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CNN and CEO Chris Licht came in for ferocious criticism over the chaotic town hall the cable news network held with former president Donald Trump on Wednesday.

Amid his 2024 presidential campaign, Trump sat down with CNN This Morning anchor Kaitlan Collins at the event held in New Hampshire. The 70-minute town hall was populated by mostly Trump supporters and likely Republican voters, and the former president was able to dominate proceedings, overwhelming Collins who tried in vain to correct Trump’s statements and falsehoods about issues including the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, a federal abortion ban, immigration and the war in Ukraine.

A particularly shocking exchange occurred over E. Jean Carroll, who had this week been awarded $5 million in damages after a New York jury held Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation against the writer. Among other things, Trump once again claimed he did not know who Carroll...

The video above was produced by IndieWire’s Creative Producer Leonardo Adrian Garcia. The review below relates to HBO’s documentary film “Our Towns,” a portrait of America’s small cities and towns that chronicles the rise of civic and economic reinvention across six chosen communities. Based on the book “Our Towns: A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America” by James and Deborah Fallows, the documentary is available now from HBO.

Ben Travers, TV Critic: Libby, small towns hold a dear place in my heart, as I know they do yours. We’re both from towns off the beaten path. We’ve both since moved to “the big city”. And we both are vexed whenever anyone makes a statement about small town life without first stating where they’re from and, if their town proves unfamiliar (as it should), providing the population.

Enter “Our Towns.” HBO’s documentary chronicles...

This is the story of two aliens who fall in love. One is an illegal immigrant from Iraq, living in New York City and hocking bootleg dvds of 27 Dresses on the street corner with little success. The other is an American soldier who’s returned to a country that doesn’t understand him. They are Amira and Sam. They are your neighbors, and they’re good people. James Fallows recently wrote that “the American public and its political leadership will do anything for the military except take it seriously.” The charge being that the average citizen or legislator is so disconnected from what it means to serve that it has become far too easy to send soldiers, airmen, sailors and marines to fight. Congress members see money and jobs for their district in manufacturing equipment without caring whether or not its the equipment the military needs. Voters won’t hold them accountable because fewer and fewer of...

This Friday sees the smart salon “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO fire up with Boston comic Bill Burr, white hot with his Netflix comedy special and his upcoming TV series.Maher’s no-holds barred series continues its 13th season Friday, Jan. 23 (10:00-11:00 p.m. live Et/tape-delayed Pt), with a replay at 11:00 p.m., exclusively on HBO. Allowing Maher to offer his unique perspective on contemporary issues, the show includes an opening monologue, roundtable discussions with panelists, and interviews with guests. The show never disappoints. Journalist James Fallows is the top-of-show interview guest. Burr is the mid-show interview guest. The roundtable […]...

Exclusive: Wme plans to tap into ideas and stories from 155-year-old The Atlantic magazine and digital properties like TheAtlanticWire to create opportunities across the film, television, and digital space. The Atlantic has a monthly audience of about 30 million across through its print, digital and live platforms. The mag that has published the likes of Updike, Twain and Hemingway continues to showcase writers like Ta-Nehisi Coates, who won this year’s National Magazine Award for Best Essay for “Fear Of A Black President”; James Fallows; Jeffrey Goldberg; Molly Ball; Alexis Madrigal; and Derek Thompson among others. Several articles have already been optioned for TV or film treatment including Anne-Marie Slaughter’s “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” (July/August 2012), Kate Bolick’s “All The Single Ladies” (November 2011), Hanna Rosin’s “The End Of Men” (July/Aug 2010), Lori Gottlieb’s “Marry Him!” (March 2008), and Don Peck’s “How A New...

The change underscores the business news company’s determination to develop its new media platforms. Justin Smith became a digital superstar at Atlantic Media, best known for its respected monthly magazine The Atlantic. Through a series of online initiatives, the former publisher of The Week and head of corporate strategy for The Economist Group helped Atlantic Media connect with audiences who care about ideas as well as news — something that Bloomberg also is trying to do at Bloomberg BusinessWeek and its opinion/op-ed destination Bloomberg View. Smith made the Atlantic a forum for important voices including James Fallows and Andrew Sullivan, and used the magazine’s site as a launching pad for digital ventures including a business news and analysis destination, Quartz, and Defense One. At Bloomberg he’ll report to CEO Daniel Doctoroff and oversee television, print, radio, syndication, mobile, events and digital media properties. “I’ve long admired...

Coming up on MSNBC: guests/topics Thursday, August 23, 2012 .Morning Joe. (Live, 6-9 A.M. Et) Guests: Mike Barnicle, MSNBC Contributor; Harold Ford Jr., NBC News Political Analyst; Jim VandeHei, Politico; Mark McKinnon, Republican Strategist; Jill Abramson, The New York Times; Mallory Factor, Author, .Shadowbosses: Government Unions Control America and Rob Taxpayers Blind;. Rick Stengel, Time; Boone Pickens, Oil Tycoon & Bp Capital; Richard Belzer, Actor and Comedian; Brian Sullivan, CNBC; James Fallows, The Atlantic For videos and additional information: www.joe.msnbc.com .The Daily Rundown. (Live, 9-10 A.M. Et) Guests: Paul Kane, Washington Post; Susan David, USA Today; Jackie Kucinich, USA Today; Patti Solis Doyle, Fmr. Chief of Staff, Obama for America; Robert Costa, National Review For videos and additional information: www.rundown.msnbc.com...

