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Downtown Fresno Kicks Off Its Campaign
A shot from the Downtown Fresno Partnership's video last night ( DowntownFresno.Org ) An unexpected satisfaction of following cities in our American Futures travels has been watching plans and...
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Pilots on the Germanwings Murder/Suicide
A memorial near the site of the Germanwings crash in the French Alps (Eric Gaillard / Reuters) After the Germanwings crash I argued that no single safety device or security protocol could protect the...
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More from Pilots and Doctors on the Germanwings Crash
The aftermath of a Colgan commuter airplane crash near Buffalo six years ago. (Gary Wiepert/Reuters) Following this initial item on what could, and could not have been foreseen about the Germanwings...
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Can We Learn Anything From the Germanwings Disaster?
Predator drones being controlled remotely, in the USAF photo from Iraq. Might airliners ever be flown the same way? ( Wikimedia Commons ) Previously on this topic, see "Could the Crash Have Been...
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On the Road, in Arizona and Colorado
Immaculate Conception church, across from the historic plaza in Ajo, Arizona, as it looked a few weeks ago (James Fallows) Early this month we kicked off Season 3 of our American Futures travels with...
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A Pilot Treated for Depression, on Why and How He Flies
Cover of the online questionnaire for pilots taking medical exams ( Federal Aviation Administration ) Previously on this topic, see "Could the Crash Have Been Avoided?", "Pilots on Germanwings," "More...
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Religious Weekend Special: Return of the Atlas Shrugged Guy
On this Good Friday - Passover - Easter weekend special observance, I present an email that has just arrived. It is from the person veteran readers will recall as "the Atlas Shrugged Guy." Its subject...
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Creating California's New Bohemia—in an Unexpected Locale
Fresno's Adrien Lim (left), a firebreather on stilts, with Alexandra Espana as part of the 2015 Rogue Festival ( Rogue Festival ) As we prepare to visit each new town on our travels, we make a list of...
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'What Was It Like Before Electricity, Daddy?'
The Processor Technology SOL-20, original dream machine (Wikimedia commons) Back in 1982, The Atlantic published what I believe was the first article in a non-tech magazine about the implications of...
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Everyone Loves the Atlas Shrugged Guy
John Galt, in silhouette, in Atlas Shrugged movie ( YouTube ) We'll be back to real American news shortly. For now, a loop-closing exercise on the Atlas Shrugged Guy, and the beginning of another...
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From Xizhou to Eastport to Ajo: Big Dreams in Small Towns
Looking toward the former Curley School in Ajo, Arizona, site of the brand-new Sonoran Desert Conference Center ( Stuart Siegel ) Xizhou. Nearly six years ago I did an article in the magazine called...
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Today's Aviation News: The Good and the Weird
Where it all began: Wilbur Wright just after landing a glider in 1901 (Library of Congress) 1) Good News: Kestrel and Eclipse Two of the protagonists of my 2001 book Free Flight were Alan Klapmeier,...
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3 Ways of Thinking About Fresno (and Why You Should Care)
City of murals (James and Deborah Fallows) I'll confess that as of a year ago, I had not given much thought to Fresno. When I was growing up in Southern California, I was aware mainly of LA, San...
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Nice Downtowns: How Did They Get That Way?
Pike Place market in Seattle, not far from site of the original Starbucks and a core element of the city's successful downtown (Wikimedia commons) I had anticipated some of the rewards and discoveries...
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More on Nice Downtowns: Do They Just Happen? Or Are They Made?
On the Albert Speer-esque Century Avenue in Pudong, Shanghai yesterday: young passers-by in front of government poster reminding them that Chinese values include filial piety and respect for age...
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Equal Time for Tampa, and More on Asheville Too
Tampa Riverwalk by night (Downtown Tampa) Hey, watch what you say about Tampa! In a post from China on Tuesday, I quoted a reader on the unpredictability of downtown-recovery efforts. Asheville, North...
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Bennett Beach Runs in Boston, Gary Heyne's Influence Lasts in Shanghai
Somewhere in the throngs of people running this year's Boston Marathon is Bennett Beach, who extended his consecutive-races record (Dominick Reuter/Reuters) This is an update on two people whose...
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Asheville Just 'Happened' to Develop a Nice Downtown—Or Did It?
Downtown Asheville. Did this just happen by mistake? (City of Asheville) Here's how we got to today's post: through the past few weeks, I've done a variety of items on the attempts of long-challenged...
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'Generation Now'—What People Do, When There Seems to Be Nothing to Do
Matthew Greenleaf, Saniyyah Thomas, Jennica Billins, Michael Segura, Jorge Heredia, and Fabian Torres: the young people who think they can save a bankrupt, low-hope city (Deborah Fallows) In the next...
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Our New Site (a Guide)
Our current American Futures home page As you might have noticed, as of this past week the Atlantic.com has a new look on the web. You can read an introduction of the idea behind it here, from our...
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