Episodes

  • Civility With a Side of Eggs

    Civility With a Side of Eggs
    Jan 30 2026
    For a few generations of newsmakers and newsgatherers, the Monitor Breakfast has been a place to come together over a meal and parse the big issues of the day. In this episode, the host of this storied event joins her predecessor for a conversation about the Breakfast’s winning formula: Invite a newsmaker and a group of reporters to sit down for an hour and have a conversation, on the record. And to explore how its guiding principle – to generate “light, not heat” – stands today.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • What Venezuela Might Mean

    What Venezuela Might Mean
    Jan 9 2026
    In this episode, Howard LaFranchi, a U.S.-based diplomacy writer for the Monitor who’s also an old Latin America hand, talks about waking to the news of Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela and working through how he could best pitch in on coverage with context. He talks with host Clay Collins about the complementary interplay of high-altitude analysis and on-the-ground coverage. About the Trump administration’s evolution of the Monroe Doctrine. About framing reports on the country to which he traveled repeatedly during the Hugo Chávez days. And about the state of a postwar, U.S.-led order historically anchored in law and alliances.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • There Will Be Oil

    There Will Be Oil
    Dec 16 2025
    The Golden State is politically blue, and it’s a leader in green energy. It also has a foothold in crude. Reporter Simon Montlake went to a SoCal town built by oil – and to a festival called “Oildorado,” which celebrates that fact – to take the measure of a place that illustrates the trade-offs and halting transitions that characterize the global energy story. He joined our podcast to talk about the cover story that his reporting yielded, and about how he bakes fairness into his work. Hosted by Clay Collins.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • It Came from the Bog

    It Came from the Bog
    Nov 25 2025
    The cranberry, with its short seasonal star turn, has a compelling history as a North American fruit. Growing the crop is a tricky business – climate-sensitive, naturally collaborative – with some old practices but also a growing cast of innovators. In this episode, food writer Kendra Nordin Beato goes deep on the tart, red orb. Also included: An encore excerpt from last year’s show with Kendra on the history of Thanksgiving food. And on the side-dish skirmish over how cranberries should best be served. Hosted by Clay Collins.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • ‘We Went Up on the Roof’

    ‘We Went Up on the Roof’
    Nov 14 2025
    Sarah Matusek didn’t wake up one recent morning expecting that her day would include driving a getaway car. Reporting can be like that. In this episode, Monitor immigration writer Sarah Matusek talks with host Clay Collins about the logistics of getting access to – and egress from – places including a Portland ICE facility, about the nuance of the legal language around her beat, and about how she approaches reporting fairly on what might be the most divisive set of dueling narratives in modern U.S. discourse.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • Shared Anguish, Shared Hope

    Shared Anguish, Shared Hope
    Oct 31 2025
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • Asking the ‘Why’ Questions

    Asking the ‘Why’ Questions
    Oct 17 2025
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute
  • You Can’t Sneak Up on a Wolverine

    You Can’t Sneak Up on a Wolverine
    Sep 19 2025
    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.
    Show More Show Less
    Less than 1 minute