Why the <em>Our Towns</em> Documentary Is Timely
Editor’s Note: This article previously appeared in a different format as part of The Atlantic’s Notes section, retired in 2021.
This evening—April 13, at 9 p.m. ET—HBO will air its new documentary Our Towns. The film will be available for streaming on HBO Max, and you can see a brief trailer for it here.
Naturally my wife, , and I have a special interest in this film. It is based on the book, that Deb and I wrote, which was published three years ago. That book in turn grew out of a multiyear project of traveling around the country and reporting on smaller cities and rural areas, as part of s “” series. We had many partners in this project and made many friends along the way, whose stories we told in the and several we filed. We have stayed in touch with a large number of these people and communities, and we have continued to follow their successes, setbacks, and the lessons learned and taught since the time of our
