Why We Wrote This
Who reports the news? People. And at The Christian Science Monitor, we believe that it’s our job to report each story with a sense of shared humanity. Through conversations with our reporters and editors, we explain the qualities behind our reporting that affect how we approach the news. Behind today’s headlines we find respect, resilience, dignity, agency, and hope. “Why We Wrote This” shows how. The Monitor is an award-winning, nonpartisan news organization with bureaus around the globe. Visit CSMonitor.com/whywewrotethis to learn more.
Writer’s Read: Trust and the Texas Grid
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When the Monitor began planning a series focused on trust, Texas-based writer Henry Gass immediately thought of “the freeze.” Three years after a winter storm devastated the state’s unique power grid, experts say the grid has become more reliable, more weatherized. There hasn’t been a repeat of the widespread outages. But “it’s deep in the Texan psyche now to worry about the grid,” a source told Henry. Rebuilding trust will take time and work. For this experimental, alternative-format episode of our weekly podcast, we go host-free – letting the writer set up the story he reported before reading the story in full.
Finding the Soul of Harlem
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Ahead of a major museum retrospective on the thriving Harlem of the 1920s and its often overlooked artists, the Monitor’s cultural commentator toured that upper Manhattan neighborhood to get a better sense of the Harlem of today. He found an neighborhood that venerates its historical heroes while nurturing new ones. He found pride and purpose. Ken Makin joins host Clay Collins to talk about the staggering power of being there – and about the many ways Harlem draws from its past to shape its future.
Artificial Intelligence, Real Learning
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AI and education might appear destined to be in conflict. Generative chat and video set up as tempting cheats, ones that might be somewhat transparent for now but that are rapidly gaining in sophistication. Education writer Jackie Valley spoke with host Clay Collins about schools that are countering fear of misuse by incorporating forms of AI in responsible ways that also deepen learners’ engagement and joy.
Introducing ‘Rebuilding Trust’
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News always answers the “what.” That’s important. But a news organization built to elevate humanity also has a mandate to go much deeper, to look at what’s really driving the news. Monitor Editor Mark Sappenfield joins host Clay Collins to talk about a current Monitor focus on trust, and about how serially focusing on universal values that need attention – as well as on global news – can help make the Monitor an indispensable beacon on the media landscape.
Nordic Norm? The ‘Just Enough’ Life
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Sweden is, of course, more complex than the Utopian collective that some have long considered it to be. That’s not to say that its societal emphasis on better living doesn’t persist. Writer Erika Page reported from around Sweden on the aspirational concept of “lagom” – essentially, a life kept in balance. She tells host Clay Collins about the reporting, and what it showed about a Scandinavian concept that reflects a universal yearning.
Understanding Evangelicals
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American politics tends to meet with broad-brush depictions. That has colored perceptions of Evangelical Christians as always being in lock step with right-wing Republican views. But while there are clear overlaps, that’s not the whole story. Harry Bruinius, a religion and culture writer for the Monitor, joins guest host Gail Chaddock to talk about his recent piece on post-Evangelicals – including MAGA followers’ relationship to the movement and what that could bode for 2024 and beyond.
Life at the Hub of War Coverage
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What’s work life like at the center of conflict coverage? It’s highly collaborative, by necessity. It calls for attention to more than the reportable news points that map a war’s course. It means keeping humanity at the center of the story. Ken Kaplan, the Monitor’s Mideast and diplomacy editor – and a close observer of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for nearly four decades – talks with host Clay Collins about life with little sleep, about logistics, and about helping to enforce “the Monitor difference” on stories that have every news outlet’s attention.
Covering Campaign 2024
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What goes into writing about a handful of candidates’ monthslong presidential runs? Working tactically to gain the up-close access that brings insights into not only the nuances of the behavior and messaging, but also the public response. That’s the heart of the story. Guest host Gail Chaddock, a veteran of the game, chats with a Monitor rising star, politics writer Story Hinckley, just ahead of primary season 2024.
The Young Hands on Earth’s Thermostat
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Call it the Climate Generation. Its members born since 1989, it’s the demographic cohort with the most to gain from climate action and the most to lose from inaction. The Monitor sent a team to four continents to report for the better part of a year. In this “making of” episode, guest host Clara Germani, the project’s leader, speaks with staff writers Sara Miller Llana and Stephanie Hanes about the just-finished series’ motivations, its shaping (and reshaping), and its careful, often complicated execution.
Picking Books That Matter
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Monitor readers love books. That adds to both the joy and the difficulty of serving as the publication’s books editor – and upholding a legacy of smart coverage. April Austin joins host Clay Collins to talk about what it’s like to be a literary gatekeeper, how reviewers get matched to books, and what job a Monitor review should aim to do for a busy reader.
