I have never been mistaken for a foodie. The seven Olympic Games I covered involved more meals at McDonald’s than I would care to admit. So Tyler Bey’s story in today’s issue on a television show about food was not likely to spark my interest.

And yet it did.

Why? Because in his story, Tyler remarked how the Black American cuisine featured in “High on the Hog” has a unique ability to connect – how it can connect the fractured and fractious history of the United States or two people across a dinner table. “We need a lot of connection in the world today,” one of his sources told him.

Today’s Daily is all about connection, in a way. We look at how the U.S. can find connection in talking about the pandemic, building credibility, transparency, and trust. We ask how the world can find connection to people in places like Lebanon and Myanmar, remembering the need for progress even when the media spotlight turns away. And we tell the story of refugees finding a sense of connection and home at the Olympics.

All these stories are a thread about the power of connection. Says one refugee Olympian: “That’s why we really feel like we are a family.”