Newsfeed
From the ground in Kenya to the gold stud in the ear
Artisanal gold miners in Kenya work to extract the shiny metal even though doing so poses serious health risks.
Can the sea’s rise be a language’s demise?
As rising sea levels force migration of people, the languages they speak can get dispersed and die out.
Decoder Replay: Australia waltzes with two superpowers
Australia is its own continent but it has key strategic relationships with two big nations that don’t like each other. Political isolation is not an option.
And the winners are…
Grade inflation. Book and cell phone bans. Sports equity. School diversity. How a small town dealts with a world conference. Our storytelling contest winners.
Universities struggle with the speed of demographic change
In academia, a cookie-cutter approach to teaching and learning doesn’t always work when students come from diverse geographic regions, cultures and ethnicities.
Should getting ahead depend on who you know?
Nepotism has a bad name because it gives an unfair advantage to those with connections. But isn’t it natural to get a helping hand from friends or family?
When that dream job turns into a nightmare
Victims of fake job offers in South Asia find themselves far from home, forced to work digital fraud scams with high ransoms demanded for their freedom.
Eliminating grade inflation isn’t as easy as ABC
Critics of grade inflation argue that it cheats students who work hard for grades. But to others, letters don’t represent the many ways a student can excel.
The silencing of America’s voice leaves journalists abandoned
Reporters in South Asia have risked their lives to report stories for Voice of America. Now, these journalists are left exposed and their stories left untold.
Decoder Replay: What happens when tyrants fall from power?
Around the world we see tyrants rising. Once they hold power it is difficult to unseat them. But their fall often leaves a vacuum and chaos.
To combat obesity, let’s change how we measure ourselves
Obesity wasn’t an epidemic when children and teens spent their days running and playing outside. Maybe we need to get them off screens and on their feet.
Silencing voices by banning books
When groups try to keep books off library shelves, they close off young people to new worlds and perspectives.
A pipeline of prosperity or plunder
Will an oil pipeline that would stretch from Tanzania to Uganda bring wealth to East Africa or is it the same old story of exploitation?
What happens to the ski runs when the snow runs out?
With climate change snow packs are disapearing. If we don’t do something to slow it down, the idea of flying down a mountain will be a thing of the past.
Decoder Replay: China-U.S. animosity goes way back
Interlocking economies have turned China and the United States into powerful frenemies. What happens when the illusion of friendship dissolves?
Can we de-stress from climate change distress?
Earth Day reminds us that we need to take care of the planet. But being the Earth’s caretaker puts a mental burden on us that is difficult to handle.
Can we keep live music venues from dying out?
People spend big on megaconcerts. But the audience for local music is shrinking and local clubs are disappearing.
Giving species the space they need
In Punta San Juan, Peru wildlife researchers are working to help boobies, pelicans, sea lions and other animals to not just survive, but thrive.
When the government tells you that you cannot pray
Restrictions on Muslim festivals in India have turned public prayer into an illegal act.
Can young people save local news?
With journalism organizations struggling, a competition seeks to find and honor young people supporting local newsrooms in their area.
Could Trump’s tariffs end up spurring green innovation?
U.S. trade wars could create new alliances around energy independence, and make fossil fuel investments risky.
Are smartphones at schools all bad?
Across the world, schools are banning phones. But parents want to keep connected to their kids and students and some teachers find they can enhance learning.
The mining of sand scars Kenya’s land
The world’s most consumed natural resource after water fuels global construction. But harvesting it strips riverbanks and lakeshores, destroying ecosystems.
News Decoder helps launch digital student journalism tool
By producing news stories and other content, young people master the gathering, assessing and sharing of factual and verifiable information.
Decoder Replay: Globalization peaked before Trump’s tariffs
Both the Covid pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine disrupted international supply chains. Many thought it was time to bring supplies closer to home.
A tale of two transport systems
In the United States, people are obsessed with cars and highways. In France, a train or bus will get you where you want to go.
The power of posts that tug at your heartstrings
‘Bait-and-switch’ internet scams target us with emotionally-charged posts. But do you know what your friends see when you share those posts with your network?
Top Tips: Why you need to triple check your facts
We all make mistakes but as journalists, we must do everything we can to make sure we report the facts and find the truth.
The one thing that unites French voters
A U.S. student in France wanted to know how French people felt about their government. The common thread he discovered? Mécontentement.
Decoder Replay: The military footprint of the United States
Donald Trump commands some 200,000 U.S.troops in more than 125 military bases in more than 145 countries. Why are they there in the first place?
Decoder: Why some viruses are so difficult to stamp out
We’ve come oh so close to eradicating measles and polio. But more stubborn than the viruses are people who don’t listen to doctors.
When musicians get the blues
Musical artists all over the world suffer from depression and other mental health problems. Can the music industry help them?
Decoder: The Silence of America
As the threat of tyranny rises across the world, the United States has pulled funding of Radio Free Liberty and other networks that broadcast dissident voices.
Too much of what’s healthy can be harmful
We know that consuming a lot of sugar is bad. But what can be wrong with sticking to carrots and celery?
Decoder Replay: A dangerous time for the press
When a journalist traveled from the east to the west of Europe, the level of press freedom was a cultural shock.
As fans flock to women’s football, pay stays out of play
Almost 16 million girls play organized football around the world. Yet most professional players have yet to earn a living wage.
Our navigators in the sea of information
The more confusing the media messages we get, the more we rely on educated journalists to sift through the noise and give us the context we need.
Can fiction help us get to the truth about climate change?
Sometimes, made-up characters can get through to people more effectively than real-life scientists and educators.
Decoder Replay: What stories can teach us about the world
While around the world misinformation and lies abound, in Africa, stories transmit morals, acceptable behavior and universal truths.
Why social media hasn’t ruined our democracy (yet)
Recent elections show that social media can affect political outcomes. A single post can alter public opinion. How does this affect direct democracies?
Surveilled, censored and in jail cells
India might be the world’s largest democracy, but journalists there lack the press protections their counterparts find in smaller democracies.
Decoder: The Paris (Dis)Agreement
A decade ago 195 countries gathered to find a way to slow climate change. Will the United States under Trump crash the “green economy” that the agreement promised?
Decoder: Do fixed borders guarantee peace?
While Russia and Ukraine war over their shared border, two Central Asian nations prove that borders can be changed by mutual agreement.
Decoder Replay: Can France accept its past as an oppressor?
It’s been 60 years since Algeria won freedom. The nation’s former ruler, France, is still struggling with its colonial legacy, national identity and values.
When world leaders descend on your town
Each January, people who live in the small Alpine town of Davos grit their teeth as they play host to the thousands who swarm in for the World Economic Forum.
Decoder: From a cold war to a warm hug
How to get the significance of Donald Trump’s bitterness towards Europe? You have to look at the complicated dance between Russia and the United States.
Top Tips: That info you found. You sure of the source?
It is hard to tell if information has been aggregated when you find it on the Internet. Getting a story right means tracking down the original source.
A taste for the good life
People spend a lot for chocolate in Switzerland. But a willingness to pay up to live well gives the country its distinctive flavour.
Decoder Replay: Why parks are worth more than what they cost
The idea of setting aside land back in 1872 has spread into a movement across the world. When a nation creates a national park, it is a gift to the globe.