<![CDATA[The Atlantic · Storify]]>http://storify.com/theatlanticNodeJS RSS ModuleWed, 19 Jun 2013 06:28:27 GMT<![CDATA[The #BigQuestion: What day most changed the course of history?]]>

Introducing our newest monthly feature.

Storified by The Atlantic · Thu, Feb 21 2013 13:35:33

Several people suggested pivotal moments in the rise (and fall) of empires.
Others focused on attempts to explore humanity's limits.
The most popular answer invoked the dawn of the atomic age.
And some imagined what might have been if history were different.
But often, people chose breakthroughs—whether they were technological, medical, or sociological.
Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/the-big-question-what-day-most-changed-the-coursehttp://storify.com/theatlantic/the-big-question-what-day-most-changed-the-courseThu, 21 Feb 2013 21:35:33 GMT<![CDATA[#BradburyChronicles: Collecting Your Favorite Ray Bradbury Quotes]]>

Ray Bradbury passed away on June 6th at 91. We're collecting your favorites quotes by the prolific science fiction author.

Storified by The Atlantic · Wed, Jun 06 2012 11:02:07

Our friends at the Guardian are rounding up your quotes into an excellent randomizer:
Ray Bradbury: quotes on sci-fi, writing and the futureRay Bradbury: quotes on sci-fi, writing and the future
Ray Bradbury, the author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, has died at 91. A prolific writer who inspired a generation of sci...
It's appropriate that Bradbury, best known for 'Fahrenheit 451,' spoke often of the value of books:
Bradbury also spoke often of his creative process and advice on writing -- and life in general:
Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/bradburychronicles-collecting-your-favorite-ray-bhttp://storify.com/theatlantic/bradburychronicles-collecting-your-favorite-ray-bWed, 06 Jun 2012 18:02:07 GMT<![CDATA[#SlowReads: A Running List by Atlantic Readers]]>

"Works that took some time to write and will take some time to read, but will also stay with us longer than anything else."

Storified by The Atlantic · Tue, Mar 27 2012 12:31:55

A Slow-Books ManifestoA Slow-Books Manifesto
Everywhere you look these days, there's a new "slow" movement. Since 1989, when the activists behind the Slow Food manifesto began callin...
Some #slowreads were particularly popular amongst our Atlantic followers. Among them, David Foster Wallace's "Infinite Jest":
Leo Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina":
Naturally, Tolstoy's epic "War and Peace" also makes the list:
Works by John Steinbeck:
Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/slowreads-a-running-list-by-atlantic-readershttp://storify.com/theatlantic/slowreads-a-running-list-by-atlantic-readersTue, 27 Mar 2012 19:31:55 GMT<![CDATA[New Story]]>

Storified by The Atlantic · Mon, Jan 23 2012 14:48:21

Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/new-story-1http://storify.com/theatlantic/new-story-1Mon, 23 Jan 2012 22:48:21 GMT<![CDATA[Responses to Stephen Bloom's Reflections on Iowa]]>

A round-up of reverberations and responses to "Observations from 20 Years of Iowa Life."

Storified by The Atlantic · Thu, Dec 15 2011 07:17:49

After Bloom's article was published on TheAtlantic.com, Iowa news organizations started publishing responses. From The Daily Iowan:

"Personally, I wonder why he's doing this," Johnson County Supervisor Pat Harney said. "Is he doing this for reactive purposes … or does he truly believe that Iowa is the way he wrote about it? If it is true, then why is he still living here?"

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 11:34:31
Kyle Munson in the Des Moines Register:

“I don’t have to apologize to anyone for my observations in going to each of the 99 counties in this state over the last 20 years and writing my observations,” Bloom insisted. “Gee, what is up with Iowans if they don’t have a sense of balance, a sense of humor, a sense of give and take, a sense of debate, if when they read something and it is so far to the fringe that they say, ‘That guy, why does he even live here?’ This is anti-intellectualism. This is provincialism at its worst, I must tell you.” Bloom’s response isn’t likely to placate the drunken or meth-addled rural waste-oids ready to chase him out of the state with the rifles with which they hunt turkeys. That brings up one of my main beefs with Bloom’s article: If you’re going to skewer the population of an entire state for a publication other than the Onion, please be precise. What I think has upset so many Iowans isn’t the notion that Bloom offers a starkly different opinion, but that much of it is a stereotypical one riddled with inaccuracies. He writes of “rifle-toting hunters stalking turkeys in the fall”: Using rifles to hunt turkeys is illegal in Iowa — only shotgun, muzzleloader or bow. Tone is everything when you want your satire or criticism at least to ring true if not be humbly received.

