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2025
December
13
Saturday

Monitor Daily Podcast

December 13, 2025
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Clayton Collins
Director of Editorial Innovation

Welcome to your Saturday Daily. Find the latest on our homepage.

France鈥檚 colonial legacy drifts into the news in very different ways. The Thai-Cambodian border conflict, which flared again this week, stems from the two sides鈥� opposing interpretations of French cartography from more than a century ago. In Senegal, meanwhile, a sense of economic identity less colored by its French connection now rises. There are bold reaches (local fashion is in ascent), and subtle adaptations (think baguettes, but from Senegalese wheat). 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a matter of being anti-French,鈥� reports Colette Davidson, 鈥渂ut, instead, pro-Senegal.鈥�

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There鈥檚 lots else to tout today, including Ira Porter鈥檚 deep dive on a Black student鈥檚 revelatory time in Japan. Also: Commentator Ken Makin has a take on ESPN鈥檚 new documentary about broadcasting legend Stuart Scott.

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
U.S. President Donald Trump points his finger as he arrives to deliver remarks on the U.S. economy and affordability at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, Dec. 9, 2025.

As inflation weighs on voters, Trump is paying a high price, too

( 5 min. read )

With his approval rating for economic leadership dropping in polls, President Trump has tried to downplay voters鈥� concerns about affordability. The same problem that tripped up Joe Biden is now dogging Mr. Trump.

By Linda Feldmann , reporting from Washington
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Texas Senate race sets up moderates vs. fighters 鈥� in both parties

( 6 min. read )

It鈥檚 been a big month for politics in Texas, after the Supreme Court approved redistricted congressional maps and top candidates solidified running plans. The Senate race emerged as a marquee race with distinct choices in both the Democratic and GOP primaries.

By Henry Gass , reporting from Austin, Texas
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Colette Davidson
The African Renaissance Monument in Dakar is a symbol of strength and freedom for Senegal, and its emergence from colonialism and slavery, Oct. 1, 2025.

Young Senegalese challenge their country to think 鈥� and buy 鈥� local

( 5 min. read )

France and its former African colonies have a relationship so tight it has its own portmanteau: Fran莽afrique. But many in Senegal say it鈥檚 time for the country to be less reliant on its former ruler.聽

By Colette Davidson and Essouly Diedhiou , reporting from Dakar, Senegal
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A deeper look
Tsubasa Berg/TUJ
Tremaine Collins chats with fellow students in the cafeteria on campus at Temple University Japan. Mr. Collins is not just doing a semester abroad. He is enrolled in a four-year undergraduate program.

Only 2% of US students who study abroad are Black men. Meet Tremaine Collins, of Tokyo.

( 12 min. read )

Study abroad benefits can be life-changing, in terms of retention, economic capital, and upward mobility. So why do so few Black men get that opportunity? One person described it as the $20 million question. Our reporter always regretted not taking advantage of study abroad himself, so he searched for Black male college students to document their overseas experiences.

By Ira Porter , reporting from Tokyo
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Film
Go Nakamura/Reuters
A park visitor takes a selfie with a character headband at "Zootopia" land at the Shanghai Disney Resort ahead of the release of the movie "Zootopia 2," Nov. 24, 2025.

鈥榋ootopia 2鈥� is doing very well in the US. It鈥檚 breaking records in China.

( 4 min. read )

Disney has struck gold with the 鈥淶ootopia鈥� franchise, breaking box-office records in one of the most profitable but challenging movie markets in the world: China. How did they do it?

By Ann Scott Tyson , reporting from Beijing
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Essay
David Brion

More than I bargained for: My failed adventures in haggling

( 3 min. read )

From friendly negotiation to fierce haggling, there are those who love the art of bargaining. And then, there are those, like our essayist 鈥� who has overpaid for everything from wallets to cheap sunglasses 鈥� who just plain stink at it.

By Robert Klose
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Viewfinder

Heng Sinith/AP
People remove netted fish to eat as they take refuge at Wat Chroy Neangoun, a Buddhist pagoda in the Cambodian province of Siem Reap, Dec. 12, 2025. Thousands of people have fled their homes following renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia over long-standing territorial claims.
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( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Jacob Turcotte. )

More issues

2025
December
13
Saturday

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