Heartland

Americans are familiar with steep political divisions on issues like race, class, and gender. Perhaps less understood, but arguably more definitive, is the widening gap between the cognitive elites concentrated in big cities and the rest of the country.  read more »

Here’s one representation of the Rust Belt. However, just like with definitions of the Midwest overall, people usually identify where they live in the region as the center of it.  read more »

I came across a couple of interesting pieces in the last week that had me thinking about the past, present and future of American cities again. After reading them, I felt somewhat upbeat and validated, but also concerned.  read more »

If you live in an urban area, you may mistakenly believe that everyone has access to reliable Wi-Fi, personal computers, and cellular networks. However, millions of rural Americans live without these increasingly essential amenities.  read more »

North America may suffer from some of the world’s poorest political leadership. Yet it seems destined to remain the wealthiest, most dominant place on Earth.  read more »

The Department of Agriculture’s latest Census of Agriculture has generated new fears about “disappearing farm lands.” The census found that the United States had 22 million (2.8 percent) fewer acres of farm lands in 2022 than in 2017  read more »

When I heard that New York University (NYU) was creating a new campus not in some global capital but in Oklahoma—the fairly conservative west-south-central region of the United States—I was shocked, but also thrilled.  read more »

“There is a Providence that protects idiots, drunkards, children, and the United States of America.” ~ Otto Van Bismarck  read more »

For almost a decade, the West has been engaged in a deepening conflict. Sometimes it flares up as a political debate; sometimes as a culture war.  read more »

When I arrived at the Christiana Town Hall yesterday afternoon, Mark A. Cook, the town chairman, and two local landowners, John Barnes, and Roxann Engelstad, were ready and waiting.  read more »