All The Monitor's View
- Space 2022: To the moon – and beyond
Many nations plan uncrewed lunar missions. One goal: Use the moon as practice before sending humans to Mars.
- EVs: Coming on like Lightning?
Demand for electric pickup trucks and sporty cars puts more shine on the future of EVs.
- One reason to trust in democracy’s resilience
The life of South Africa’s Desmond Tutu displayed the power of persistent good.
- New year, new thinking
Poets past and present help us look beyond old challenges to the better world we can achieve.
- The Christmas gift not in short supply
Many people find acts of kindness are not only in abundance, but also better reflect the loving spirit of Christmas.
- Smart toys that snitch on kids
More and more toys under the Christmas tree include connections to the internet and could present privacy problems.
- Books carry inmates beyond the bars
“Reading is where I found freedom,” says a formerly incarcerated man who’s placing microlibraries in prisons across the United States.
- Help for Afghan refugees
At this season of giving, Americans are reaching out to thousands who aided the U.S. and now are arriving with little but the clothes on their backs.
- Giving out of abundance
The movement to “buy nothing” for holiday gifts and instead give away items taps into an innate, planet-friendly generosity.
- Message from the young: The future’s going to be all right
A poll shows that young Americans are the most confident U.S. generation that things will get better. And youths in poorer nations are even more confident.
- The right way to give away a fortune
MacKenzie Scott has donated $8.6 billion to charities in the last 18 months. But some question her approach. Learning the best way to do it could set a valuable example.
- Given a chance, forests bounce back
In many cases, land cleared of trees can return to its forested state quicker than thought possible, an encouraging sign.
- The gig work problem: Who is an employee, anyway?
The European Commission is proposing rules that seek to bring more clarity and fairness to the murky world of app-based self-employment.
- Healing the Russia-Ukraine faith divide
Ending Kremlin aggression against Ukraine will take a dialogue between each country’s Orthodox churches.
- When peace enters quietly
Diplomacy takes off in the Middle East as the US role diminishes.
- The core mission of the democracy summit
Reversing the rise in autocracies will require democracies to self-reflect on the corruption that breeds a loss of trust.
- An urgent need for relief aid puts a spotlight on women
The number of people requiring humanitarian aid could rise 17% next year. Countries like Bangladesh show women are often key to problem-solving.
- Finding freedom under Myanmar’s military
The army’s sentencing of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will only put a spotlight on her ideas of mental liberation.
- Why young Saudis may reshape the Muslim world
The country’s new textbooks are moving away from teaching hate and toward a tolerance of other faiths.
- Iraqis opt for less religious strife
An election born of the 2019 protests reveals a distaste for religious-based parties and a preference for clean, secular rule.