In his October 26, 2018 column, Justin Fox references the recurrent themes in Our Towns, which he listened to on a recent cross-country driving trip (download the audiobook). He found the ideas reinforced in his conversations with people about their communities. He concludes:

“If one exits this roiling media landscape to spend a few weeks interacting with the actual (and often spectacular) American landscape, and talking to people about things not directly related to Donald Trump, this country can actually feel like a pretty calm, friendly, well-functioning place. Maybe it is! But until its citizens find better ways to talk to each other about national issues, it will also probably keep feeling like a country on the brink of something awful.”