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Decoder: Are treaties worth the paper they are signed on?
When nations sign treaties they volunteer to abide by certain terms. But what, if anything, happens if they break those agreements?
Top Tips: Are your sources reliable?
You can interview any number of people for a news story. But how many of them know what they’re talking about and won’t steer you wrong with bad information?
Call an ambulance! But be ready to pay.
In India, a private ambulance service is filling a need in a country with a dire shortage of emergency medical services. But should there be profit in that?
A decade waking teens up to the world around them.
For 10 years News Decoder has engaged teens through experiential learning and connecting them with people who have been eyewitnesses to world events.
Top Tips: Cross platforms to reach a wider audience
Audiences are spread far and wide and get their information from all kinds of sources. How can your story catch their eyes and ears?
Do we still value original thought?
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?
Can you make your podcast sound great?
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.
At the library you can take out a book … or dissect a body?
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.
School closed on account of … war
Some 90 million students across the globe lose their access to education, not from snow or hurricanes, but from the political storms that rage around them.
Top Tips: Can the information you share be trusted?
To convince readers you need to base your articles on facts you get from researching the story. But to trust the information you find, you’ll need a system for verification.
An award recognizes the importance of youth journalism
In the midst of funding cuts by the U.S. government of public media, a PBS youth journalism project is awarded an international prize for outstanding achievement.
Decoder Replay: Is peace in the Middle East even possible?
It is difficult to undo almost eight decades of hostility. To understand what’s happening now in Gaza you have to go back to the creation of the Israeli state.
What’s not talked about when you live overseas
Racial bias isn’t readily apparent in Latvia. But simply how you use your voice can set you apart as a foreigner.
Sharing is good, except when it isn’t
Sometimes we feel compelled to share or repost what we read. But you might unwittingly be spreading disinformation. Beware of “copypasta.”
Top Tips: Make your voice heard
It is tiresome hearing ignorant people spout off. But if you base your opinions on facts and knowledge, people will hear what you have to say.
Exploring the diversity of people the world over
News Decoder’s summer intern, Hannah Choo, believes that differences between cultures should be appreciated, not feared.
Decoder Replay: Let’s celebrate Mandela Day
On July 18, the world celebrates the birthday of Nelson Mandela and his legacy of determination that oppression can be overcome.
Finally, a focus on freshwater fish
Fish are disappearing in an African lake that feeds the people of four countries. Freshwater lakes may not be as vast as oceans but they are just as important.
Top Tips: Take photos that stand out
Anyone can snap a photo. But taking one that captures the heart of a story? That takes more effort and care. Here’s some advice to get you started.
Decoder Replay: How important could one court be?
Nine justices hold seats on the U.S. Supreme Court In their hands lie fundamental questions of liberty, equity and who has the right to American citizenship.
How worried are we about the future? Let’s quantify it.
The “fear index” measures the ups and downs of the stock market. That often mirrors how we feel about the economy, and world.
A decade connecting young people to the world they live in
For News Decoder 10th anniversary, we look at how we’ve worked with schools to help teens find coherence out of the chaos of their times.
Can a podcast cross borders?
Getting one person to listen to your podcast is hard enough. But how to make one that can travel across borders? That was the task WePod took on.
Decoder Replay: Is truth self-evident?
Every July 4 the United States celebrates its Declaration of Independence. But behind its “self-evident” truths was a load of hypocrisy.
Tourists love Spain. But the feeling isn’t mutual.
Across the globe, tourist hubs are losing their love for the visitors who throng to them. Can an equilibrium be reached?
Top Tips: What does it mean to be an ethical journalist?
We live in an age of disinformation. But most journalists try hard to report the truth without being sneaky or causing harm in the process. They follow a code.
People don’t know you. But do you know yourself?
When we compare ourselves to others we feel lesser. But it is what makes you different that people will appreciate. Embrace what really makes you you.
Decoder Replay: Do the Geneva Conventions still have force?
Israel strikes crowds at food distribution sites. Russia bombs cities in the Ukraine war. Can we not hold nations to account?
Can Kenya keep a small moth from doing a lot of damage?
Kenyan roses are prized for their beauty. The flower industry employs thousands of people there. But just one insect can upend all that.
Can you eliminate a gender gap by segregating genders?
Around the world, data shows that girls do better in school when there are no boys in the class.
Top Tips: To err is human
Everyone makes mistakes. To be credible you have to fess up when you get things wrong. Doing so doesn’t make you look bad. It shows you care about the truth.
Decoder: Great Britain aches with the chronic pain of Brexit
It was thought that the Labour Party would bring stability to the UK after a spate of political chaos. But problems there are thorny, and the public? Not happy.
Decoder Replay: Can you rein in bad nations without war?
Countries are increasingly using sanctions, including travel bans, to bring rogue players into line. But history tells us that they don’t really work.
Where sharks are prey
All parts of a shark can be eaten. Some parts are worth a whole lot of money and that makes them hunted and endangered. Can sharks and shark eaters coexist?
Designed in California but made … all over the world
Many people in the United States feel they can’t live without an iPhone. But its global components have put it is at the heart of an international trade battle.
Top Tips: To write about what’s new, look to the past
Things don’t happen in a vacuum. If we understand how we got here, we might see ways out of the mess we’re in. A little history adds a whole lot of context.
With a passport, you should be able to vacation abroad. No?
Tens of thousands of people pay good money for tourist visas to Western countries. But the odds of getting that passport stamp are getting worse.
Decoder Replay: Is U.S. democracy in a deathward spiral?
Half a century ago, Richard Nixon plunged the U.S. into a constitutional crisis. The crisis under Trump feels much worse.
When a snake bites, sometimes traditional medicine won’t do the trick
In India, traditional medicine seems to cure most snake bites. But most snakes there aren’t venomous. When they are, that’s a different story.
First a drought, then the flood
Kenya has been hit with a whiplash of extreme weather and government help for recovery has eluded many at the bottom level of the income stream.
The war in Gaza is a test for humanity
Standing by while a whole people gets massacred doesn’t absolve countries of their responsibility in that. There is complicity in silence.
The guardians of the exosphere
Some 10,000 U.S. soldiers protect weather balloons and navigation and spy satellites from threats from above. It isn’t the only space force out there.
Here’s to 10 years! And many more.
As News Decoder celebrates its 10th birthday, the need for young people to appreciate different perspectives and be globally aware is more pressing than ever.
Let press freedom ring
In only a handful of countries are journalists supported, protected and generally trusted. We need to change that.
For women athletes, world recognition is a long time coming
From Olympic racers to WNBA ballers, women are now getting the fandom and respect they have long deserved. For girls getting into the game? It’s just a start.
Top Tips: Be naive
When you ask questions about problems people have long accepted you come across as naive. Own that.
The politics of representation
Voters in the U.S. state of Delaware elected someone to Congress because of issues they care about. The gender of that person at birth was not one of them.
Decoder Replay: Spain tries to rein in housing costs
With housing prices at sky-high levels, people in Spain say it is time for their government to take action. Governments elsewhere are taking notice.
With no warning
As the planet heats up and extreme weather events get more common, the United States slashes funding to its weather services. What does that mean for the world?
Music as the lifeblood of a nation
Inside one of Italy’s quietly radical institutions, musicians and educators reshape how we hear — and understand — a nation’s soundscape.