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 11:34:13
Photobucket
Sean Christopher Lewis, on his blog:

I did a google search today: “People who hate the places that made them famous.” I was curious. Not much came up. There was a mention of Steinebeck and his book Travels With Charley. This was a death bed book, Steinbeck seeing the country he loved one last time before he died. It’s a love letter to a changing country. The next most obvious listing were artists who disowned the songs that made them famous. On “Stairway to Heaven” Robert Plant says: “I’d break out in hives if I had to sing that song in every show. I wrote those lyrics and found that song to be of some importance and consequence in 1971, but 17 years later, I don’t know. It’s just not for me.” The Atlantic article is perhaps a nod to this phenomena. After all, for twenty years Bloom has been employed by the University of Iowa. His greatest success is Postville, a book about Iowa. He has, in a sense made a living off of Iowa- its stories and its institutions- perhaps its a good place for inspiration, those open plains…

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 11:33:55
John Deeth in the Des Moines Register:

A decade and a half ago I door-knocked 20 small towns, in the meatpacking corridor, running unsuccessfully for the legislature. Some of which had lost their school, and you could tell they’d lost their spark with that. Some places, every door that was answered was elderly, and the doors that weren’t answered were likely scared that an Anglo man talking about registering to vote meant trouble. Those two trends are long term and Bloom has eloquently documented them in his career here. Yet these same small towns would throw a potluck fund-raiser (starring the casseroles Bloom so loathes) for a family with a house fire or a critically ill child. Those same people would show up at six in the morning to help you sandbag your house as the flood waters were rising. How does Bloom not remember that from three short years ago? The mistake Bloom makes in the Atlantic piece is that he paints with too broad a brush. Many arguments start out in the fair and the familiar. But in aggressively pushing his agenda — and that agenda is very clear, that a state this white and rural, even though we sent the first African American president to the White House, is unworthy of its key political role — he takes the overgeneralizations about a notch and a half too far.

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 11:34:13
Todd Dorman in The Gazette:

Iowa has problems. Big, deep and difficult ones. Bloom makes some perfectly valid points about rural decline. His description of Iowa’s meatpacking industry is well-crafted and spot on. Clearly, the author of “Postville” knows this stuff. Some of his observations are thought-provoking. But those few meaty moments sink into a deep trough of self-indulgent derision. And those backward insular conservatives he clearly despises should send him a big fat thank you note for handing them yet another handy chance to showcase their insistence that the inuslar halls of liberal academia have little more than contempt for “real America.”   He might have also noticed that this presidential campaign that we’re so famous for starting hasn’t addressed virtually any of the dire issues Bloom describes. Sounds like the subject of a worthwhile essay. But, frankly, we all owe Bloom thanks. Each of our minds hold large, locked-tight ledgers of dark disdain for the people and places we otherwise hold dear. It’s the flip side of our bright side, where our misgivings and grievances are kept. I suspect it might feel very good, for a moment, to loudly proclaim the contents of that ledger, unedited and unvarnished. But I also suspect I’d sound like a pompous, callous, judgmental scold that no one would want to be around for more than five minutes. Now, I know that suspicion is correct.

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 11:34:31
B.A. Morelli at the Iowa City Patch:

Bloom sought extreme examples. He found them. He wanted a reaction. He got it. Largely because of the outcry the article has gone, dare we say, viral. It is the most popular item on the Atlantic website and has some 850 comments. My Facebook feed has been hijacked with repostings and commentary - some articulate and plenty of unabashed fury and petty name calling - since the article first started circulating last Friday. Bloom certainly did no favors to his neighbors in describing Iowa in his way to the rest of the nation. Describing Iowa girls as “hardy”? Come on. I remember Bloom proudly telling us students about calling a woman in his Postville book “handsome.” He enjoys riling people up, and The Atlantic is devouring the buzz. Last I checked, it’s a free country, and Bloom has the right to state his observations in building to the final reveal: “How screwy it is that a place like Iowa gets to choose -- before anyone else -- the person who may become the next leader of the free world?” The unfortunate thing is the article was supposed to stir debate: Should Iowans have such an influential role in presidential politics? Instead, Bloom's credo of raising "truths that absolutely need to be discussed" is lost in a debate about what points he missed and by how much.

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 21:09:53
Media scribe Jim Romenesko blogged about the uproar, noting that the Bloom had received "frightening" comments from many Iowans upset with his article:

University of Iowa journalism professor Stephen Bloom says he’s getting “frightening” emails and phone calls from critics of his Atlantic magazine piece, “Observations from 20 Years of Iowa Life,” and he fears for his family’s safety.

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 11:33:55
Romenesko noted that despite the vocal backlash, Bloom has received some sympathetic notes: 

Bloom says he knew his essay would anger many Iowans, “but I didn’t anticipate this firestorm.” “It’s the tenor and the ferocity and the hatefulness of these that indicate the piece struck a chord,” he tells me over the phone from the University of Michigan, where he’s a visiting professor. “This piece has gone viral. These people don’t read The Atlantic, and they may not have read the story,” but they probably saw what others said about it on Facebook. “The thing that angers me is the characterization that I don’t know what I’m talking about, that I’m an elitist,” he tells me. “This is what I think good journalists ought to do. You start talking about uncomfortable truths and oftentimes people reject those.”

