Renowned journalists James and Deborah Fallows land in Redlands while flying the country for ‘American Futures’
Internationally recognized journalists James and Deborah Fallows are Distinguished Fellows in residence for the spring term at the University of Redlands where they lecture and serve as resources for students and faculty across the University.
James, who is a licensed pilot, and his co-pilot, Deborah, have been flying the country on a “road trip by air” for The Atlantic project, “American Futures.” They landed at Redlands in December as their West Coast base through April.
James is a Redlands native son who worked as presidential speechwriter for the Carter Administration and is an award-winning journalist, who has reported from around the world for the past 30 years. He is a national correspondent for The Atlantic, a regular commentator on National Public Radio and appears frequently on news commentary programs, including “Charlie Rose” and “The Colbert Report.” He worked on a software design team at Microsoft, authored several books and was a visiting professor at the University of Sydney in Australia. James earned an A.B. degree, magna cum laude, in American history and literature at Harvard University, an M.A. degree in economics from Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and many honorary degrees, including from the University of Redlands.
Deborah is a writer and linguist and holds a Ph.D. in linguistics from the University of Texas. She has written extensively on language, education, families and work, China, and travel for The Atlantic, National Geographic and The New York Times.
“It is an honor and privilege to welcome James and Deborah Fallows as Distinguished Fellows at the University of Redlands,” said University President Ralph Kuncl.
In January, James presented a public lecture on the topic of his controversial and widely read article in The Atlantic, “The Tragedy of the American Military,” where he argued that America has become a “chickenhawk nation” in which the public is happy to send its troops off for perpetual—and unwinnable—wars, so long as it doesn’t have to pay serious attention to those wars or sacrifice to support the troops.
