2020
May
04
Monday

Monitor Daily Podcast

May 04, 2020
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Clayton Collins
Director of Editorial Innovation

Today we look at Americans’ shifting perspectives on China, the line between expressions of freedom and intimidation, today’s Supreme Court precedent, and concerns and options for people who like cruises – or safaris. First, a quick look at innovation and COVID-19.

As some areas ease out of lockdown, big public- and private-sector players keep trying to engineer (and scale up) ways of easing life amid coronavirus.

Meanwhile, grassroots efforts are thriving.  

Face coverings, worn out of respect for those who don’t have the luxury of physical distancing, get a lot of creative attention. It’s more than pretty patterns. Tokujin Yoshioka, the Japanese designer behind the 2020 Olympic torch, just developed a free template for a plastic full-face shield. In Vermont, a sewing machine wizard keeps old machines running for fabric mask DIYers. 

And then there’s Eric Kim. The Oregon high schooler, who has partial hearing loss, was concerned about how mask requirements would affect those who count on being able to read lips. Empathy pushed him toward a niche. He had inspiration: the work of a Kentucky college student he’d seen on CNN. 

So he called her for tips. Then he bought out the clear fabric at his local Dollar Tree and set about learning to sew. 

“It was a lot harder than I thought,” he told the Portland Oregonian: hours at the machine, a pipe-cleaner insert to ensure a snug fit. As of today, he has supplied about 70 free masks, he says in an email, and is answering hundreds of calls from around the country. He’s got a funding effort, and he’s got a plan: to keep going for “as long as people keep requesting.”


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Seth Herald/Reuters
A militia group stands in front of the governor’s office after protesters occupied the state capitol building during a vote to approve the extension of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus outbreak, in Lansing, Michigan, April 30, 2020.

The Explainer

Dean Lewins/AAP/Reuters
The Ruby Princess cruise ship, the subject of a criminal investigation with Australian authorities after allowing passengers infected with COVID-19 to disembark in Sydney in March, departs Port Kembla in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, April 23, 2020.
Courtesy of WildEarth
WildEarth, an organization based in South Africa, streams live game drives twice daily from a private reserve near the country's Kruger National Park. The organization has seen its viewership skyrocket since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Monitor's View


A Christian Science Perspective

About this feature

A message of love

Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters
Performers wearing protective face shields perform at the Erawan Shrine, after the government started opening some restaurants outside shopping malls, parks, and barbershops during the COVID-19 outbreak, in Bangkok, May 4, 2020.
( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

A look ahead

Come back tomorrow. Ryan Lenora Brown is looking into what West Africa’s experiences fighting Ebola can teach the world about fighting COVID-19. One lesson: the power of compassion.

More issues

2020
May
04
Monday
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