Americans鈥� loss of social connection has long been an issue, and it worsened during the pandemic era to the point where loneliness hit epidemic levels. Today, some 6 Americans in 10 are reluctant to talk politics with those whose views oppose their own, even though it鈥檚 well known that such exchanges can be a balm. In this episode 鈥� an encore of one recorded in May 2023 鈥� writer Sophie Hills talks about how she crafted a kind of antidote story, one about front-porch culture and the power of people to collectively make their lives a bit richer. Hosted by Clay Collins.
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.
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Western news reports about Taiwan tend to focus on the island鈥檚 relationships with global superpowers, notably China and the United States. The people of Taiwan and their history can sometimes get lost in those narratives. Writer Ann Scott Tyson made a return trip to Taiwan to gather more of those important perspectives. Her cover story is a sort of coming of age story for Taiwan, exploring issues of national identity, civic responsibility, and peace. She joins guest host Lindsey McGinnis, the Monitor鈥檚 Asia editor, to discuss it.
You wouldn鈥檛 want your kid toting a television to class. So why allow a smartphone? That鈥檚 one take on a big back-to-school issue this year. Another take: Phones can be lifelines in emergencies. Two Monitor writers reported on the perspectives of parents, students, and educators and found a conversation growing that might finally yield some compromise solutions.
How does the Monitor鈥檚 film critic decide what to review 鈥� especially in festival settings? For Peter Rainer, it鈥檚 about staying moored by his own long experience and curating with a Monitor audience in mind. After the Toronto festival in 2023, Peter spoke on our podcast about how he does that. The films have changed; the work has not. We鈥檝e reprised some of that episode this week.
Hopes, fears, and hard decisions: The stories of would-be immigrants are stories that matter. So, too, are the stories and views of the many other stakeholders in the immigration debate, including U.S. ranchers whose land becomes the first zones of contention. Monitor writer Sarah Matusek is based in Denver, a city that has received thousands of people from South and Central American countries over the past two years. She joined host Clay Collins to talk about reporting a sprawling story with completeness and compassion.
What鈥檚 it like being in a president鈥檚 presence at big moments? What about at small ones, as when the commander-in-chief offers to buy you a burger? It鈥檚 all part of working in the press pool, where a hand-picked gaggle of reporters chronicles the president鈥檚 moves in real time and faithfully feeds detailed missives to the wider media. Linda Feldmann, who has cycled through the work for two decades, and Sophie Hills, who鈥檚 just getting her feet wet, joined veteran D.C. writer and our podcast鈥檚 guest host to describe the work and tell some tales.
An Americana-infused folk music revival has been a surging in the United States for years now. Georgia鈥檚 Jake Xerxes Fussell has emerged as one of the most singular interpreters of that music and all of its tributaries. Writer (and fan) Simon Montlake, a hard-news reporter most of the time, joins host Clay Collins to talk about why the modest Mr. Fussell is worth discovering 鈥� and about what folk music means to the transmission, down through generations, of the cultures it preserves.
Drug decriminalization is another story that often sets up as a binary debate: It's either a path to societal meltdown or a way to regulate behaviors that appear inevitable, and to stop filling jails. Test cases in three places 鈥� Portland, Oregon; British Columbia, Canada; and Portugal 鈥� show that solutions require very nuanced thinking. And compassion. Yvonne Zipp, our features editor, introduces this episode, which includes full story reads by three Monitor writers.
When a sports-loving writer gets a shot at covering an Olympic Games, the story becomes one of joyful immersion and inspired output. Ira Porter joins host Clay Collins for this episode about reporting from the Paris Games and finding the human stories that matter most in that sea of competition and aspiration, heartbreak and triumph.
Reporting straight news can be an outsider鈥檚 game: Get the facts, look for color, file on deadline, repeat. Gathering news that鈥檚 meaningful to readers, news that鈥檚 human and relatable, often means collaborating with a region鈥檚 own reporters. Two Monitor writers who also co-write stories and edit journalists from across Latin America and Africa join guest host Amelia Newcomb, our managing editor, to talk about balancing the special challenges and opportunities of that work.