Former general manager, PRI.org
Michael Skoler is the former general manager of PRI.org, where he helped connect smart and passionate journalists with smart and passionate audiences.
After an early career mistake of leaving Paris and the French wine trade, I recovered by becoming a reporter.
I've written for magazines like Glamour (where I was the only male on staff for a brief time), reported on science and tech for WGBH-TV, covered Somalia, Rwanda and South Africa as NPR's Africa correspondent, created online games like BudgetHero, and started the Public Insight Network of citizen sources that many newsrooms use today.
Along the way, I earned an MBA and have lived in France, Kenya and Mexico.
Actor and former Daily Show comedian Aasif Mandvi kicks off a week of live and streamed UnConvention events in New York City focused on the voices, views and issues concerning millennial voters in the 2016 election.
After the success of the Ice Bucket Challenge that swept YouTube, European young people are hoping for viral success with a campaign to bring world attention back to the conflict on Ukraine's eastern border. Meanwhile, killing is the subject of newly-published scientific research. In this case, the killers, though, are chimps. And a Chinese tennis star retires in her 30s, having brought tennis and a bit of sports freedom to her home country, in this weekend's Global Scan.
Frequent fliers at least get points for suffering through airline cuisine. Soon Germans will get the option of having it delivered to their homes. And what does a business class meal cost on the ground? About $12. Newly-released files from Britain's National Archives confirm that the country's WWII spies had to pass a seduction test by "special agent" Fifi. And 50 South Koreans will experience an oxymoron — competitive relaxation. All that in today's Global Scan.
It's not much of a looker when it comes to feline curves, but MIT's robotic cheetah sure can run. It is novel in both its motors and the math that calculates how hard it springs across uneven terrain. In Scotland, bankers are preparing for the worst — a run on banks if Scots vote "yes" to separate from Britain on Thursday. And we look at the sexy brewing device for coffee that was a favorite of James Bond and is coming back into fashion. All that in today's Global Scan.
Out in space, comets don't seem that big compared to planets and all. But this chunk of rock and ice would rival the tallest mountains we know. Some have even created photos showing how it would tower over Los Angeles. Meanwhile in Australia, a Pizza Hut makes a major PR gaffe when it decides to throw in a free pet with every large pizza order. And the American-raised son of a terrorist decides to tell his story. All in this edition of the Global Scan.
When Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head two years ago, the Taliban in Pakistan claimed responsibility. On Friday, the Pakistan army said it had caught a gang of 10 men behind the attack. Elsewhere in Pakistan, a new branch of al-Qaeda seems to have bungled its first attack, but wants the press coverage anyway. And a 45-story skyscraper of squatters is being cleared in Venezuela, all in this weekend's Global Scan.
Tourism is way down in Egypt due to the last three years of political unrest there. But if you have always wanted to explore the pyramids, Google Street View is now ready to help you. As the US prepares for war on ISIS, the terrorist group has extended its propaganda front with a western-focused, cutting-edge video production wing. And we ask whether western media should show the gruesome images coming from war and terrorism, all in today's Global Scan.
It's hard to know if this is the biggest dinosaur ever to walk the Earth, but it's right up there with other titanosaurs, and its fossil is perhaps the most intact ever discovered. We also look at cyberwarfare, from NATO's plans for a collective defense against Russian hacking to a hacker's coalition that is fighting ISIS online. And have you ever heard of "chifa?" — it's a Peruvian-Asian fusion cuisine. All that and more, in today's Global Scan.
The Islamic militants known as ISIS have shown savvy in social media and in picking their symbols. We explore the deeper meaning behind their index finger salute — and their black-and-white flag. And an author shows a side of Iran's capital that you might not have expected, from sex to drugs to skinny jeans. And are you tired of being cramped in economy class? You're not alone. All that in today's Global Scan.
So just how did the British Embassy choose to celebrate its friendship with the US on Sunday? With a cake commemorating the 200th anniversary of the Brits burning down the White House during the War of 1812. It apologized on Monday. Meanwhile, the Ice Bucket Challenge, which has taken social media by storm, is getting its own challenge. And how much could an old comic book sell for? Try $3.2 million.
As the debate over gun control — and, now, the use of force by police — rages in the US and elsewhere, Britain offers a stark contrast. Police there rarely carry guns, fire them or kill anyone. Meanwhile, Beijing is getting machines that inspire people to both recycle and ride public transit. And Ebola is killing Liberians who don't even have the disease, in today's Global Scan.