The Christian Science Monitor Daily Podcast

Today, we’re monitoring two potentially significant moments for President Donald Trump. One is what he calls “Liberation Day,” his expected Rose Garden announcement Wednesday of his tariff strategy. The other: Tuesday’s election results for two Florida congressional districts as well as for Wisconsin’s state Supreme Court. Our other stories include Bitcoin driving cheap green energy production in Kenya, and why dialogue and science give Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed hope for rebuilding Gaza. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

In Washington, the planned sale of Panama Canal ports to an American-led group is largely cast as a sign of expanding U.S. influence in Central America. The Monitor's Ann Scott Tyson looks at how far China is willing to go to protect its geopolitical leverage. Also: today’s stories, including the Trump administration saying it wants to bring back a “warrior ethos” to the Pentagon, France's far-right leader, Marine Le Pen, being barred from public office for the next five years, and domestic workers in Lebanon who are trying to get out of the “kafala,” or sponsor, system. Join the Monitor's Christa Case Bryant for today's news.

Syria’s Alawite ethnic minority consider March 7 the start of a genocidal campaign. To the Sunni majority, it marked operations to quash a coup. While regaining trust won’t be easy, preventing more violence will be a key test for the new Syria.

Also: today’s stories, including whether Democrats can make inroads in Florida amidst increasing polarization; a look at mass protests and mounting arrests in Turkey’s main cities after the arrest of Istanbul’s Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, an opposition leader and a key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; and how one volcanic island may save an at-risk banana crop.

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

At a time when it seems too easy to pigeonhole people with expectations that are too narrow or just plain wrong, Ken Makin’s column on Jackie Robinson is a great example of digging deeper to see a larger wholeness. Today’s stories include how a new US manufacturing boom may bring more AI, not more jobs; whether Europe can confront Russia without US help; and, in post-Assad Syria, a new sense of freedom suffusing this Ramadan. Join the Monitor's Mark Sappenfield for today's news.

Senior Trump administration officials used a commercial messaging app to discuss secret military attacks, including sensitive information that could have threatened the lives of troops abroad. Calls for accountability are coming from both sides of the aisle.

Also: today’s stories, including Israeli protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; the rights of animals and the environment, from Mexico to Nepal; and a look into a New York restaurant staffed by a rotating cast of “Nonnas of the World.”

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

Yarmouk refugee camp has been called home by displaced Palestinians in Syria since 1957. The Monitor’s Taylor Luck shares the story of the part it plays in Syrian Palestinians’ sense of belonging to a Palestine they have never seen. Also: today’s stories, including the fracturing of South Sudan’s power-sharing agreement as unease grows, how the cuts to Social Security operations are challenging Americans’ views more broadly of what the government should and can do, and why a Wisconsin state Supreme Court race is shattering records already. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

Today, we have two stories that give clear evidence of how fundamentally important education is to a society’s well-being and continuous development. Also, our stories include why extreme violence in the US has police trying new tactics, why Africans taking a shine to basketball is good for the NBA, and a fuller portrait of artist-provocateur Yoko Ono. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.

Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are drawing crowds on Mr. Sanders’ Fighting Oligarchy tour. His message may not resonate with everyone, and many Americans still view achieving wealth as part of the American dream. But with much of the Democratic Party grasping for a strategy and a message, it’s telling that Mr. Sanders is stepping up, and striking a chord.

Also: today’s stories, including a look ahead at former president Jair Bolsonaro’s legal battle in Brazil after being charged with plotting a coup; the legacy of Voice of America in the former Soviet Union; and how one library and opera house straddling the U.S.-Canada border is coping with tense U.S.-Canada relations.

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

The collapse of the Gaza ceasefire has meant the resumption of deadly airstrikes and an Israeli ground offensive. Ghada Abdulfattah looks at how Palestinians are wondering if the world has turned its back. Also: today’s stories, including how a potential U.S. mineral deal has revitalized confidence in Ukraine’s mineral-rich heartland, why Apple TV+ series “Severance” resonates, and why Erdogan is going after Istanbul’s mayor three years before the next election. Join the Monitor's Mark Sappenfield for today's news.

In a tense town hall on Tuesday night just outside of Washington, D.C., voter after voter pressed Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey over what they saw as his party’s failure to leverage the threat of a government shutdown against Republicans’ funding bill.

Also: today’s stories, including how local civil society organizations are providing municipal services and keeping the peace in Syria; how power needs in Virginia’s “Data Center Alley” are running up against residences and farms in Maryland; and a look at Maine’s Monhegan Island as a portrait of resilience.

Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb for today's news.