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.
Monitor Backstory: A shift on a power source?
Sides have long been staked out on nuclear power: It鈥檚 either a poisonous menace or a means of getting past dirty, extractive energy production. The Monitor鈥檚 Stephanie Hanes, who covers climate change and the environment, explores a rising middle ground. Hosted by Samatha Laine Perfas.
Monitor Backstory: Finding dignity in war
Writer Martin Kuz remembers his father鈥檚 love for Ukraine. As Martin traveled the country reporting, including for a story on how Ukrainians find dignity and hope in honoring people they鈥檝e lost in the ongoing war, he could see even more clearly the depth of Ukrainians鈥� resolve. Hosted by Samantha Laine Perfas.
Monitor Backstory: A deeper reading of 鈥楪oodnight Moon鈥�
鈥淕oodnight Moon,鈥� the Margaret Wise Brown classic read to children across generations, has its 75th anniversary on Sept. 3. The Monitor鈥檚 Harry Bruinius talks about a book that鈥檚 鈥渕odern and odd and elliptical鈥� 鈥� one that was radical in its day, and that has since worked its way into so many bedtime rituals. Hosted by Samantha Laine Perfas.
Monitor Backstory: Mining for global progress
What goes into writing a weekly survey of where in the world things are going right? A fair assessment of what credible 鈥減rogress鈥� actually is, and a determination to present a diversity of coverage. Staff writer Erika Page talks with editor Clay Collins about the Monitor鈥檚 long-running Points of Progress feature.
Monitor Backstory: Seeing patterns in the news
As a reporter, Ned Temko had a front-row seat to a remarkable string of world-changing events. As a Monitor columnist, he looks for global patterns. And at a time of mounting global stressors, he sees a spirit of communality emerging as a simple human response. In this episode, Ned speaks with the Monitor鈥檚 Clay Collins about the work of connecting world events and the underlying human impulses.
Monitor Backstory: The real Saudi shift
How did a reporter鈥檚 story evolve from being a report on Saudi Arabia鈥檚 economic reorientation to one about that society鈥檚 fundamental, bottom-up change? The Monitor鈥檚 Taylor Luck speaks with host Samantha Laine Perfas about finding in a notebook the scribbled asides that would actually form the heart of his story.
Monitor Backstory: Covering Jan. 6
What happened on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol? The answers are shaded by deeply held perspectives. How can a journalist cover such an event and its fallout without being prejudicial? The Monitor鈥檚 Christa Case Bryant speaks with host Samantha Laine Perfas about the sense of fairness that guides her reporting work, and how that helps define the Monitor鈥檚 approach.
Monitor Backstory: Joy on a Montana shoot
Alfredo Sosa, the Monitor鈥檚 director of photography, relishes fieldwork 鈥� no matter how challenging 鈥� for the humbling connections that it brings. He spoke to the Monitor鈥檚 Samantha Laine Perfas about his rigorous recent assignment to capture the high-altitude work of a wildfire lookout in Montana鈥檚 Bob Marshall Wilderness.
Monitor Backstory: Where education and democracy meet
What does it mean for democracy if the public education system breaks? Host Samantha Laine Perfas and Managing Editor Amelia Newcomb discuss the Monitor鈥檚 latest series, which explores public education, democracy, and the future of America.
Monitor Backstory: Voices of Title IX
Title IX is complicated. Reporting on the 50th anniversary of this 37-word law, the Monitor's Kendra Nordin Beato saw the many and varied ways it reshaped US society. In today's episode, she shares how women have pushed for equal treatment with courage and resilience, inspiring generation after generation. Hosted by Samantha Laine Perfas.