WAUSAU — The Greater Wausau Chamber of Commerce will host journalists Deborah and James Fallows at a program to be held at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 15 at The Grand Theater in Wausau. The event, titled ‘Our Town: An Evening with the Fallows,’   will feature the authors of the 2018 national best-seller ‘Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey Into the Heart of America.’ The book inspired a 2021 HBO documentary of the same name, available for streaming on HBO Max.

Since 2013, the Fallows have traveled to small communities in every part of the country. These communities have faced economic shocks, political crises and other serious hardships. Each place they went, they talked with teachers, business creators, mayors, religious leaders, students, artists and architects, librarians and others involved in shaping their community’s future. As they traveled across the country, at low altitude in their small airplane, they viewed the patterns of river and hill from above. These features explain the pattern of American settlement. On the ground, they saw the emerging pattern of American reinvention.

“The Fallows are helping communities understand the transformation needed to exist as places which are economically competitive.” said Dave Eckmann, President and CEO of the Chamber. “We hope that their visit to our community may even lead to a feature on Wausau in their next book.”

Deborah Fallows is a writer and linguist. She has written extensively on language, education, families and work, China, and travel for The Atlantic, National Geographic, Slate, The New York Times, The LA Times, and The Washington Monthly. She has been a fellow at New America and a senior research fellow at the Pew Research Center.

James Fallows is a longtime writer for The Atlantic magazine. He has reported for the magazine from around the world since the late 1970s, including extended assignments in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and within the United States in Texas, Washington state, and California. He has written 12 books and won the American Book Award, the National Magazine Award, and a documentary Emmy. He has also done extensive commentary on National Public Radio. He now hosts a Substack site, called Breaking the News.

Check-in, a cocktail reception and networking will begin at 5 p.m. followed by the program to be held from at 6 to 7:30 p.m. The cost is $50.

To register for this event visit WausauChamber.com or call 715-845-6231.

The venue sponsor for the program is the Performing Arts Foundation Inc. Those interested in becoming sponsors for this event should contact Madi Woller at 715-848-5955 or [email protected].