Last week I wrote about four major magazine articles evaluating Barack Obama's success and future prospects as president. "How He Fumbled, Why He's Recovering," we called it, and the stories all narrated Obama's typically serpentine ideological course: First he strikes positions designed to be conciliatory toward Republicans, then finds them utterly uninterested in conciliation – at which point, as Andrew Sullivan puts it, he swings to a "position of moderate liberalism and fights for it." The four pieces divided mainly in how they assessed Obama’s strategic acumen. Sullivan...

Nearly 100 years after Joyce wrote his seminal polyglot work, are we any closer to a technological solution to breaking down the barriers of language? Not if the recent scuffle over Google Translate is any indication.

Joyce and the Limits of the Twentieth Century

In celebration of Bloomsday (June 16, the 107th anniversary of the fictional events that occur in his Ulysses), I'll reach beyond time, death, and the limits of my own or anyone else's knowledge to affirm that James Joyce would have adored Google Translate.

The Irish novelist was first a translator, a student, and teacher of modern languages. He composed Ulysses over eight years in exile, on the run from World War One, supporting himself teaching English to the Italian, German, and French speakers of Trieste, Zürich, and Paris. Part of Ulysses's celebrated difficulty is its untranslated bits of these three languages, plus snatches of Latin, Greek, Hebrew,...

Welcome to a world where you no longer need an Internet connection to check email. But is this truly a miracle?

At long last! You can now search your Gmail, Google Docs, a Contacts without an Internet connection. CloudMagic, a company that wants to be something like the Spotlight search for your online data, makes it possible.

How thorough of an archival utility is it now? CloudMagic's Chirag Pinjar tells us that CloudMagic won't go so far as to download the attachments to your emails--you'll still need an Internet connection to grab those. "In short CloudMagic mirrors all your mails (except attachments), contacts and docs on your hard drive," he tells Fast Company.

CloudMagic has already been saving time for Google account owners everywhere. The Atlantic's James Fallows memorably waxed enthusiastic about it recently, declaring that "if you are using Gmail, and you're not using CloudMagic, you are shortening your effective lifespan,...

PARK CITY -- A heroic crusader to some and the spoiler who betrayed the Democratic Party to others, Ralph Nader emerges as a dedicated, controversial and flawed figure in the documentary, "An Unreasonable Man".

Filmmakers Henriette Mantel, who once worked for Nader, and Steve Skrovan, smoothly integrate reams of material, dozens of insightful interviews as well as archival news footage and, without the use of a narrator, present a coherent, balanced picture of a lightning rod in the political arena.

Doc sustains interest for most of its 160 minute running time, but its length could be an obstacle to getting a theatrical release. PBS or cable TV outlets are possible venues.

The film starts in 1966 when Nader is launched to prominence after he riles General Motors with his attacks on car safety. He accused the automobile industry of selling "psychosexual dreamboats."

Mantel and Skrovan showcase Nader's tireless, forceful advocacy for the rights of the little guy and his own causes, which ranged from transportation safety to drug labeling and clean air. He fought the big boys and usually won. The list of organizations he founded or sponsored and the legislation he was instrumental in passing are impressive.

There are nagging questions about Nader's personal life -- by all accounts he doesn't have one -- and they aren't addressed till later in the film. Even then, little time is spent on the subject. Colleagues say he's married to his work, driven by a sense of injustice and a "never give up, never give in" ethos, a form of absolutism that has made him difficult to work for and harder to leave. Former employees say he was hostile to anyone who stopped working for him.

The film primarily focuses on how and why Nader's bid for the presidency in 2000 antagonized even his most ardent admirers. Many interviewed here are still angry.

What makes this doc so successful is the willingness to present a wide variety of opinions of Nader, a man who inspires intense emotions on both sides of the aisle. Todd Gitlin, Dean of the Columbia Journalism School, makes an impassioned case against Nader's misstep in 2000 and again in 2004. Of the former Nader's Raiders, some kept the faith; some are disillusioned, even bitter. There's a bit of levity, too. James Fallows recalls Nader's attack on hot dogs, which were labeled "missiles of death.' Clips from a "Saturday Night Live" show that Nader hosted are, for lack of a better word, surprising.

Editors Alexis Provost and Beth Gallagher cut back and forth between the talking heads so deftly that you have the illusion that Nader is answering his critics in real time in a very lively debate.

An Unreasonable Man

A Two Left Legs Productions

Credits:

Writers/directors/executive producers: Henriette Mantel, Steve Skrovan

Producer: Kevin O'Donnell

Directors of photography: Mark Raker, Leigh Wilson, John Chater, Matt Davis, Steve Elkins, Melissa Donavan, Sandra Chandler

Music: Joe Kraemer

Editor: Alexis Provost, Beth Gallagher

No MPAA rating

Running time -- 160 minutes...