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Patti Waldmeir

Contributing Columnist

Patti Waldmeir is a contributing columnist based in Chicago. From 1980 to 2020, she was a correspondent for the FT based in London, Washington, Johannesburg and Shanghai. Patti started her career covering the continent of Africa and went on to become US Editor of the Financial Times. She spent a decade as US legal columnist before moving to Shanghai to cover China for the FT for 8 years.

Patti graduated from the University of Michigan and was awarded a Marshall scholarship which allowed her to obtain an MA from the University of Cambridge in the UK.

Email Patti Waldmeir @WaldmeirPatti  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Monday, 7 July, 2025
    OutlookElectric vehicles
    Electric boat enthusiasts navigate uncharted waters

    The emissions-friendly watercraft industry is struggling to bring recreational sailors and freighters on board

    An Arc Sport electric boat. Sleek, silent electric boats have captured the public imagination, but they come at a high cost and cause some sailors range anxiety
  • Monday, 23 June, 2025
    US society
    Travel outside your political tribe? Many are saying ‘no thanks’

    From boycotting Texas to picking red cruises, Americans are increasingly self-segregating when travelling

    MS Rotterdam of Holland America Line
  • Monday, 2 June, 2025
    OutlookGambling industry
    Gambling has never been easier in the US — that’s a problem

    The rise in sports betting and online gaming is taking a toll on Americans

    Man on a smartphone in a dark room
  • Monday, 19 May, 2025
    US immigration
    Trump’s ‘self-deportation’ plan is put to the test

    The US administration’s Project Homecoming underestimates the appeal of America

    A musician plays next to a street vendor outside of a store along 26th Street, the heart of the commercial district in the Little Village neighbourhood, on May 5, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois
  • Monday, 5 May, 2025
    OutlookTelevision
    The great soap opera inheritance

    The launch of the first new show in the genre in the US in 25 years shows the endurance of steamy melodrama

    Emily McLaughlin and Peter Hansen in ‘General Hospital’ in 1976. The show has clocked up over 15,000 episodes
  • Monday, 21 April, 2025
    OutlookUS-China trade dispute
    Illinois farmers focus on planting rather than Trump tariffs

    Veterans of the trade wars, they know a great deal could change before the harvest

    Steve Pitstick
  • Wednesday, 9 April, 2025
    OutlookClimate change
    Midwest turns to snow farming to save winter sports

    Climate change threat to skiing, ice fishing and dog sledding demands creative solutions

    Snow cannons making snow on Granite Peak Ski Hill in Rib Mountain, Wausau, Wisconsin
  • Monday, 24 March, 2025
    OutlookGlobal migration
    Wisconsin Supreme Court race is the first electoral test for Trump

    The race has become a proxy battle between those who love and hate the president

    Wisconsin Supreme Court
  • Monday, 10 March, 2025
    OutlookUS politics & policy
    The red counties that want to split from blue Illinois

    Almost a third of the state’s counties have voted to investigate leaving

    Iroquois county Republican party chair Mitchell Bence in red sweatshirt and red peaked cap standing in front of a red SUV
  • Wednesday, 26 February, 2025
    OutlookTrump tariffs
    A US-Canadian border friendship feels the strain

    Relations between Detroit and Windsor, joined by a cross-border tunnel, are being marred by Trump’s threats

    Matthew Tkachuk of Team USA fights with Brandon Hagel of Team Canada during the first period in the 4 Nations Face-Off game
  • Monday, 10 February, 2025
    OutlookSocial affairs
    The growing problem of child homelessness in the US

    Many feel forced to hide their status through shame or fear of being taken into care

    A homeless child looks out from a row of tents along Towne Avenue in Skid Row in Los Angeles
  • Monday, 30 December, 2024
    Health
    The great American alcohol debate

    New research and changing social attitudes may usher in a low-booze era in the US

    Illustration of a bar, propped up at an angle by a stick with a piece of string attached to it. Underneath the bar is a glass of beer
  • Tuesday, 24 December, 2024
    OutlookUS immigration
    The migrants who face becoming political pawns again

    Many of those bussed in by the Texas governor have been absorbed by Chicago but could now have their lives upturned again

    Venezuelan migrants as they wait for a ride-share at the 1st District police station in Chicago
  • Monday, 9 December, 2024
    OutlookRetail & Consumer industry
    American homes get ready for a Christmas light bonanza

    The annual holiday-display-synchronised-to-Jingle-Bells version of retail therapy turns out to be inflation proof

  • Monday, 25 November, 2024
    Film
    What the US can learn from ‘Wicked’

    Glinda and Elphaba’s journey to friendship offers guidance for a fractured America

    Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande in  Wicked
  • Tuesday, 5 November, 2024
    OutlookUS presidential election 2024
    ‘We want to show we can stand with someone who votes differently’

    Democrat and Republican pairings hit the polls in a divided America

    Jim Mayer and Peggy Prichard hold a sign saying: ‘We’re Red and Blue voters committed to holding America together’
  • Wednesday, 30 October, 2024
    OutlookUS presidential election 2024
    Like Michigan, the US is neither red nor blue

    It is difficult to see the upcoming poll settling things definitively anywhere in the country

    Rally goers cheer before Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign event in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
  • Monday, 21 October, 2024
    OutlookEnvironment
    Migratory birds fly into a miasma of human making

    This year the migration of the Midwest’s rich avian life has been visibly disrupted — but treats for the enthusiast remain

    A flock of American white pelicans rest on the Mississippi River
  • Monday, 14 October, 2024
    OutlookUS presidential election 2024
    Wisconsin’s vote on the edge as immigrant scare stories spread

    In the final leg of the US election campaign, even the quietest towns are being dragged into the border war

    Supporters cheer Donald Trump as he speaks during a campaign event
  • Monday, 30 September, 2024
    OutlookSport
    Fears for Little League baseball in the US as children’s sport commercialises

    Traditional neighbourhood games are losing out as youth sport becomes a multibillion-dollar industry

    Southeast Region celebrate after the game against Asia-Pacific Region at Lamade Stadium in Pennsylvania
  • Thursday, 26 September, 2024
    FT Film32 min
    America divided: the women who vote for Trump

    Why Republican women back Donald Trump - despite sexist language, legal troubles, and abortion politics

    The women who vote Trump
  • Monday, 16 September, 2024
    OutlookChildcare
    Why childcare in the US is a problem for us all

    This is not just an issue for parents — employers need to be part of the solution

    Black and white photo from 1942 of a room full of toddlers having a rest period on small beds at a nursery
  • Monday, 2 September, 2024
    OutlookUS politics & policy
    Americans are losing faith in four-year college degrees

    Education experts say the decline in enrolment is spurred by a falling birth rate and student debt crisis

    Bascom Hall on the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison
  • Monday, 19 August, 2024
    OutlookEducation
    Pressure to ban mobile phones in America’s schools intensifies

    Restrictions on the use of devices have been shown to improve students’ performance

    Schoolchildren on smartphones
  • Monday, 5 August, 2024
    OutlookHealth
    Are we fooling ourselves that owning a dog is good for us?

    Conventional wisdom may say animals make us healthier and happier but research differs

    Dogs being walked
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