Why We Wrote This
Who reports the news? People. And at 海角大神, we believe that it鈥檚 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鈥檚 headlines we find respect, resilience, dignity, agency, and hope. 鈥淲hy We Wrote This鈥� shows how. The Monitor is an award-winning, nonpartisan news organization with bureaus around the globe. Visit CSMonitor.com/whywewrotethis to learn more.
How Crowd Control Evolves
What does good policing looks like when it comes to managing sometimes bristly human interactions at street protests or in rowdy sports stadiums? Writer Simon Montlake and photographer Alfredo Sosa learned in Columbus, Ohio, how police dialogue units can play a role. But is it sustainable, and transferable? How far might it extend in an era when violence and fear seem sometimes seem more prevalent than an openness to discourse? Hosted by Clay Collins.
What Faith Looks Like Now
Who鈥檚 in the pews these days? What about those in 鈥� or adjacent to 鈥� American political leadership who proclaim religiosity even while exhibiting behaviors that don鈥檛 necessarily comport with it? Beginning to decode some of those questions represented a politics writer鈥檚 early swings on the religion beat. Many more remain. Sophie Hills, the Monitor鈥檚 new faith and religion writer, joins guest host Gail Russell Chaddock on this episode to discuss.
A Kingdom of Empathy?
When it comes to humanity鈥檚 relationship to Earth鈥檚 other creatures, does 鈥渄ominion鈥� really mean 鈥渟tewardship鈥�? Monitor writer Stephanie Hanes joins host Clay Collins for a look behind the reporting of her recent deep dive into what new research suggests about the richness of animals鈥� inner lives 鈥� and what that might mean for humans鈥� relationship to them.
A Mother鈥檚 Strength
A new writer鈥檚 local assignment on a gun violence memorial brought him face to face with a mother whose trying experience, and her telling of it, seemed to underscore an organization鈥檚 healing mission. It also showcased his source鈥檚 strength, resilience, and agency. In this episode, we break from the conversation format to make room for a writer鈥檚 annotation of a interview 鈥� used with permission of his source 鈥� that informed his reporting.
Reading America鈥檚 Shift: Part 2
Covering an incoming administration is about more than tracking the words and deeds of the new chief executive. Plates are shifting from the Cabinet to Congress. That warrants careful reporting, too. It means staying grounded in facts, not engaging in speculation, as a government emerges that is in some ways quite different from Trump 1.0. Washington writer Cameron Joseph, a frequent recent guest, joins guest host Gail Russell Chaddock to talk it through.
Reading America鈥檚 Shift: Part 1
In this stretch between Election Day and the inauguration, the United States waits on a president-elect who has a long list of actions to take 鈥渙n Day 1,鈥� many without precedent, even given his earlier term. What will Monitor coverage of this transition and this presidency look like? How do journalists stay curious and focused on truth? How do they avoid appearing to be condescending? Two Washington-based Monitor writers join guest host Gail Russell Chaddock to talk about the kind of careful listening and deep introspection that good reporting requires. First of two parts.
A Chatty Thanksgiving Primer
Fresh cranberries or canned? Northern pumpkin pie or Southern sweet potato pie? An assembling of intergenerational family members, a handful of friends, or a group of strangers? Almost everything about Thanksgiving, from travel to table talk about politics, has the potential to become fraught. Calm can prevail when a simple sense of gratitude gets its place at the table. The Monitor鈥檚 Kendra Nordin Beato joins host Clay Collins to talk turkey and more.
Encore: Respect, Dignity, and Getting Along
Another U.S. election is behind us. Can civility 鈥� deep civility, not just politeness 鈥� heal divides? Stephen Humphries, the Monitor鈥檚 chief culture writer, joined host Clay Collins in this encore episode to talk about his expansive view of the culture beat and about how he came to write about Alexandra Hudson鈥檚 book, 鈥淭he Soul of Civility.鈥� Ms. Hudson, too, joined the 2023 episode to talk further about how to bridge the empathy gap that reveals itself around so many issues.
Why We Went Deep on Sudan
A land war grinds on into another winter in Europe鈥檚 east. The Mideast keeps spiraling, old enmity refueled. A U.S. presidential election claims whatever sliver of attention is left. The West tends to forget about the African continent even in less distracting times. But stories from many of its more than 50 countries abound 鈥� of wars, yes. Of starvation. But also of human courage and resilience. In this episode, the Monitor鈥檚 Peter Ford, our international news editor, joins host Clay Collins to explore the why and how of our recent series on Sudan.
Election Unprecedented, Part 2
Georgia鈥檚 voting-rules dispute has been given a lot of attention. So have process changes in other states, along with the standard complexities of mail-in ballot counts and the (now standard, it seems) preelection charges of a 鈥渞igged鈥� process. In the second of two parts of a conversation with guest host Gail Russell Chaddock, the Monitor鈥檚 Cameron Joseph talks about this presidential election cycle compared with the past two, and about how he works to hold both sides to account in telling the full story.
