. Courtesy of Lisa Renze-Rhodes/Ball State University
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  • Education
  • Local Journalism

A Student Newspaper Takes on Community Responsibilities

  • Deborah Fallows
  • September 7, 2022
The Ball State Daily News has filled a local journalism gap.
Two members of the Turtle Patrol at Manasota Key, Florida work on the beach on a turtle nest site.
View Post
  • Environment & Sustainability

Turning the Tides

  • Deborah Fallows
  • September 6, 2022
Turtles, and people — a connected story, with an outcome you might not have guessed.
Historical view of the Amphitheater at the Chautauqua Institution in New York, scene of Friday, Aug. 12's attack on Salman Rushdie. [Image from New York Public Library via Wikimedia Commons.]
View Post
  • Arts
  • Local Institutions

What Happened at Chautauqua, and Why It Matters

  • Deborah Fallows and James Fallows
  • August 13, 2022
Friday, Aug. 12, an assailant rushed the stage at the Chautauqua Institution. He stabbed Salman Rushdie in the neck and abdomen. Rushdie was not the only victim in this attack.
A photo featuring the exterior of the Amelia S. Givin Free Public Library in Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania
View Post
  • Libraries

A Remarkable Woman Builds a Remarkable Library

  • Deborah Fallows
  • June 2, 2022
This is the story of how a late-1800s free public library built by Amelia S. Givin in Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania continues to bring the region together today.
The Mt. Tabor African American Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in spring, 2022 (All photos by James and Deborah Fallows)
View Post
  • Local Institutions

How Powerful Stories are Rebuilding a Church

  • Deborah Fallows
  • April 28, 2022
This is the story of Elias Van Buren Parker and how today’s telling of his story has the power to pull the town of Mt. Holly Springs, Pennsylvania from its early glory days, then decline, back to new days of glory.
Bellevue, Iowa on the Mississippi River. (Courtesy Community Heart & Soul)
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  • Citizen Engagement

Fountains of Youth for Towns

  • Deborah Fallows
  • March 15, 2022
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.
Along the C&O Canal in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Deborah Fallows.)
View Post
  • Parks & Recreation

The River Walk Theory of Life

  • Deborah Fallows
  • February 2, 2022
Bucksport's waterfront is a major natural asset for the Maine town. And along it runs Bucksport's Walkway. Here's a look at the river walk and why it matters.
Fireworks in the night sky
View Post
  • Civic Life

Congrats to the Winners!

  • Deborah Fallows
  • November 5, 2021
Two small towns come out strong in a national poll. They're among our favorites, and we're glad for these results.
Outside the main entrance of the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, in October. (All photos by Deborah Fallows)
View Post
  • Libraries

Libraries Lead the Way—Again

  • Deborah Fallows
  • November 4, 2021
Every aspect of civic life has involved reinvention and adjustment, through this pandemic era. One of America's most "traditional" institutions has adjusted fastest and best.
Two girls on horseback.
View Post
  • Civic Life

Covid Pioneer Families

  • Deborah Fallows
  • September 21, 2021
How has the pandemic motivated people to reconsider where they live, and why? Here is a story from South Dakota about how families are changing—and towns as well.

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