by Helen Womack | 27 Oct 2025 | Music, Politics, Russia, Ukraine
When a Russian pop star told the world, and Putin, that the Ukraine war must end, she had to go into exile. But her message went out. Russian President Vladimir Putin and singer Alla Pugacheva at an awards ceremony in the Kremlin in Moscow, December 2014. (Credit:...
by Tauseef Ahmad and Sajid Raina | 20 Oct 2025 | Culture, Environment, Human Rights
After devasting floods in Pakistan, desperate parents are marrying off their daughters. In extreme circumstances, child marriage becomes a means of survival. A young woman wears a bridal gown. (Illustration by News Decoder) This article was produced exclusively for...
by Marcy Burstiner | 14 Oct 2025 | Art, Culture
The MacArthur Foundation selects a diverse group of people for an award dubbed the “genius grants”. In doing so they help us redefine our measure of success. Basket artist Jeremy Frey. (Photo courtesy of the MacArthur Foundation) So many people are brought...
by Jeremy Solomons | 13 Oct 2025 | Culture, Human Rights
Around the world we see LGBTQ rights challenged, attacked and denied. But in parts of Africa, Queer advocates say perspectives are changing. Queer activist/educator Kevin Ngabo (right) and human rights advocate Egide Habinshuti at a Youth Pride event in Kigali,...
by Andrea Knezevic | 11 Sep 2025 | Culture, News Decoder Updates, Personal Reflections, WePod
Bring people who speak different languages and come from different cultures into the same project and things can get messy. But the results are worth it. People around a table offer ideas in different languages. (Illustration by News Decoder) This article was produced...
by Francesco Locane | 18 Aug 2025 | Culture, Health and Wellness, Italy, Music
In a small town in Northern Italy, young people transform discarded materials into musical instruments to bridge social barriers. Drums made out of discarded material. (Photo courtesy of Banda Rulli Frulli) This article was produced exclusively for News Decoder’s...
by Alexander Nicoll | 31 Jul 2025 | Culture, Journalism, Media Literacy
With AI taking over much of what we do, will people still value works created purely from one person’s brain? Is creativity worth anything anymore? Edgar Allen Poe considers using AI to write a poem. (Illustration by News Decoder) I have written the piece that...
by News Decoder | 30 Jul 2025 | Music, News Decoder Tips, Podcasts, WePod
To give your podcast a unique identity you need to create a “rhythm of narration.” Sound Director Luca Micheli gives us advice on what it takes to do that. A keyboard, birds, cymbals and a cricket representing some sounds and effects used in podcasts....
by Garrett Purchio | 29 Jul 2025 | Culture, Education, Media Literacy
You might picture stacks of dust-covered books. But nowadays knowledge comes in all kinds of forms — and libraries are adapting to meet that challenge. Jacky Salas Haro uses the anatomage table at the Cal Poly Humboldt Library’s Hall of Simulation during an...
by Leah Pattem | 30 Jun 2025 | Culture, Economy, Spain
Across the globe, tourist hubs are losing their love for the visitors who throng to them. Can an equilibrium be reached? Graffiti on a garage reads “Tourism Kills the City”. (Credit: Leah Pattem) This article was produced exclusively for News Decoder’s...