2020
February
21
Friday

Monitor Daily Podcast

February 21, 2020
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Our stories today examine President Trump’s visit to India, tensions over some adoption agency policies, the economic challenges of the coronavirus, an innovation in the mining industry, and a poetry on wheels program. But first, some good news.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry only follow one account on Instagram. No, it isn’t the social media site for Netflix’s series “The Crown.” The couple already have enough royal drama in their life. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are highlighting Global Positive News, whose Instagram posts feature items such as “Greyhound reunites runaway teens with their families” and “The Coral Gardeners are rebuilding dying coral reefs by hand.” 

In January, the couple explained that they’re highlighting accounts “that remind us of all the good that is happening in the world.” Given that Prince Harry has accused the tabloid press of bullying Ms. Markle, it’s not surprising that the couple is keen to focus on uplifting news. But they’re also recognizing a growing appetite for it. Websites such as Positive News, The Optimist Daily, and Good News Network offer an alternative to doom-and-gloom sensationalism. The New York Times, MSNBC, and Fox also include silos that focus on instances of kindness, bravery, and goodwill. 

The Monitor, too, shines a light on the abundant activity of good in the world. At the same time, we don’t shy away from difficult stories. But we strive to counter undue fear and hopelessness because we believe that understanding the world’s problems and possibilities moves us toward solutions. 

That spirit will be on display on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 5pm EST, when the Monitor’s Washington bureau chief, Linda Feldmann, will moderate a panel discussion “Facts, Fake News, and the Media.” Panelists include New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and Fox News correspondent Chris Wallace. Those who cannot attend in person can watch the Common Ground Committee event live.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Sue Ogrocki/AP
Sean Freiley (left) and husband Mitch Dailey (right) listen to adopted daughter Jasmine Freiley talk about her day as adopted son Jerimiah McWilliams uses a tablet in the kitchen of their home in Bethany, Oklahoma, May 10, 2018. The state enacted legislation that year that protects religious adoption and foster care agencies.

Patterns

Tracing global connections
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
Wes Edge (left), an environmental engineer, and Chris Vass, a research engineer, stand in the laboratory of the mineral extraction project at the Water Research Institute at West Virginia University, on Jan. 22, 2020. The project is researching how to extract rare-earth minerals from acid mine drainage.

Difference-maker

Ann Hermes/Staff
Carmella Parry, a poetry enthusiast, is seen in her apartment in Gramercy Park on Jan. 22, 2020, in New York. Ms. Parry is a recipient of Citymeals on Wheels, a meal program for older people that paired up with the Poetry Society of America to provide poems in deliveries.

The Monitor's View

Reuters
South Sudan's ex-vice president Riek Machar (l) and President Salva Kiir Mayardit address the media in the capital Juba Feb. 20.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Petr David Josek/AP
Despite rising global temperatures, there are still times when some areas of the world are blanketed in snow. And for thousands of years, people have found ways to stay active during those icy seasons, giving rise to winter sports and festivities. Still 45% of Americans polled in a 2019 HuffPost/YouGov survey still said winter is their least favorite season. But what about snowball fights, sledding, and building snowmen with the family? Winter has so much to offer. You just have to find the fun. – Nusmila Lohani, Staff writer
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris and Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Thank you for engaging with our stories today – we hope you’ll share them with others. When we return on Monday, one of our stories examines a military policy that’s a land mine issue in more ways than one. What are the likely consequences of the Trump administration lifting a ban on land mines, even ones with greater safety features?

More issues

2020
February
21
Friday
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Why is Christian Science in our name?

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