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
Deforestation in Sierra Leone: Hills slide and people die
Overdevelopment has caused so much destruction. It is time to replant the trees we have cut down and be better stewards of our land.
A new forum for climate change discussions
With an emphasis on solutions to the environmental crisis, Ecologues creates a much-needed space to debate and educate.
Decoder: World Bank is key to averting climate catastrophe
We need to mitigate climate change for developing countries who have done comparatively little to harm the planet. Is there cash in the bank for that?
In pursuit of environmental justice at the second Ecologues discussion
The second of six monthly climate conversations, the event brought together three voices from education, activism and storytelling.
Climate change is stressing us out. Can good come of that?
Anxiety about the fate of the planet is harming the mental health of young people. Can we help them funnel their frustration into a force for change?
Ukraine
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.
Decoder: The most effective tool bolstering Ukrainian unity
As the Russian invasion of Ukraine ends its first year, the Kremlin might like to reflect on what this has done for Ukrainian national identity .
War in Ukraine: Where religion and politics mix and clash
Orthodox Christians find themselves in a tug of war in Ukraine. When you celebrate Christmas is political and the language of prayer belies national loyalties.
Could Ukraine war spread to space and endanger satellites?
Despite conflicts on Earth, satellites orbit in peace. But use of Elon Musk’s Starlink to aid Ukraine has Russia looking to the sky with hostile eyes.
Technology
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.
When the lights black out, the night sky turns on
Light pollution interferes with the breeding patterns of animals and insects. How can we look to the stars if we can’t even see them?
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
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?
Decoder: When protecting the environment makes more cents
The planet’s largest coral reef system isn’t just an endangered world wonder. For Australia, it is a key to the country’s economic growth.
Baguette me not: Energy costs endanger beloved boulangeries
The Ukraine war has caused energy prices to skyrocket across Europe. In France, if costs don’t go down soon, some bakers might have to shut their doors.
When nations go deep in debt, it’s one giant I.O.U.
If you owe too much money and can’t repay it, you could lose your car or home. Can a nation owe too much money? What happens then?
It’s too early to close the crypt on cryptocurrency
The collapse of several big players last year raised questions about the survival of cryptocurrency. But let’s not dig the grave yet on digital currency.
Personal Reflections
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.
Home away from home in Spain, my clandestine paradise
It’s the serenity and commotion that I love about Spain. I must seize the day because I will never again be 17 running around a Spanish city I love.
When the going gets tough, don’t hesitate to seek help
When the language of instruction in Rwanda shifted from French to English, I stumbled academically. My father taught me to ask for help when in a jam.
Health & Wellness
Student athletes face added pressure to succeed
Extracurricular activities and sports can help students gain admission to university. But is the need to ace exams and win one for the team too much pressure?
The chaotic new world of abortion access
If you are in need of an abortion in the United States, you might have to travel cross the country to get one. Or a clinic could be just blocks away.
We trust that medical implants are safe
I had five screws implanted in my back at age 13. Then I learned of devices implanted without proper tests. Can we know if medical procedures are safe?
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?
In food deserts, residents thirst for healthy eats
People of lesser means have few food buying choices where they live, while supermarkets seem to crop up where markets already thrive. Can we change that?
