Monitor Night Live

Conflicts are multiplying. Global power is shifting. Geopolitical tensions are rising. New technologies are changing the nature of warfare. And events that once seemed far away can have very real consequences much closer to home.

The 2025 Global Peace Index reports that global peacefulness is at its lowest level since the index began, with 59 active state-based conflicts—the most since World War II—and 152,000 conflict-related deaths recorded in 2024. At the same time, the global order is becoming more fragmented, with an increasing number of countries exerting significant influence around the world.

For many of us, the sheer scale of these challenges can create a sense of distance or even helplessness.

After all, what can one person do about a war thousands of miles away?

More than we might think.

How we understand the world shapes how we move through it. The stories we pay attention to shape our understanding. The questions we ask shape the conversations we have. And the choices we make shape the communities around us.

That's where journalism comes in.

At this year's Monitor Night Live, journalists from The Christian Science Monitor will bring their experience reporting on international conflict, diplomacy, global affairs, and communities to a conversation about the world we're living in—and what our response to it might be.

Rather than simply asking what's happening, we'll ask:

• What does it mean?

• Why does it matter?

• And what responsibility do we have once we know?

Join us for a wide-ranging conversation about conflict, peace, journalism, and what it means to be engaged with a complicated world.