The Christian Science Monitor Daily Podcast

A rise in “teen takeovers” is highlighting young people’s need for safe spaces and connection. It’s also prompting a shift from reactive policing to proactive engagement, including more teen-focused, supervised “third spaces” in communities.

Also: today’s stories, including how longtime American allies in Europe and Asia remain on edge about the strength of their partnerships with the United States; how parents and local officials in Boston are pressing for accountability on late school buses; and how one group in Nepal hosts calligraphy workshops to preserve and promote the Nepalbhasa language.

Join the Monitor's Matthew Bell for today's news.

Congress may now put $1 billion toward the White House ballroom project, which has so far been funded through private donations. It reflects President Donald Trump’s effort to leave a physical legacy as well as meet a genuine need.

Also: today’s stories, including how the Trump administration is hiring more deportation officers and will not give “an inch” even though high-profile immigration operations in U.S. cities have eased; how many Colombian veterans end up enlisting in foreign conflicts – including the front lines of Ukraine; and how the cost of food is rising quickly in Senegal.

Join the Monitor's Ira Porter for today's news.

President Donald Trump’s attempts to punish criticism of his governance seem to be delivering diminishing returns among European leadership. The response to his weekend comment about withdrawing troops from U.S. bases in Germany is a case in point.

Also: today’s stories, including how Congress is advancing legislation to curb insider trading by government officials and market professionals on major prediction platforms; what's giving Venezuelans hope amid high inflation rates; and a look at the Gorongosa Restoration Project, which works to advance community-centered development and conservation in Mozambique’s Gorongosa National Park.

Join the Monitor's Christa Case Bryant for today's news.

The Trump administration has taken the rare step of charging a group of ruling-party Mexican officials in U.S. federal court. The move puts Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum in a tough spot with her own political constituents.

Also: today’s stories, including a look at why Beijing has considered – and practiced – a blockade of the Taiwan Strait, and whether the world is prepared for it; how the story of Joliet, Illinois, reflects the high times and the hardships of the famous Route 66; and how an unexpected encounter compels one writer to see his reclusive neighbor in a new light.

Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.

Lebanese people displaced by war have been on an emotional roller coaster. A ceasefire has been extended, but fighting in the south hasn’t ended. Even as families yearning for home prepare to return, despite the uncertainty, they are warned not to take the risk.

Also: today’s stories, including how some GOP strategists worry that even if the Iran war ends soon, voters may not feel an improvement in their finances before the midterm elections; how a federal lawsuit filed in Boston marks the latest push by immigrant advocates to challenge the Trump administration’s moves to tighten legal migration pathways; and how a search-and-rescue canine unit helps find unaccounted for Ukrainians amidst Russian advancement.

Join the Monitor's Stephen Humphries for today's news.

In a major voting rights case, the Supreme Court struck down Louisiana’s congressional map, calling it an unconstitutional race-based gerrymander. This continues a decadelong trend of the high court reinterpreting the 1965 Voting Rights Act.

Also: today’s stories, including a look at a new Monitor series on the 100th anniversary of Route 66, and what the famous highway can tell us about American identity; how the Iran war has brought jolting change to the climate-policy debate; and how one woman’s vision for planting magnolias in the 1960s transformed a Boston neighborhood into the spring stunner it is today.

Join the Monitor's Matthew Bell for today's news.

The Trump administration has proposed a massive increase in defense spending for the coming year. It’s heavy on spending for depleted munitions and plunges deep into drones, as “the future of combat.”

Also: today’s stories, including why Israelis want an independent state commission of inquiry to learn the truth about the failure to prevent the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023; how the Iran war is causing shortages of fertilizer in Southeast Asia; and a Monitor contributor’s review of “The Westerners,” a book about the 19th-century American West.

Join the Monitor's Ira Porter for today's news.

I​n 2025, in a notable shift, right-wing extremism was no longer the main driver of political violence in the United States. Violent rhetoric and action seems to be rising against President Donald Trump, his administration, and even corporate America. Our story explores why.

Also: today’s stories, including a look at how some corners of the MAGA movement are questioning official accounts of two suspected assassination attempts on President Trump; how one group that advocates for Muslim women is finding itself caught in the crossfire of the broader debate over a sweeping reform that could redefine India’s approach to religious liberty; and how the security and restoration of the cultural artifacts is a priority for museums in Ukraine after Russian bombardment.

Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.

The Trump administration’s indictment targets the use of informants in extremist groups. The Southern Poverty Law Center, the indictment’s focus, rejects the charges as false and politically motivated. At question: Can ends justify means?

Also: today’s stories, including a look at Gaza’s first municipal election in two decades; why graduate students at Harvard University are on strike; and how one essayist’s visit to a venerable watchmaker brought out stories of timepieces.

Join the Monitor's Kendra Nordin Beato for today's news.

How does a government balance its responsibility to guarantee fair and secure elections with the need to protect citizens’ fundamental right to vote? A voter-roll clean-up in India is sparking allegations of suppression.

Also: today’s stories, including how a federal bailout for Spirit Airlines could save thousands of jobs, but is sparking criticism; how the main dispute between the U.S. and Iran is still Iran’s nuclear program; and how softball allows some women in Mexico to take a break from their traditional Mayan roles and do something just for themselves.

Join the Monitor's Linda Feldmann for today's news.