As COVID-19 vaccines are being rolled out around the world, there’s an unanswered question: Should it be an obligation for all of us to be vaccinated? A man receives a COVID-19 vaccination in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 7 February 2021. (EPA-EFE/ALI HAIDER)...
Russians are keen for change but are not necessarily pinning their hopes on dissident Alexei Navalny as an alternative to Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin, Moscow, Russia, 23 January 2013 (EPA/SERGEI ILNITSKY) Tens of thousands of Russians have taken to the streets in...
Harried journalists often depict complex situations in black and white, and the temptation is especially strong when one is on a bandwagon with reporters convinced of a single narrative. Alexei Navalny has captured the imagination of the West and for many embodies the future of democracy in Russia as an alter-ego to Vladimir Putin. Sarah Lindemann-Komarova has lived in Siberia for 28 years and brings a more nuanced perspective to the story. Little wonder that her article, which notes the skepticism with which many Russians view the Kremlin critic, quickly attracted comments from readers following Navalny’s saga. Ask your students who their political heroes are and why. And who does not like them — and why.
COVID-19 vaccination programs are moving slowly in poor nations, threatening the world’s health and raising risks for rich countries’ economies. From ourworldindata.org Sometime very soon, the world will reach a significant milestone in its battle to...
As nations struggle with the terrible health and economic consequences of COVID-19, the rush is on to roll out vaccines to as many people as possible. Leaders of developed economies might be excused for protecting their citizens above all — if it didn’t mean leaving out masses of people in the Global South. Jeremy Solomons taps official data and experts to spell out the dangers for both poor and rich nations alike if steps are not taken to ensure vaccines reach the four corners of the world. Ask students how they would ensure the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines — and whether they would be willing to help pay for it.
Donald Trump knit close ties with Israel and Saudi Arabia. The new U.S. administration under Joe Biden is reassessing relations with the Middle East. Then U.S. Vice President Joe Biden sits with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before a dinner in...
A pro-democracy movement in South Korea offers lessons to two U.S. social movements — against police brutality and for a defeated ex-president. Black Lives Matter protesters hold their phones aloft in Portland, Oregon, 20 July 2020. (AP Photo/Noah Berger) This story...
Sociologists are the first to admit they are apt to speak their own tongue, so reporting on sociological research can tie even experienced reporters in knots. And high school students are not always interested in events of half a century ago. So it’s a rare pleasure when a student connects a pro-democracy movement in South Korea during the 1960s and ‘70s with social movements in the United States today, and renders sociology understandable to the untrained ear in the process. Christina MacCorkle of The Thacher School takes academic research about a country far from her school’s California campus and connects it to current events in the U.S., using simple language to convey complex academic arguments. Many students are trained to write academic essays, but MacCorkle enlightens those of us outside of academia.
Vladimir Putin has ruled Russia with an iron fist for two decades. Now, dissident Alexei Navalny is testing the Kremlin leader’s enduring grip on power. Demonstrators clash with police during a protest against the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny in...
Threats to nature persist despite global efforts to save our planet. Is it time to get tough and make killing nature an international crime? Amira, a wild baby elephant, is buried after she was caught in a poacher’s trap, Sare, Aceh Besar, Indonesia, 24...
Most students, aware of the devastating effects of climate change, favor stronger protections for nature. But have they considered what course of action might be needed if “‘standard’ save-the-world activities” fail to stir change, to use author Paul Spencer Sochaczewski’s words? Spencer Sochaczewski looks at the gray areas relating to how to protect the environment. His piece encourages students to consider multiple sides to a complex issue, and invites them to consider the motivations and tactics of changemakers outside the mainstream.
In a shift from the Trump administration, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will not tolerate white supremacy, two experts tell a News Decoder webinar. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will strive to restore respect for racial and ethnic diversity in the United States and not...
Overcrowding, a flow of migrants, lack of resources — so many reasons Indigenous communities in Canada and elsewhere are vulnerable to COVID-19. Carol Dube, husband of Joyce Echaquan, is hugged by one of his sons as he breaks down while reading a statement in...
COVID-19 is a monumental news story, and Natasha Comeau has trained her reporting lens on Indigenous communities in Canada to capture a larger truth — that underprivileged peoples around the world are suffering disproportionately from the coronavirus. Her reporting is supported by an interview with an expert who predicted how many ventilators hospitals would need for COVID-19 by studying the H1N1 virus, which struck the United States in 2009. Comeau’s story is an example of how scientific research, on the surface obscure, is actually relevant to everyday concerns. Like MacCorkle, she uses simple language that non-experts can understand, ensuring the piece resonates with a broader audience.
Prisoners run a newspaper from inside a California jail. The monthly raises awareness of social justice issues and offers a new chance to convicts. Jonathan Chiu (Photo by Christie Goshe) This story won a third prize in News Decoder’s Ninth Storytelling Contest....
Elena Towsend-Lerdo introduces us to a convicted murderer who finds redemption at a newspaper run by prisoners in California’s oldest jail. The San Quentin News is online and accessible to readers around the world. Townsend-Lerdo interviews Jonathan Chiu, who was released after serving 16 years of his 50-year sentence, and a journalism professor who trains prisoners, providing first-hand insight into incarceration and rehabilitation. Those are meaty issues, but the student at La Jolla Country Day School avoids sweeping statements to offer us a peek into the U.S. criminal justice system and a unique path to atonement. Who could your students interview to learn about criminal justice?