James Fallows, an award-winning writer and journalist, has long been immersed in politics, culture, technology, and economic development. He currently publishes Breaking the News on Substack and recently wrote for The Atlantic. Fallows has reported from around the world, including Washington, D.C., California, Texas, Japan, Malaysia, Australia, and China.
An esteemed author, Fallows has also written twelve books, including New York Times bestseller Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America (2018), which he co-authored with his wife and CCLP Senior Fellow Deborah Fallows. The book details their five-year journey across America in a small propeller airplane, exploring the character and resilience of small towns and industries in the country’s heartland.
In 2002, Fallows won the National Magazine Award for his story “Iraq: The Fifty-First State?”, and was a finalist for the award on four other occasions. He also received the 1983 National Book Award for his book National Defense, as well as a New York Emmy for his work on the documentary series Doing Business in China.
Fallows is the former editor of US News & World Report and a former program designer at Microsoft. Early in his career, he served as President Jimmy Carter’s chief White House speechwriter, and continues to be the youngest person ever to hold the position. He was also the founding chairman of the non-profit think tank New America Foundation and a former Chair in U.S. Media at the U.S. Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.
Originally from Redlands, California, Fallows graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard, where he served as editor of The Harvard Crimson. He then received a graduate degree in Economics from Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. He currently resides in Washington, D.C.