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2026
June
06
Saturday

Monitor Daily Podcast

June 06, 2026
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Clayton Collins
Director of Innovation

Welcome to the weekend.

You might think you know the story of soccer in the United States. (Yes, most of the world calls it football.) When sports don鈥檛 feel culturally 鈥淎merican,鈥� buy-in never quite feels complete, even when big matches come to U.S. turf.

Today, a Monitor writer and photographer 鈥� World Cup megafans of British and Venezuelan heritage, respectively 鈥� lace into a deeper story: Soccer鈥檚 challenge in the U.S. today is less about winning mainstream appeal, and showing that American fandom is more than cosplay, than about reconciling immigrant identities with U.S. national-team loyalty. We went into the stands to learn more.

We also take you to an Irish homestead (in books) and into an essayist鈥檚 wry exploration of the difference between movies 鈥� and films.

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

A deeper look
Alfredo Sosa/Staff
Members of the soccer superfan group American Outlaws march toward Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta before a match between the United States and Portugal, March 31, 2026. American Outlaws supports U.S. soccer, and the organization has charters throughout the country.

鈥楯ump for the USA! Ol茅!鈥� American superfans welcome the World Cup.

( 9 min. read )

Star-spangled superfans hope their raucous support might give U.S. soccer a home-field advantage.

By Simon Montlake and Alfredo Sosa , reporting from Atlanta
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Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP
Kevin O'Leary, chairman of O'Leary Ventures, testifies during a House Financial Services Committee hearing titled "Priced Out of the American Dream: Understanding the Policies Behind Rising Costs of Housing and Borrowing," in Washington, Feb. 10, 2026.

In Utah, growing pushback over a city-sized data center

( 3 min. read )

The Stratos Project, near Utah鈥檚 Great Salt Lake, has scaled back its planned footprint. But scientists still see big risks for the local environment.

By Story Hinckley
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Anthony Pizzoferrato/AP/File
Supporters of Russian Armenian tycoon Samvel Karapetyan wave an Armenian flag during a rally against incumbent Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at Republic Square in Yerevan, Armenia, June 3, 2026.

In Armenia鈥檚 elections, a choice: Stay in Russia鈥檚 orbit or engage with the West

( 6 min. read )

As Armenia goes to the polls Sunday, voters face a thorny dilemma. Do they back a prime minister who led them during embarrassing military defeats, but is seeking a brighter future? Or do they opt for pro-Russia parties supporting the status quo?

By Alexander Thompson , reporting from Yerevan and Sevan, Armenia
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Books
鈥淟and,鈥� by Maggie O'Farrell, Knopf, 400 pp.

Maggie O鈥橣arrell digs into her ancestral Irish roots in 鈥楲and鈥�

( 3 min. read )

Author Maggie O鈥橣arrell, best known for 鈥淗amnet,鈥� charts the many epochs of an Irish homestead and the generations of its inhabitants in her latest novel, 鈥淟and.鈥� Drawn from her own family history, the book paints a heartfelt 鈥� and heartbreaking 鈥� picture of sorrow, beauty, and endurance.

By Heller McAlpin
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Essay
Scott Wilson

Fantastic film, terrible movie

( 3 min. read )

Serious and sublime, or commercial and action-packed? Take your pick.

By Zachary Przystup
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Viewfinder

Charles Sykes/Invision/AP
Bruce Springsteen, left, and Kenny Chesney perform on the first night of 鈥淢usic America: The Songs that Shaped Us,鈥� in West Long Branch, New Jersey, June 4, 2026. Organizers call the performances 鈥渁 way to use the power of music to reflect on shared history, particularly in divisive times.鈥� The event series, produced by the Bruce Springsteen Center for American Music, explores genres such as blues, jazz, and folk, the center鈥檚 website notes. The center is housed in a new 30,000-square-foot facility, with archives and an auditorium, at New Jersey鈥檚 Monmouth University.
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2026
June
06
Saturday

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