海角大神

2026
May
16
Saturday

Monitor Daily Podcast

May 16, 2026
Clayton Collins
Director of Innovation

News outlets parsed this week鈥檚 summit between President Donald Trump and China鈥檚 Xi Jinping for its choreography as much as its content: Who was and wasn鈥檛 on the greeting committee; the (literal) stances of the two leaders; even the first handshake鈥檚 approach angles. Ann Scott Tyson reports today from Beijing on this week鈥檚 consequential contribution to U.S.-China discourse. Behind the body language and between the lines: a bilateral reach for global leverage 鈥 and a changing power dynamic.

Scroll deeper for our reviewers鈥 best books of May, including one that brings 鈥渁 blast of fresh polar air,鈥 and our essayist鈥檚 remembrance of how his seventh grade self answered the call of poetry.


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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Beyond the flattery and pomp, the Trump-Xi summit underscores the narrative that China has risen to peer status with the United States, with Xi Jinping ever more confident that his long-game strategy is paying off, while U.S. leverage is shrinking.

Tuesday鈥檚聽GOP primary in Kentucky pits President Donald Trump鈥檚 power and the pull of party unity against an independent-minded lawmaker with deep ties to his constituents.

Labour challengers appear set to push Prime Minister Keir Starmer out of power, thereby adding to the United Kingdom鈥檚 seeming nonstop leadership churn over the past decade. Why does it seem like Britain is no longer governable?

Lebanese emergency responders are facing unprecedented casualties from Israeli strikes. While they carry the loss of their colleagues, any bid to dissuade them from lifesaving work by the escalation has instead deepened their resolve to continue.

Books

Historical anniversaries share space with satisfying mysteries and far-flung, imagination-stretching novels in our roundup of May鈥檚 best reads. They include Matt Haig鈥檚 鈥淭he Midnight Train鈥 and a look at the 鈥減erfect coincidence鈥 surrounding Thomas Jefferson and John Adams.

Essay

How poetry stretches the possibilities of words 鈥撀燼nd enriches life's rhythms.


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2026
May
16
Saturday

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