How to be informed without going mad?
November 9, 2021 2:24 AM Subscribe
I am looking to to improve my news/media diet to facilitate a less stressful life.
For various reasons it is important for me to be reasonably informed about the events around the world. Many years now I have skimmed through the headlines, random articles from many different sources and used twitter to do that. Lately increasingly I get a feeling that this approach to news/media is actually making my life worse and does not actually provide insight into the issues. So I have been looking for ways to change that (so far no success).
Ideally, I would like a source (podcast, newsletter etc) that would provide me a quick overview of the most important things (10-20min) and the a weekly or bi-weekly magazine/paper/something that has well-written in-depth analytical articles about the current issues (something like the articles about politics, current issues, history in the New Yorker).
Added difficulty: I would like to be informed about the issues around the world, US being only one region.
Is this possible? Any advice/opinion would be appreciated.
For various reasons it is important for me to be reasonably informed about the events around the world. Many years now I have skimmed through the headlines, random articles from many different sources and used twitter to do that. Lately increasingly I get a feeling that this approach to news/media is actually making my life worse and does not actually provide insight into the issues. So I have been looking for ways to change that (so far no success).
Ideally, I would like a source (podcast, newsletter etc) that would provide me a quick overview of the most important things (10-20min) and the a weekly or bi-weekly magazine/paper/something that has well-written in-depth analytical articles about the current issues (something like the articles about politics, current issues, history in the New Yorker).
Added difficulty: I would like to be informed about the issues around the world, US being only one region.
Is this possible? Any advice/opinion would be appreciated.
My 40-something son 'takes' The Economist as paper and passes batches of old copies on to me. They are readable and informative about current affairs, science and The Arts. Anonymous by-lines is a positive feature.
Die Welt and other national newspapers of record in English. Euronews.
posted by BobTheScientist at 3:35 AM on November 9, 2021
Die Welt and other national newspapers of record in English. Euronews.
posted by BobTheScientist at 3:35 AM on November 9, 2021
It probably wouldn’t be enough on its own, but the Future Crunch newsletter features a wide selection of links to international news which is all good, positive, hopeful - which makes for a nice change from the usual. (I think I learned of it via a previous Ask, so thanks to whoever answered that.)
The New York Review of Books is bi-weekly and, among many other things, has long articles about news-y topics. Mostly US or Middle East focused though. The London Review of Books is similar, that focus aside. Both a bit more to the left than the Economist.
posted by fabius at 5:42 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
The New York Review of Books is bi-weekly and, among many other things, has long articles about news-y topics. Mostly US or Middle East focused though. The London Review of Books is similar, that focus aside. Both a bit more to the left than the Economist.
posted by fabius at 5:42 AM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
The Economist is the best source for world news, but be warned: it is extremely transphobic.
posted by sevensnowflakes at 5:51 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by sevensnowflakes at 5:51 AM on November 9, 2021
Things I have done in the last 5 years to make my brain feel better include:
Never, ever being on twitter
Quitting Facebook forever
Reading headlines only on the major news outlets that I find tolerable (NYT, The Guardian - with major reservations about its transphobia, CBC, a couple of hyperlocal outlets)
Never ever reading opinion pieces by pundits, which are the worst thing about NYT and the Guardian, and, I assume, elsewhere
Not owning a TV and never listening to talk radio of any kind (Democracy Now used to give me heart palpitations, not kidding)
Reading Metafilter but staying out of the doom threads
Am I Less Informed than I used to be? Somehow no, I am trying to keep information out of my brain but it arrives anyhow. Do I feel better in my body and do I have energy for the people and places and causes that are important to me? Yes, more than I would if I was still trying to drink from the firehose.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:22 AM on November 9, 2021 [10 favorites]
Never, ever being on twitter
Quitting Facebook forever
Reading headlines only on the major news outlets that I find tolerable (NYT, The Guardian - with major reservations about its transphobia, CBC, a couple of hyperlocal outlets)
Never ever reading opinion pieces by pundits, which are the worst thing about NYT and the Guardian, and, I assume, elsewhere
Not owning a TV and never listening to talk radio of any kind (Democracy Now used to give me heart palpitations, not kidding)
Reading Metafilter but staying out of the doom threads
Am I Less Informed than I used to be? Somehow no, I am trying to keep information out of my brain but it arrives anyhow. Do I feel better in my body and do I have energy for the people and places and causes that are important to me? Yes, more than I would if I was still trying to drink from the firehose.
posted by Lawn Beaver at 7:22 AM on November 9, 2021 [10 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for the advice!
