Week 4 Top 4: Discovering Anew the World Beyond

This week’s Top Four Good Stories present fascinating reporting on issues we might not have thought about before, topics we might never have noticed unless a reporter brought them to us. They’re the kind of stories that take us outside of ourselves to new ways of seeing, of discovering the light on the trees beyond the leaves in front of us. Enjoy:

1. For focusing on the intersection of justice and mercy, disaster and beauty, i.e., a crucial dispatch from the ruins of Haiti, “Rescuing Art from the Rubble of the Quake,” New York Times, May 11.

2. For an engaging reminder of the thrill of discovery, and of bearing witness to a story: “Whale Song: elegy for a leviathan,” Christian Science Monitor, May 12.

3. For finding news in nature and reporting it for urban dwellers as compelling and relevant: “Take a walk with a warbler,” Providence Journal, May 13.

4. For “exploring the connection of people of faith to the natural elements” in an engaging multi-media special report: “Elements of Ritual and Renewal: Air, Earth, Fire, Water,” Medill News Service and Religions News Service, May 12.