
Who reports the news? People. And at The Christian Science Monitor, we believe that it’s our job to report each story with a sense of shared humanity. Through conversations with our reporters and editors, we explain the qualities behind our reporting that affect how we approach the news. Behind today’s headlines we find respect, resilience, dignity, agency, and hope. “Why We Wrote This” shows how.... more
| Publishes | Twice monthly | Episodes | 181 | Founded | 5 years ago |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Listeners | Category | News | |||

In our last episode, we spoke with a veteran of Olympics coverage, in Milan for his eighth Games. This week, we sit down with an Olympics rookie, also in Milan, who has brought to bear the reporting skills she honed covering hardball national politic... more
With the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, Mark Sappenfield has now covered eight Olympics. Those include four previous Winter Games – in Salt Lake City, Turin, Vancouver, and Sochi. In this episode, Mark, the Monitor’s global correspondent, joins Kendra Nor... more
For a few generations of newsmakers and newsgatherers, the Monitor Breakfast has been a place to come together over a meal and parse the big issues of the day. In this episode, the host of this storied event joins her predecessor for a conversation a... more
In this episode, Howard LaFranchi, a U.S.-based diplomacy writer for the Monitor who’s also an old Latin America hand, talks about waking to the news of Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela and working through how he could best pitch in on coverag... more
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Why We Wrote This is a smart and informative peek behind the scenes of The Christian Science Monitor’s award winning journalism. I’m a fan.
This “Stronger” series is great if you want to cry in your car on the way to work every morning. Happy tears, mostly!
I love this podcast series! Both Rebecca and her co-host have voices that are so easy to listen to and follow - they pull you through the episodes. Their guests are varied and very intelligent, but most importantly, the co-hosts do great research before each episode so their questions are deep and specific - I feel like they ask just what I would be wondering in the back of my mind. I’m smarter after listening to “It’s About Time” Thank you!
Loving this new podcast — It’s About Time is exactly what I needed to reflect on this time in my life. During the pandemic, time has felt unreal and strange. This podcast has helped me make sense of it and every episode is more fascinating than the last! Highly recommend anyone take a listen.
The episodes on time are amazing because they each deal with some aspect through interviews that inform, enlighten, and entertain, all at the same “time”. So glad to have found Rethinking the News!
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Engaging conversations with reporters and editors illuminate the human stories behind the news, emphasizing respect, resilience, dignity, agency, and hope. The discussions offer insights into the journalistic processes and decisions that shape coverage of current events, encouraging listeners to consider diverse perspectives and the deeper narratives rarely highlighted in mainstream media. Topics span a range of social issues, international affairs, and unique human experiences, making it a valuable resource for those interested in understanding the complexities that underlie today's headlines. This podcast uniquely blends compelling storytelling with analysis, setting it apart from typical news commentary.
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Why We Wrote This launched 5 years ago and published 181 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.
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Recent guests on Why We Wrote This include:
1. Sophie Hills
2. Linda Smith
3. Alexandra Hudson
4. Ryan Lenora Brown
5. Linda Feldmann
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