#MeToo, French Edition
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A notoriously slow legal system, within a culture that has let auteurs become demigods, gave rise to what one French film star’s agent apologetically called “a sacred monster.” Paris-based writer Colette Davidson wrote about a slow shift in trust – from transgressors to accusers – that may finally bring some accountability in a nation wrestling with sexual abuse scandals involving some of its cinema icons. Hosted by Clay Collins.
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A Narrative Missed by the News
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Partisan side-taking is real. But it isn’t the whole story. When you get way beyond the Beltway and filter out the manufactured distrust that’s cultivated by those on the extremes, you can often find public thought moving in the same direction on important issues. And you can find data to support that movement. Marshall Ingwerson, a special contributor and former editor of the Monitor, explored a counternarrative. In this episode, he joins guest host Gail Chaddock to discuss.
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Writer’s Read: Trust and the Texas Grid
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When the Monitor began planning a series focused on trust, Texas-based writer Henry Gass immediately thought of “the freeze.” Three years after a winter storm devastated the state’s unique power grid, experts say the grid has become more reliable, more weatherized. There hasn’t been a repeat of the widespread outages. But “it’s deep in the Texan psyche now to worry about the grid,” a source told Henry. Rebuilding trust will take time and work. For this experimental, alternative-format episode of our weekly podcast, we go host-free – letting the writer set up the story he reported before reading the story in full.
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Finding the Soul of Harlem
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Ahead of a major museum retrospective on the thriving Harlem of the 1920s and its often overlooked artists, the Monitor’s cultural commentator toured that upper Manhattan neighborhood to get a better sense of the Harlem of today. He found an neighborhood that venerates its historical heroes while nurturing new ones. He found pride and purpose. Ken Makin joins host Clay Collins to talk about the staggering power of being there – and about the many ways Harlem draws from its past to shape its future.
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Artificial Intelligence, Real Learning
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AI and education might appear destined to be in conflict. Generative chat and video set up as tempting cheats, ones that might be somewhat transparent for now but that are rapidly gaining in sophistication. Education writer Jackie Valley spoke with host Clay Collins about schools that are countering fear of misuse by incorporating forms of AI in responsible ways that also deepen learners’ engagement and joy.
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Introducing ‘Rebuilding Trust’
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News always answers the “what.” That’s important. But a news organization built to elevate humanity also has a mandate to go much deeper, to look at what’s really driving the news. Monitor Editor Mark Sappenfield joins host Clay Collins to talk about a current Monitor focus on trust, and about how serially focusing on universal values that need attention – as well as on global news – can help make the Monitor an indispensable beacon on the media landscape.
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Nordic Norm? The ‘Just Enough’ Life
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Sweden is, of course, more complex than the Utopian collective that some have long considered it to be. That’s not to say that its societal emphasis on better living doesn’t persist. Writer Erika Page reported from around Sweden on the aspirational concept of “lagom” – essentially, a life kept in balance. She tells host Clay Collins about the reporting, and what it showed about a Scandinavian concept that reflects a universal yearning.
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Understanding Evangelicals
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American politics tends to meet with broad-brush depictions. That has colored perceptions of Evangelical Christians as always being in lock step with right-wing Republican views. But while there are clear overlaps, that’s not the whole story. Harry Bruinius, a religion and culture writer for the Monitor, joins guest host Gail Chaddock to talk about his recent piece on post-Evangelicals – including MAGA followers’ relationship to the movement and what that could bode for 2024 and beyond.
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Life at the Hub of War Coverage
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What’s work life like at the center of conflict coverage? It’s highly collaborative, by necessity. It calls for attention to more than the reportable news points that map a war’s course. It means keeping humanity at the center of the story. Ken Kaplan, the Monitor’s Mideast and diplomacy editor – and a close observer of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for nearly four decades – talks with host Clay Collins about life with little sleep, about logistics, and about helping to enforce “the Monitor difference” on stories that have every news outlet’s attention.
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Covering Campaign 2024
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What goes into writing about a handful of candidates’ monthslong presidential runs? Working tactically to gain the up-close access that brings insights into not only the nuances of the behavior and messaging, but also the public response. That’s the heart of the story. Guest host Gail Chaddock, a veteran of the game, chats with a Monitor rising star, politics writer Story Hinckley, just ahead of primary season 2024.
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