Monocle Radio (December 26, 2024): As the festive season continues, Christopher Cermak is joined by the Monocle team to review the year in food and culture. Plus: we reflect on a remarkable past 12 months in aviation.
Tag Archives: Opinion
The New York Times —- Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024
How Drone Fever Spread Across New Jersey and Beyond
The first sighting was at a military site in New Jersey, then the phenomenon spread into neighboring states. Government assurances that most “drones” were not drones at all have not tamped down curiosity.
Trump Will Confront a More Vulnerable but Determined Iran
“Coercive diplomacy” could leave Tehran to choose either a negotiated disassembly of its nuclear capability, or a forced one.
Fighting to Avoid Her Mother’s Fate, for Her Daughters’ Sake
A mutant gene is coming to steal Linde Jacobs’s mind. Can she find a way to stop it?
Bath & Body Works Needs Holiday Shoppers. Do New Scents Draw Them In?
Every year, Bath & Body Works introduces a scent that it hopes will break through during the shopping season. It doesn’t have to smell like gingerbread.
News: Geopolitics Of Year 2024, Rival Factions Unite Under Syria Rebel Leader
MONOCLE RADIO (December 24, 2024): As we draw nearer to the close of 2024, Christopher Cermak is joined by Nina dos Santos and a host of other regional specialists to review an unprecedented year in geopolitics.
The New York Times —- Tuesday, December 24, 2024
Biden Commutes 37 Death Sentences Ahead of Trump’s Plan to Resume Federal Executions
Those affected by the president’s action on Monday are still subject to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Three men will remain on federal death row.
House Ethics Panel Report Accuses Gaetz of ‘Regularly’ Paying for Sex and Using Drugs
The Florida Republican resigned from the House and withdrew as Donald J. Trump’s attorney general pick in the weeks before the report’s release.
The New Climate Gold Rush: Scrubbing Carbon From the Sky
Investors are betting that they can make a dent in global warming, and healthy profits, with companies that alter the atmosphere.
They Entered Treatment. Drugs, Overdoses and Deaths Followed.
Baltimore addiction programs draw patients with free housing while collecting millions. Some say one company offered little help.
The New Yorker Magazine Dec. 30, 2024 & Jan. 6, 2025

The New Yorker (December 23, 2024): Diana Ejaita’s “Midnight Moments” – The magical blur of New Year’s Eve.
How Much Does Our Language Shape Our Thinking?
English continues to expand into diverse regions around the world. The question is whether humanity will be homogenized as a result. By Manvir Singh
Alice Munro’s Passive Voice
The celebrated writer’s partner sexually abused her daughter Andrea. The abuse transformed Munro’s fiction, but she left it to Andrea to confront the true story. By Rachel Aviv
Is There Any Escape from the Spotify Syndrome?
The history of recorded music is now at our fingertips. But the streamer’s algorithmic skill at giving us what we like may keep us from what we’ll love. By Hua Hsu
News: Russia-Ukraine War Negotiations Begin, Flight MH370 Search, Geopolitics
Monocle Radio Podcast (December 23, 2024): We hear the latest from the war on Ukraine as Olga Tokariuk joins Emma Nelson from Chernivtsi. Plus: the search for flight MH370 continues and best-selling author Tim Marshall joins Andrew Mueller to discuss what goes into a decent quiz about geopolitics.
The New York Times —- Monday, December 23, 2024
Germany Tries to Untangle Complex Profile of Market Attack Suspect
The authorities said they were struggling to understand the motives behind ramming a car into a Christmas market in the eastern city of Magdeburg, which left a 9-year-old boy among the five dead.
From Liberal Icon to MAGA Joke: The Waning Fortunes of Justin Trudeau
Canada’s prime minister gained global renown 10 years ago for his unabashedly progressive politics. But at home, voters turned sour on him long ago.
Behold! ‘Christmas Adam’ Is Born.
First there was Christmas Eve … and then a new celebration was created.22h agoBy Elizabeth Dias
Foreign Affairs Magazine: The Best Essays Of 2024

FOREIGN AFFAIRS MAGAZINE (December 22, 2024): The top essays of the year include…
The Self-Doubting Superpower
By Fareed Zakaria
America shouldn’t give up on the world it made.
Why Gaza Matters
By Jean-Pierre Filiu
Since antiquity, the territory has shaped the quest for power in the Middle East.
Israel’s Self-Destruction
By Aluf Benn
Netanyahu, the Palestinians, and the price of neglect.
Russia Is Burning Up Its Future
By Andrei Kolesnikov
How Putin’s pursuit of power has hollowed out the country and its people.
The Trouble With “the Global South”
By Comfort Ero
What the West gets wrong about the rest.
The New York Times — Sunday, December 22, 2024
Deception and Betrayal: Inside the Final Days of the Assad Regime
President Bashar al-Assad, who wielded fear and force over Syria for more than two decades, fled the country under the cover of night — and a fake political address.
Biden Administration Weighs Putting Up Roadblocks to Trump’s Deportation Campaign
The administration may extend protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants whose legal status is set to expire near the start of the Trump administration.
3-Minute Christmas Market Rampage Shakes Germany
At least five people, including a 9-year-old child, were killed in the attack, which took place in the eastern city of Magdeburg. The authorities are still seeking a motive.
Death on the Night Shift at Frozen Pizza Factories in Chicago
Undocumented workers help feed America’s hunger for prepared foods, but some take jobs with staffing agencies that expose them to hazardous conditions.
The New York Times —- Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024
Congress Approves Spending Extension, Ending Shutdown Crisis
The Senate passed the measure, sending it to President Biden’s desk, shortly after the midnight deadline for funding to lapse.
Insurers Are Deserting Homeowners as Climate Shocks Worsen
Without insurance, it’s impossible to get a mortgage; without a mortgage, most Americans can’t buy a home.
Weight Loss Drugs Changed Their Lives. Then They Lost Coverage.
In Michigan, the state’s largest insurer has tightened restrictions around medications like Wegovy. Patients are panicking.
Al-Assad’s Soldiers Hope for Amnesty. First, They Have to Take a Number.
Syria’s new rulers say they will spare conscripts of Bashar al-Assad and pursue those who oversaw his regime’s abuses. Hundreds are lining up to learn which promise applies to them.