2017
June
21
Wednesday

Monitor Daily Podcast

June 21, 2017
Error loading media: File could not be played
 
00:0000:0000:00
00:00

Why are we so fascinated by Uber?

A poster child for disruptive change, the ride-hailing service has been taking its lumps in recent months – most dramatically Tuesday night, when chief executive Travis Kalanick resigned under pressure from key shareholders.

Uber’s impact is undeniable. Its name is now a verb that conveys how you’re getting from Point A to Point B. The company has fed America’s love affair with entrepreneurial efforts that surge onto the stage, breaking long-established rules as they go.

But it has also become something of a microcosm of issues the United States faces more broadly: low-cost service versus proper compensation for rank-and-file employees. A corporate culture that aggressively pushes for dominance – but also generates charges of sexism and sexual harassment. A business that offers people convenience – but makes more than a few of them ask if their patronage supports abusive practices.

That last point matters. Many people identify strongly with the brands they support. When those brands let them down, they share vocally on social media. That has a dark side. But it can also mean that when corporations misstep, they hear about it in a way that is hard to ignore – and may help drive reform.


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

Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

David Goldman/AP
Matthew Levy comforts his wife, Sheila Levy, after the Democratic candidate for the 6th Congressional district, Jon Ossoff, conceded to Republican Karen Handel at his election night party in Atlanta on June 20.
Courtesy of Jason Martin
Students tinker outside the STE(A)M Truck, an Atlanta-based mobile makerspace that visits underserved schools.

The Monitor's View

Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron attends a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of late French General Charles de Gaulle's resistance call of June 18, 1940, at the Mont Valerien memorial in Suresnes, near Paris.

A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Neil Hall/Reuters
People watch the sun rise at Stonehenge on the summer solstice on June 21 near Amesbury, England.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Please come back tomorrow, when we look at why Medicaid – a key sticking point in the proposed GOP health-care bill – has grown fivefold over the past 30 years.

But before you leave, a summer reading recommendation: It would be hard to do better than the new biography “Be Free or Die,” by Cate Lineberry. From his daring escape by night with his whole family to being elected five times to Congress, the life of slave-turned-statesman Robert Smalls raises one question: How is this not already a movie?

More issues

2017
June
21
Wednesday
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