Why We Wrote This

Taylor Luck, an Amman, Jordan-based writer for The Christian Science Monitor, recently joined Christa Case Bryant, the Monitor’s editor, on our Daily podcast to talk about his dynamic beat. This episode of “Why We Wrote This” begins with a reprise of that conversation, followed by a curation of excerpts from Taylor’s previous appearances on this show. Those include Taylor’s account of his career’s beginnings, more anecdotes from the field, and a discussion about his sense of a restive region’s yearning for stability.

You can’t go home again. Except maybe you can, for an open-hearted second look that applies lessons in listening gained during years of immersion abroad. Scott Baldauf, a Monitor staff reporter who’s been operating at a distance for decades, talks about the early days of his new U.S.-based gig as America correspondent, about his philosophy and process, and about what makes Monitor journalism different. Hosted by Clay Collins.

We’re back from our hiatus! In this episode, we talk with Mark Sappenfield, the Monitor’s former top editor turned roaming Europe reporter and watcher of global trends. Find out what that shift has been like, and what went into the framing of his highly readable recent story on Finland’s grassroots defense strategy – a talker in the newsroom and beyond. Plus, Mark gets going on his favorite word (nuance) and his favorite riff: what’s special about Monitor journalism. Also, hear about a Finn so stealthy that he gave up hunting because it had begun to feel unfair. Hosted by Clay Collins.

Nairobi is like many cities. It’s vibrant but chaotic. Well-functioning here, showing cracks in its infrastructure there. In this episode we go behind writer Erika Page’s reporting of a tale of two (satellite) cities outside of Kenya’s capital, part of a growing constellation of such centers of life and commerce. And we talk about how a reporter keeps finding stories about people trying, at least, to do things better. Hosted by Clay Collins.

A lot of technology, including some that ultimately makes us “greener,” calls for extractive practices and carries upfront costs. Its use slurps resources. But it also makes us productive and provides essential support for modern lives. Climate writer Stephanie Hanes joins host Clay Collins for a conversation about data centers and rare earths – and about being intentional and aware of the tradeoffs that modern life puts in front of us.

How does a Saskatchewan farmer dreaming of a better life end up in rural Russia? In this episode, the Monitor’s Fred Weir, a Canadian journalist with 40 years in Russia, talks about how he found and profiled a new kind of invited Western expat: one who has warmed to some aspects of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, seems somewhat oblivious to others, and appears to be quite happy, so far, with the trade-offs. Hosted by Gail Russell Chaddock.

What does the hit Apple TV+ show that could be thought of as “Black Mirror” meets “Office Space” tell us about perceptions of workplace culture and Generation Z trends like “boreout”? About work with purpose and meaning? On the eve of the Season 2 finale of “Severance,” culture writer Stephen Humphries takes us inside the making of his report on a dark series that explores a kind of community resilience.

How does a justice reporter stay focused when nearly every politics story seems to have intricate – and sometimes massive – legal ramifications? Avoid loaded phrasing. Keep it clinical. And remember to breathe. Henry Gass joins guest host Gail Russell Chaddock to talk about his work at the intersection of law and American politics, the busiest corner of his much broader beat.

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.

Who’s in the pews these days? What about those in – or adjacent to – American political leadership who proclaim religiosity even while exhibiting behaviors that don’t necessarily comport with it? Beginning to decode some of those questions represented a politics writer’s early swings on the religion beat. Many more remain. Sophie Hills, the Monitor’s new faith and religion writer, joins guest host Gail Russell Chaddock on this episode to discuss.

When it comes to humanity’s relationship to Earth’s other creatures, does “dominion” really mean “stewardship”? 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’ inner lives – and what that might mean for humans’ relationship to them.

A new writer’s 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’s healing mission. It also showcased his source’s strength, resilience, and agency. In this episode, we break from the conversation format to make room for a writer’s annotation of a interview – used with permission of his source – that informed his reporting.

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.

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 “on Day 1,” 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.

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’s Kendra Nordin Beato joins host Clay Collins to talk turkey and more.

Another U.S. election is behind us. Can civility – deep civility, not just politeness – heal divides? Stephen Humphries, the Monitor’s 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’s book, “The Soul of Civility.” Ms. Hudson, too, joined the 2023 episode to talk further about how to bridge the empathy gap that reveals itself around so many issues.

A land war grinds on into another winter in Europe’s 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 – of wars, yes. Of starvation. But also of human courage and resilience. In this episode, the Monitor’s Peter Ford, our international news editor, joins host Clay Collins to explore the why and how of our recent series on Sudan.

Georgia’s 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 “rigged” process. In the second of two parts of a conversation with guest host Gail Russell Chaddock, the Monitor’s 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.

The late-game ouster of an incumbent as candidate, state rules in flux, and back-to-back hurricanes in battleground states? Yes, the 2024 U.S. presidential election sits in a category of its own. Beneath those big factors: a set of wedge issues and a pair of candidates with stark differences of approach and appeal. Monitor politics writer Cameron Joseph joins guest host Gail Russell Chaddock to talk about the work of covering the wild run-up – and bracing for what’s next.

Amid intensifying strife and humanitarian disaster, how do you report a story like the war in Gaza accurately and compassionately? How do you recognize the complexities of a war in which intense suffering exists alongside a powerful humanity and an effort to cling to hope? Monitor correspondents Ghada Abdulfattah in Gaza and Taylor Luck in Jordan join Managing Editor Amelia Newcomb, our guest host, to talk about the challenges they face – and, in Ghada’s case, how she navigates the danger and chaos that confront her every moment of the day.