The Christian Science Monitor Daily Podcast

Amid the tumult of the 2020 post-election period, it’s good to stop and take a moment to remember some of the unsung heroes of the vote. Also: today’s stories, including the effect of withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan, a look at the decline in freshman enrollment in colleges by students of color, and how one woman is bringing the Native perspective back into America’s history. Join the Monitor's Peter Grier and Rebecca Asoulin for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

This week I asked friends and family who are veteran teachers to share what work has been like for them lately. Also: today’s stories, including America’s relationship to truth, Moscow’s approach to pandemic education, and ski resorts trying to avoid going down the slopes. Join the Monitor's Kim Campbell and Noah Robertson for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

“I learned that there are no limits.” Twenty-one year old Chris Nikic became the first person with Down Syndrome to complete the Ironman Triathlon. Also: The need to rebuild the State Department under Biden; more COVID-19 lessons from Europe; and Electoral College reform efforts in Colorado. Join the Monitor's Dave Scott and Molly Jackson for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

In America it seems to be a season of exhaustion. But many Americans are still countering fatigue right now with compassion and the steadiness of persistence. Also: Thai royalists defend king amid protests, digital nomads redefine ‘home,’ and a Black quilter confronts injustice. Join the Monitor's Clay Collins and Eva Botkin-Kowacki for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

In Kenya, a century-old fig tree held its ground in a face-off with a massive new highway project. Also: Trump’s charge of election fraud could linger, Canary islands cope with an influx of immigrants. And please enjoy our book reviews for November. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb and Ken Kaplan for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

It is a trap that White House correspondents risk falling into: claiming to know what President Donald Trump is thinking. We know what he says publicly and sometimes we can deduce his mood. But did the president really think he might win the election? Also: today’s stories, including the divide among where Americans go for facts, how college students are finding relief from the pandemic, and a Black trans man on bringing his community out of the shadows. Join the Monitor's Noelle Swan and Ken Kaplan for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

A year of pandemic and political fatigue has left many of us feeling frayed. But reconnecting with the values that Americans commemorate around Thanksgiving and Veterans Day – gratitude and its offshoot, service – can open the door to new ways of thinking. Also, today’s stories, including: a look at the Senate runoff in Georgia, the recent record-breaking spike in COVID-19 cases in the U.S., and the cease-fire between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Join the Monitor's Eva Botkin-Kowacki and Ken Kaplan for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

Hanging from the 3,000-foot granite wall of El Capitan in Yosemite, Emily Harrington, for a moment, did not think she would make it. About 10 hours later – after more than 21 hours on the rock – Ms. Harrington became the first woman to free-climb the Golden Gate route of El Capitan in one day. Also: today’s stories, including the effects of a blocked presidential transition, what America’s allies want from a Biden administration, and a look what’s gone wrong with polls – and whether it can be fixed. Join the Monitor's Mark Sappenfield and Jessica Mendoza for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

Welcome to the week after election week. Amid car horns and dancing by those celebrating the outcome, all-caps grievance tweets by the defeated incumbent over the weekend, contrasted with an American tradition of accepting election outcomes once a result becomes clear. Also: today’s stories, including the a look at the work of shaping the U.S. post-election political narrative, how Republican women won big, and a solution to a pollution problem that hardly anyone thinks about. Join the Monitor's Clay Collins and Eva Botkin-Kowacki for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.

When a Wisconsin resident’s Biden yard sign was stolen, his neighbor, a Trump supporter, got him a new one. Civility might still survive this fraught moment in American democracy. Also: Europe fights against Islamophobia; a football player takes on racial inequality amidst the pandemic; and Afghan refugees create a taste of home in Malaysia. Join the Monitor's Eva Botkin-Kowacki and Ken Kaplan for today's news. For more information, visit csmonitor.com/daily.