The Christian Science Monitor Daily Podcast

The Trump administration is seeking to fast-track deportations. One tactic: Lawyers for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement terminate people’s cases in immigration court. Then ICE officers arrest them there. Today's stories also include more Filipinas choosing to be child-free, a Nigerian nonprofit bringing former foes together, and U.S. student loan borrowers facing turmoil. Join the Monitor's Christa Case Bryant for today's news.

A new regional alignment of in the Middle East, signalling a shift in power away from Iran’s weakened Axis of Resistance. Moderate Sunnis now have friendly governments in Beirut, Damascus, and Baghdad, creating an “Axis of Cooperation.”

Also: today’s stories, including a look at current strains on and shortages faced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); how USAID cuts have affected governments in Central America; and why some teachers are once again turning to blue books in the classroom.

Join the Monitor's Clay Collins for today's news.

Aid groups are unloading food and other critical supplies in the Gaza Strip, after a monthslong blockade that has put children at risk of famine. Also: today’s stories, including a deadlocked Supreme Court rejecting religious charter schools, the Harvard community rallying despite Trump funding cuts, and the 10 best books of May. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

Fourteen years of civil war and five decades of dictatorship left Syria cut off from the global financial system. The Monitor's Taylor Luck reports on how, as the Middle Eastern country is taking its first meaningful steps toward a more democratic form of governance, an economic spring is starting to bloom. Also: today’s stories, including French cinema beginning to reconcile with its decades-long problem of ignoring sexual violence, how the Department of Justice is seeking friendly courtrooms in its pursuit of President Donald Trump’s deportation goals, and how the end of the academic year has brought a crescendo of laws in the U.S. aimed at restricting cellphone use in K-12 schools. Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.

In its newly intensified Gaza operation, is Israel aiming for territorial conquest or to apply political pressure on Hamas? The Monitor’s Dina Kraft reports on how the goals of Israel’s renewed Gaza offensive are unclear, even to Israelis. Also: today’s stories, including how Indigenous groups in Brazil are using virtual reality to reclaim their stories, an interview with George Floyd’s family lawyer, and how technology and teamwork are showing promise for the few remaining North Atlantic right whales. Join the Monitor's Linda Feldmann for today's news.

After George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer on May 25, 2020, many Americans started to reexamine their communities and themselves. In Kansas City, Missouri, residents still confront a wall of racial separation, but haven’t given up on progress. Also: today’s stories, including a gang-member-turned-tour-guide in Nairobi, military parents suing over a DEI purge at their kids’ schools, and Pakistan’s Islamic boarding schools under scrutiny. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

Previous presidents have called the military to the southern border of the United States to support immigration agencies. The Monitor's Sarah Matusek and Riley Robinson report on how the Trump administration’s expansion of the military’s role at the border raises a mixture of hope, distrust, and uncertainty. Also: today’s stories, including what could emerge from foreign influence as frustration rises in Syria's Daraa Province, Bangladesh's efforts to protect minority rights amid sectarian divides, and an exploration of Malcolm X's legacy of inspiration ahead of his 100th birthday commemoration. Join the Monitor's Clay Collins for today's news.

Today’s Monitor episode features a report from President Trump’s Mideast trip, a look at how students are helping rebuild Bangladesh, and more. Join Managing Editor Kurt Shillinger for this episode.

On the front lines of the war in Ukraine, Ukrainian soldiers have little faith in the diplomatic peace process. Dominique Soguel looks at how they feel it is up to them to safeguard their country. Also: today’s stories, including how American universities are increasingly turning to tuition-free models and income-based plans, how Donald Trump’s unpredictability is worrying Israel’s leadership, and how California inmates are trying to improve mental health, peer-to-peer. Join the Monitor's Kurt Shillinger for today's news.

The scope of abuse at France’s Notre-Dame de Bétharram school has shocked the public. But the survivors of the violence are taking the opportunity to reclaim their agency and force change in the private school system. Today’s stories also cover Florida’s ‘army’ of immigration enforcers, South Africa’s ‘soccer grannies,’ and an environmental crisis in an Alabama county that fought for civil rights. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.