The Christian Science Monitor Daily Podcast

Buddy Guy is the last of a long line of blues guitarists – some call him the greatest – who left hardscrabble Southern childhoods for a new life in Chicago. Now 86, he feels like he’s charged with keeping the blues alive. Also: today’s stories, including a fight to kick off the Democratic primary elections, Sri Lanka’s flourishing batik art industry, and why musician Ibrahim Maalouf’s trumpet has four valves, not three. Join the Monitor's Kendra Nordin Beato and Ali Martin for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

Stephanie Hanes reports today – in a story that will wrap up our Daily offering – on a joyful example of business adaptation on a tropical beach. Also: today’s stories, including: Growing threats from North Korea have some in South Korea calling for a nuclear weapons program, House Republicans probe for pandemic answers, and growing interest in Delhi’s historically Muslim neighborhoods. Join the Monitor's Mark Trumbull and Troy Sambajon for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

While nearly half of Americans think that inflation is the country’s top problem, economists believe that such fears are overblown.

Also: today’s stories, including: mutual aid communities in the US, protecting urban oysters and Canadian wilds, and street food that brings communities together in Mexico.

Join the Monitor's Laurent Belsie and Ken Kaplan for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

A bear in Colorado has gone viral by taking hundreds of selfies on a trail camera set up by Boulder’s Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) program. Who knew the local species were using the landscape to create content? Also: today’s stories, including police accountability in Memphis, Ron DeSantis’ approach to environmental challenges, and what Monitor reviewers deem the 10 best books of January. Join the Monitor’s Peter Grier and Clara Germani for today’s news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

Why should the average voter pay attention to the race for chair of the Republican National Committee, or RNC? After all, national party chairs aren’t as powerful as they used to be. Clout has shifted – ironically owing to campaign finance reform – toward wealthy individuals and super political action committees. Also: today’s stories, including Japan and Germany both enhance the role and stature of military power in their diplomatic and security policies, globalization retreats towards protectionism, and food security in Ukraine. Join the Monitor's Linda Feldmann and Ali Martin for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

Earlier this month, Mikaela Shiffrin opened up to The Associated Press. “The only thing I can really guarantee,” she said, “is that at some point it ends, and I’ll have to be the one who takes the defeat.” That might sound remarkably dour from the best skier on the planet, perhaps ever. But it was also quintessential Mikaela Shiffrin. Also: today’s stories, including the ongoing drama of classified documents, recognition of the Senegalese colonial infantry, and a Monitor reporter’s journey to see the northern lights. Join the Monitor's Mark Sappenfield and JJ Wahlberg for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

The Monitor brokers in hope. Some weeks it takes a little extra effort to find some.

But hope finds roots in tragedy. Also: today’s stories, including a look at fair wages for teachers, if global trade is in Cold War 2.0, and an exhibit in Maine displaying an artist’s designs for the performing arts. Join the Monitor's Ali Martin and Sara Lang for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

It was the end of a long reporting day for today’s story on coral reefs when Hayley-Jo Carr, a research scientist with the Perry Institute for Marine Science, suggested we make one more stop off the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, reports Monitor writer Stephanie Hanes. Also: today’s stories, including a portrait of a community experiencing tragedy in Monterey Park, the uncertainty around Western tanks in Ukraine, and scientists replicating corals resilient to climate change. Join the Monitor's Amelia Newcomb and Ken Kaplan for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

During David Crosby’s show at the Troubador in Los Angeles in 2014, a woman in the audience shouted, “I love you!” “In my younger days, I would have followed that call,” quipped the veteran songwriter, a grin visible beneath his famous mustache, shaped like a suitcase handle. He told showgoers that he’d been in love with the same woman for 37 years. Then he dedicated his beloved classic “Guinnevere” to his wife, Jan. Mr. Crosby, who died on Thursday, once told me that love was his main preoccupation as a songwriter. Also: today’s stories, including China’s slowing economic growth and declining population have cast doubt on the country’s rise, tracking down Russian collaborators in Ukraine, and an immigration loophole in parole as one way noncitizens can legally enter the U.S. Join the Monitor's Stephen Humphries and Troy Sambajon for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.

Have you read David Brooks’ latest article in The Atlantic? You should. It’s titled: “Despite Everything You Think You Know, America Is on the Right Track.” One main takeaway is this: It is essential not to mistake social upheaval with national weakness. Also: today’s stories, including a look at Israel facing a constitutional crisis, flood risks in California, and the best ways to help pandemic-era college students. Join the Monitor's Mark Sappenfield and Ali Martin for today's news. You can also visit csmonitor.com/daily for more information.