2019
October
31
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

October 31, 2019
Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00
Mark Sappenfield
Senior global correspondent

Today’s five hand-picked stories look at the Republican senators at the crux of impeachment, Russia’s environmental turn, Brexit’s potential impact on Britain’s most vulnerable, the gift of books to homeless people, and questions about how we see gangsters on film.

But first, so many people put so much thought into what they consume these days. As a meat-and-potatoes Midwesterner, I am often befuddled by Boston menus. Ras el hanout? Giardiniera? For a time, I wondered if “gf” meant “good food.”

But there’s good in this trend. It exhorts me to be more thoughtful about how things are produced and the cascading effects on the world around us. The same is true of the climate change debate, in many ways. It’s about more thoughtful energy consumption. Then I wonder: Why don’t we do the same with the news we consume, which is essentially thought-food?

This report by the Solutions Journalism Network is fascinating. It says journalism that focuses on being constructive – not papering over problems but focusing on how we can fix them – makes readers feel more informed, more empowered, and more hopeful.

Readers saw no drop in journalistic standards, and the positive effects crossed gender and partisan lines. When was the last time you read about news reporting that evoked a positive reaction among both Republicans and Democrats?

There’s a long-standing line of thinking that it’s not journalism’s job to heal the world. True. It’s everyone’s job. But since 1908, we at the Monitor have felt journalism is an essential part of that equation.


You've read 3 of 3 free articles. Subscribe to continue.

Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

J. Scott Applewhite/AP
The impeachment saga presents a difficult tightrope walk for GOP senators who are facing tough reelection races, including Republican Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado.
Karen Norris/Staff

Books

Photo by Ann Hermes/Staff
Gerardo Maza, Daniel Arroyo, and Lechelle Thornhill-Boothe, who work with the Family Shelter Mobile Library Literacy Tour, stand outside the Queens Library bookmobile as it makes a stop on Oct. 22, 2019 in Elmhurst, New York.

On Film

Netflix/AP
Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro, left) introduces daughter Peggy (Lucy Gallina) to crime boss Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) in “The Irishman.”

The Monitor's View

Alex Brandon/AP
Washington Nationals fans hold up baby shark toys as they watch a broadcast of Game 7 of baseball's World Series Oct. 30 at Nationals Park in Washington.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

Ann Hermes/Staff

Life in a wildfire zone

LISTEN to her story

Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte and Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for sharing your day with us today. Tomorrow, we’ll look at a state takeover of schools in Providence, Rhode Island. There is hope of progress, but also questions about how local voices can be heard. Please come back and join us.

More issues

2019
October
31
Thursday
CSM logo

Why is Christian Science in our name?

Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.

The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.

Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.

Explore values journalism About us