— · Wed, Dec 14 2011 11:33:55
Responses to Blooms piece have been circulating through the social space for days. Below, a few samples:

Stephen Bloom has spoken, once again, and mostly I don't agree. He observes what he sees as Iowa, but he doesn't really know us yet. I guess 20 years isn't long enough.

— Maeve Clark · Sat, Dec 10 2011 02:35:21
Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/responses-to-stephen-bloom-on-iowahttp://storify.com/theatlantic/responses-to-stephen-bloom-on-iowaThu, 15 Dec 2011 15:17:49 GMT<![CDATA[#1book140: A Conversation with Joe Hill]]>

As we wrap up our conversations about Heart-Shaped Box for #1book140, Joe Hill answers reader questions

Storified by The Atlantic · Fri, Oct 28 2011 09:29:36

Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/-1book140-a-conversation-with-joe-hillhttp://storify.com/theatlantic/-1book140-a-conversation-with-joe-hillFri, 28 Oct 2011 16:29:36 GMT<![CDATA[#FixTheNCAA: A Conversation with Taylor Branch]]>

The Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of The Atlantic's October cover story discusses the NCAA cartel and the shame of college sports. To participate, pose questions and follow along with the hashtag #FixTheNCAA

Storified by The Atlantic · Wed, Oct 26 2011 23:21:07

And here we go! If you haven't already, check out Taylor's Atlantic cover story The Shame of College Sports and Byliner e-book The Cartel, both on the NCAA and college sports.
While Taylor's work on the NCAA has been widely discussed by major media outlets in the past few weeks, responses from college publications have been few:
Ianastewart comes in with the first question:
Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/fixthencaa-a-twitter-chat-with-taylor-branchhttp://storify.com/theatlantic/fixthencaa-a-twitter-chat-with-taylor-branchWed, 28 Sep 2011 18:07:02 GMT<![CDATA[#1book140: A Conversation with Marie Phillips]]>

As we wrap up our conversations about Gods Behaving Badly for #1book140, Marie Phillips answers reader questions

Storified by The Atlantic · Thu, Oct 27 2011 00:09:32

Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/1book140-a-conversation-with-philip-gabrielhttp://storify.com/theatlantic/1book140-a-conversation-with-philip-gabrielTue, 30 Aug 2011 17:01:38 GMT<![CDATA[#1book140: A Conversation with Philip Gabriel]]>

As we wrap up our conversations about Haruki Murakami's Kafka on the Shore for #1book140, translator Philip Gabriel answers questions to help us figure out some of Murakami's most confusing puzzles

Storified by The Atlantic · Thu, Oct 27 2011 00:45:16

Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/a-conversation-with-philip-gabrielhttp://storify.com/theatlantic/a-conversation-with-philip-gabrielFri, 29 Jul 2011 18:35:21 GMT<![CDATA[Question of the Day: Are Public Unions Dying?]]>

For this year's Ideas Special Report, our readers tackle some of the emerging issues that are defining our time. Tweet us your response with the hashtag #AtlanticQotD, reply at facebook.com/TheAtlantic, or submit your thoughts through our Tumblr at theatlantic.tumblr.com/submit

Storified by The Atlantic · Thu, Oct 27 2011 01:00:49

they will only come back when employees and employers decide that working together is in everyone's best interest, when the American tax system no longer rewards companies for out-sourcing jobs and industry, when both unions and companies stop trying to screw one another over and when employees stop sacrificing benefits (current assets to quality of life) for undependable stock options (future promises of money).LikeUnlikeLikeUnlike

— Scott Meek · Thu, Jul 07 2011 08:53:59

Since political pressure has been taken off public sector unions I myself have entered into one. The FLRA recently certified the results of the unionization of frontline Transportation Security Administration personnel. There is a thought p...rocess in this country that goes like this: "you do what? And you get what for doing it? Unacceptable. I don't get that so that means you shouldn't get it either." It's very childish. This notion that a teacher or an air traffic controller or a fireman or a TSA agent is somehow raping the taxpayer with their "lavish" benefits package is absurd.See More...rocess in this country that goes like this: "you do what? And you get what for doing it? Unacceptable. I don't get that so that means you shouldn't get it either." It's very childish. This notion that a teacher or an air traffic controller or a fireman or a TSA agent is somehow raping the taxpayer with their "lavish" benefits package is absurd.See MoreSee MoreLikeUnlikeLikeUnlike

— Clinton Lyle · Thu, Jul 07 2011 09:35:47
Powered by Storify
]]>http://storify.com/theatlantic/question-of-the-day-are-public-unions-dyinghttp://storify.com/theatlantic/question-of-the-day-are-public-unions-dyingThu, 07 Jul 2011 17:03:27 GMT