James Fallows

6 days ago | telos.news | Ryan Lizza |James Fallows

, and many others for tuning into my live video withThis conversation will tell you everything you need to know about what’s going on with aviation safety right now—and how much the Trump administration is to blame. For more, check out Fallows’s new piece on the subject: “Pay Attention to What Happened in Newark.”

1 week ago | fallows.substack.com | James Fallows

Man vs. airplane, 1959 edition. (Getty images.)This post is a guide to following aviation-mishap news. Some of the events matter much more than others. Reports on every kind of “trouble in the skies” tend to mush together, because of their shared inherent drama. A huge rocket ship blows up; a private plane plows into a neighborhood; a passenger-jet engine catches fire. They all command attention. Some eventually prove to be just bad luck, or fate. One US aircraft carrier, the Harry S.

2 weeks ago | fallows.substack.com | James Fallows

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2 weeks ago | fallows.substack.com | James Fallows

Episcopal bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, in red and holding the traditional bishop’s crook, in a procession out of National Cathedral on January 21. When Bishop Budde had entered the Cathedral, Trump had been jovial and engaging toward her. On her way out, after she had addressed him from the pulpit and asked him to “show mercy,” he refused even to make eye contact. She was among the first and bravest to stand up for enduring human values under MAGA rule.

3 weeks ago | fallows.substack.com | James Fallows

The American higher-ed establishment, as of April 23, 2025. (Kirk Douglas in Spartacus, 1960, Corbis via Getty Images.)We’re not far enough into the current Trump era to know how this chapter ends. But nearly 100 days in, we know these things: -That the only effective limits on Trump/Doge/Vought outrages and demands can come from people acting together. -But that before people can act together, someone needs to go first. This is what academics call the Collective Action Problem.