I tried The Economist at one point but it doesn't really fit my lefty needs. At least a few years ago, it reported events outside of 'the west' very poorly I felt. And it seemed it never even considers anything beyond capitalism and all its 'necessary evils'.
posted by sharksmile at 7:43 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
I tried The Economist at one point but it doesn't really fit my lefty needs. At least a few years ago, it reported events outside of 'the west' very poorly I felt. And it seemed it never even considers anything beyond capitalism and all its 'necessary evils'.
posted by sharksmile at 7:43 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
Then you may be a Mother Jones reader. Unfortunately, their magazine only comes out every other month.
posted by Rash at 8:09 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Rash at 8:09 AM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
A little more frequent: the Counterpunch newsletter comes out every month. I first noticed it because some kind subscriber would leave their copy in the coffee shop.
posted by Rash at 8:14 AM on November 9, 2021
posted by Rash at 8:14 AM on November 9, 2021
I've been working on this too. Staying off social media and the argumentative parts of Reddit is definitely a good start.
A lot of people don't like TV news in general, but I feel like the first 10-15 minutes of the 6:30pm national news programs generally give a pretty good overview of the major America-centric news stories.
I like basically the first half of PBS NewsHour. I might turn it off when they get into the roundtable discussion portion of the show. It can be streamed online live or any time later.
I prefer NBC or CBS over ABC there. So on a given evening, depending on my mood I'll either put on PBS NewsHour or NBC/CBS national news.
posted by wondermouse at 11:13 AM on November 9, 2021
A lot of people don't like TV news in general, but I feel like the first 10-15 minutes of the 6:30pm national news programs generally give a pretty good overview of the major America-centric news stories.
I like basically the first half of PBS NewsHour. I might turn it off when they get into the roundtable discussion portion of the show. It can be streamed online live or any time later.
I prefer NBC or CBS over ABC there. So on a given evening, depending on my mood I'll either put on PBS NewsHour or NBC/CBS national news.
posted by wondermouse at 11:13 AM on November 9, 2021
Le monde diplomatique is a great monthly newspaper with spectacular context, history, and maps - and it’s got an explicitly left political lens instead of that view-from-nowhere neoliberal orthodoxy The Economist has going on.
posted by congen at 12:22 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by congen at 12:22 PM on November 9, 2021 [1 favorite]
I really enjoy NextDraft, an emailed newsletter with short summaries and clickable links if you care to know more. Certainly US-centric with regard to politics, but not completely.
posted by SinAesthetic at 12:22 PM on November 9, 2021
posted by SinAesthetic at 12:22 PM on November 9, 2021
I don't believe that my preferences at the ballot box have impact on our democratic society in the way I'm promised they should. I breathe, this is okay.
I read news to hear what has happened, but we live in traumatic times and the progress we're supposed to be gaining is also many steps backward. I breathe, this isn't just the 'courage to change things' or the 'patience to endure things', it's 'gravity dragging things backward' and we endure it. We shall overcome it -- together we shall overcome it.
In the UK, BBC World Service covers the globe relatively well. Delayed Gratification is a quarterly summary published at slow-journalism.com with delightful infographics and a subscription service. It has a tag-line "last to breaking news" to dispel the frenzy of the news cycle.
posted by k3ninho at 4:44 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
I read news to hear what has happened, but we live in traumatic times and the progress we're supposed to be gaining is also many steps backward. I breathe, this isn't just the 'courage to change things' or the 'patience to endure things', it's 'gravity dragging things backward' and we endure it. We shall overcome it -- together we shall overcome it.
In the UK, BBC World Service covers the globe relatively well. Delayed Gratification is a quarterly summary published at slow-journalism.com with delightful infographics and a subscription service. It has a tag-line "last to breaking news" to dispel the frenzy of the news cycle.
posted by k3ninho at 4:44 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
This might be an unusual option but I frequently check the Wikipedia Current Events page for this sort of thing. It’s easy to click through links for background details on various events and conflicts. I try to keep an eye on the sources/citation quality to make sure I’m not ingesting too much bias/spin.
posted by ghostbikes at 9:21 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ghostbikes at 9:21 PM on November 9, 2021 [2 favorites]
It runs slightly longer than your 20 minutes, but the BBC Global News Podcast is ~30 minutes, one episode daily, and gives a broad overview of three to four major global headlines plus one more "human interest/trivia" type item. Today's episode covers the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the UN's first draft of a potential agreement at the COP 26 climate summit, political implications for Donald Trump post-January 6 insurrection, the antivax movement in Germany, and "how ketchup is getting involved in the space race." If you stop listening before the last "trivia" one, its runtime is a little closer to your goal.
posted by castlebravo at 11:05 AM on November 10, 2021
posted by castlebravo at 11:05 AM on November 10, 2021
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posted by Roger Pittman at 2:50 AM on November 9, 2021