All Perspectives
At The Record Co., music belongs to everyoneThe Record Co. is a state-of-the-art facility that can be rented for as little as $10 per hour. Each month, 3,500 musicians pass through its doors.
Points of ProgressSignaling what matters: Indigenous representation, free school lunchProgress roundup: Brazil鈥檚 census finds more Indigenous people with new counting methods. And Africa鈥檚 largest school meals program aims to fight hunger.
Points of ProgressHotlines, foreign policy, and monkeys: Where empathy drives progressProgress roundup: Chile makes gender a part of its foreign policy, and scientists in China are using butterfly-inspired nanofilms to cool objects.聽
From the EditorsGauging motives, not judging policiesPolarization too often gets in the way of progress. A flawed Portland law that aims to solve the nation's drug crisis offers a case study into problem-solving with compassion.
From the EditorsHow we report on a warming worldThe Monitor was in many ways founded to help search for and accelerate solutions.聽So what does this look like with something so all-encompassing as climate change?
Points of ProgressSolar panels get a reputation boost, and a green container ship sailsProgress roundup: A cargo ship runs on biomethanol, and solar power lowers demand on a grid, allowing the third-largest power plant in New England to be safely retired.
From the EditorsBeyond money, striking workers seek respectLabor鈥檚 resurgence is about the balance of power between employers and employees. But it may also be about something even deeper: the importance of respectful relationships.
Readers RespondReaders write: The power of community, from Maine to CaliforniaLetters to the editor from the September 4 weekly magazine. Readers wrote about reparations, community, and the benefits of constructive approaches.
Points of ProgressThe power of mending, from African ecosystems to self-repairing metalsIn our roundup of progress worldwide, researchers discover metals that repair themselves, and vultures help scientists protect big cats in Africa.
Difference MakerHow Indigenous collaboration is saving the cougarHow do you free a predator hemmed in by human development? In Washington state, scientists and Native American tribes are working to find a solution for trapped cougars.
Points of ProgressKnowledge sharers: Guatemalan farms, tech firms mapping illegal fishingProgress roundup: In Guatemala, farmers go to school to teach each other. And tech firms are cooperating on open-source maps to spot illegal fishing.
From the EditorsA 鈥榩riceless鈥� weapon in Ukraine鈥檚 arsenalLittle can be taken for granted during wartime. One thing Ukrainians count on is the care and generosity of other civilians.聽
Readers RespondReaders write: Finding progress despite violent historiesLetters to the editor for the August 21 issue. A reader reflected on their time growing up in a still-segregated South, and hopes for a better future.
Points of ProgressPreserving hope, for juveniles in US prisons and soldiers in IsraelProgress roundup: A look at data led to new ideas for lowering the suicide rate for Israeli troops, and an end to life in prison for juveniles in three U.S. states.
Points of ProgressEnvironment watch: From Indigenous lands to water recycling at the officeProgress roundup: Water recycling goes extreme and in-house for San Francisco鈥檚 biggest buildings. And worldwide, Indigenous peoples control more lands.
Unlikely partners restore watersheds in Dominican RepublicFrancisco N煤帽ez has spent 20 years restoring the Dominican Republic鈥檚 watersheds in the face of severe drought and natural disasters.聽
From the EditorsYes, Ukrainians are gratefulIt was dinner at the farm of Serhii and Tetiana Khoroschiak, in the southern Mykolaiv region, that showed me just how grateful Ukrainians are.
Points of ProgressChildren of adoption: How families from Chile to Taiwan are made wholeProgress roundup: Adults 鈥渟tolen鈥� from Chile during dictatorship are finding birth families. And in Taiwan, LGBTQ+ couples are granted adoption rights.
鈥極ld ladies鈥� welcome: How senior swimmers clean up Cape Cod鈥檚 pondsThe goal, says the founder of Old Ladies Against Underwater Garbage, is to show that older women, working as a team, can do a lot more than people might think.
Readers RespondReaders write: New perspectives 鈥� from diction to socializingLetters to the editor from the August 7 issue. Readers examined pushes for social interaction, violence in the South, careful word choice, and more.
