In rural China, millions of elderly farmers are getting by despite a dwindling government pension reserve. In some ways, it’s a story of desperation. But on a reporting swing deep into northern Shaanxi province, the Monitor’s Ann Scott Tyson found it also to be one of resilience, perseverance, and agency. She spoke to guest host and show producer Jingnan Peng.
Why is Christian Science in our name?
Why is Christian Science in our name?
Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The Christian Science Church, and we’ve always been transparent about that.
The Church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we’ve aimed “to injure no man, but to bless all mankind,” as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
Here, you’ll find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences – a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.
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Why We Wrote This
Who reports the news? People. And at The Christian Science Monitor, we believe that it’s 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’s headlines we find respect, resilience, dignity, agency, and hope. “Why We Wrote This” shows how. The Monitor is an award-winning, nonpartisan news organization with bureaus around the globe. Visit CSMonitor.com/whywewrotethis to learn more.
A long-awaited report to California’s legislature by a reparations task force is fueling broader conversations, at institutions and among individuals. The Monitor’s commitment to exploring the issues means considering – fairly and factually – a wide range of views. In this episode, writers Maisie Sparks and Clara Germani speak with guest host Trudy Palmer about how the work of recording perspectives and changes of heart shaped their own understanding of this complex story of justice, dignity, and transformation.
You don’t know everything that someone is capable of just from a single observation or interaction. That’s the core idea behind the anti-bullying work of Shadi Pourkashef. She delivers on it with a very intentional focus shift: from problem to solution. The Monitor’s JJ Wahlberg spoke with host Clay Collins about reporting – for her first Monitor story – on one shining exhibition of the power of kindness.
With much of the world’s attention on the cold wins-and-losses scorecard of Russia’s grinding war in Ukraine, and with a counteroffensive reportedly underway, how are Ukrainian civilians holding up? Scott Peterson has now reported from the conflict zone a half-dozen times. For this updated, encore episode of his February show, “War Stories,” he stopped by our Boston newsroom and spoke with host Clay Collins.
A once largely invisible minority, transgender people have swiftly moved into the mainstream of popular culture, and some conservatives appear intent on stoking a social and political backlash, particularly among older voters. Writer Simon Montlake talks about bringing fairness to the fore in coverage of a rights issue on which two sides’ stances are so fundamentally different. Hosted by Gail Russell Chaddock.
Does the promise of a big push into afforestation and renewable energy point to an authentically “greening” Saudi Arabia? To an open quest for an edge in an emerging global market? To both of those things? Our Amman, Jordan-based writer describes the careful listening that went into the reporting of a counternarrative cover story that’s really all about balance and transformation. Hosted by Clay Collins.
Americans’ loss of social connection has long been an issue, and it worsened during the pandemic to the point where loneliness has now hit epidemic levels. In this episode we talk about why we wrote 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.
Where in the Americas can you find the core elements of democracy being well modeled? Some suggest ... Uruguay. It is by no means a utopia. But these days, Uruguay showcases stability and balance in some striking ways. It’s exhibiting lively disagreement without a lot of extreme discourse. Erika Page, who has been writing from around the region for the Monitor, explains. Hosted by Clay Collins.
There’s a prevailing narrative about U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and it’s not a particularly nuanced one. How can a writer build fairness into a profile of a political figure about whom many have a narrow view? Step one: Get out of Washington. Christa Case Bryant, the Monitor’s congressional writer, talks it over with her predecessor in that role, guest host Gail Chaddock.
Generosity is often an attribute of those who have little. Monitor contributor Nick Roll talks about the discovery and execution of a powerful counternarrative to so much Africa coverage. From a village in Niger, he reported a credible and moving affirmation of humanity, decency, and dignity. Hosted by Clay Collins.
