Engage your students with real world, global perspectives for any subject
News Decoder articles go beyond headlines to provide context for the big issues in the news. Our correspondents bring decades of journalistic expertise reporting on major world events to write exclusive news decoders for our youth audience. Student reporters are trained in our Pitch, Report, Draft, Revise methodology to produce balanced, credible and authoritative news content.
Every article includes a list of questions to prompt discussion. Browse our news archive by select category below, or search by keywords.
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Climate Change
Creating a community of podcasters
Andrea Knezevic joins the News Decoder team as it helps launch a project to inspire, train and connect podcasters across Europe.
Decoder: The myth of an international community
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the “international community” stood back. But is there such a thing? What, if anything, can bring the world together?
Listen up Europe
A consortium of audio and journalism organizations join together to create a community of podcasters across Europe.
Where do ideas come from?
A blank page confronts every writer on deadline. Turning that empty space into an article someone might read takes more than simply hitting keys on a keyboard.
For Rohingya in Bangladesh, it’s life in perpetual limbo
Six years after Rohingya fled genocide in Myanmar, a million are still living in a state of legal limbo in Bangladesh. The world seems not to care.
Ukraine
Decoder: The myth of an international community
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the “international community” stood back. But is there such a thing? What, if anything, can bring the world together?
What happens when friendship has no benefits?
The West worries about the bond between Russia and China. But perhaps they should consider the possible consequences if this friendship breaks down.
Painting flowers and dreaming of peace
One Ukrainian journalist in exile sells art to help her colleagues in peril back home as she waits for the war to end.
Decoder: War in Ukraine should have come as no surprise
It was naive to think Russia’s long history as an empire would end peaceably in just two decades. One year after the invasion, our correspondent looks back.
One year into a seemingly endless war, we decode the conflict.
Our correspondents and youth voices tackled many facets of this complicated conflict. We give out the breadth of our Ukraine coverage to help you sort it out.
Technology
Working towards the ultimate source of clean energy
Andrea Kritcher has done something that seemed an impossible dream: Conducted a successful laboratory test that showed that fusion energy could work.
Kenya tries again to digitally register all residents
If a government agency stores the DNA and fingerprints of its residents can it serve them more efficiently or control them more effectively?
On maps, borders pop out. Up above, lines get fuzzy.
Many of the more than five thousand satellites orbiting the earth are capable of producing high-resolution images. International agreements aren’t as clear.
You know who you are. Are biometrics enough to prove it?
New mobile devices accept your face or fingerprint as proof of ID, but many governments require an official card. For many people that’s a problem.
Selling what we search: How SEO puts products on your pages
Algorithms that track the terms we plug into search engines determine what appears on the pages we pull up. Why does that feel so creepy?
Economy
Decoder: What’s the future for the “factory of the world”?
China’s economy steamed along until Covid. But government polices decades old are pulling it down. It might already be past its peak.
Talking truth to power can be scary
A young reporter once exposed the lies of a prime minister. That reporting had global repercussions. Then came the backlash.
Rethinking the economy for the planet
In the fifth of six monthly conversations, three experts ask: can a more equitable global economy help bring about the change needed to cool the Earth?
Britain works to rebuild relationships Brexit severed
Brexit gave the British people independence from Europe. But can the value of national sovereignty be quantified and is it worth more than economic stability?
With an economy in crisis, Sri Lankans migrate out for jobs
An historic number of workers are seeking work in other countries, many of them professionals. Should a nation depend on the export of its human capital?
Personal Reflections
Navigating a world of preconceptions
We carry complicated identities inside us. But others see only the outside and they carry their own biases. That can result in privilege or prejudice.
Global citizenship education is more than just a buzzphrase
Living in a globalized world means appreciating the nuance of diverse perspectives and shared experiences.
The City of Light is momentarily the City of Trash
Think of Paris and your mind brings up the scent of fresh baked baguettes, not the reek of rubbish on the Rue de Rivoli.
Here are lessons I’ve learned from News Decoder
News Decoder has been a return to roots for me — a startup with slim financial returns that belie both its social worth and the joy of working with youth.
I want to be a ‘winner’ who leaves the world a better place
I often wondered what it means to be a ‘winner.’ Now I know a winner sees a problem and, with teamwork, finds solutions.
Health & Wellness
Decoder: What’s the future for the “factory of the world”?
China’s economy steamed along until Covid. But government polices decades old are pulling it down. It might already be past its peak.
Decoder: The world wages war on cancer
Revolutionary new cancer treatments are being tested. But to help people everywhere we will need to also revolutionize health care access.
Navigating a world of preconceptions
We carry complicated identities inside us. But others see only the outside and they carry their own biases. That can result in privilege or prejudice.
Tackling anemia will take more than iron pills
A new study shows that rates of anemia have started to decline. But not for everyone, everywhere. Experts say we need to look at underlying causes.
Talking truth to power can be scary
A young reporter once exposed the lies of a prime minister. That reporting had global repercussions. Then came the backlash.