Episode 389: Schism, Maternity Leave, Legal Trees, and the Human Cost of War

In this episode, we recap five major stories reshaping our world: Pope Leo XIV's formal excommunication of the Society of Saint Pius the Tenth—the Catholic Church's largest schism since 1870—revealing how the reformist pontiff intends to govern with clear boundaries. In Japan, the first mayor to take maternity leave sparks national fury, exposing deep contradictions in a society struggling with gender equity and demographic decline. A Quebec town grants legal protection to trees, joining a global movement to recognize nature's intrinsic value. From Ukraine, we hear the intimate story of 15-year-old Masha Polska dancing alone at prom, a poignant reminder of war's human cost beyond statistics. And finally, new aerial imagery from Venezuela reveals the catastrophic scale of destruction from back-to-back earthquakes that killed over 1,700 people. Together, these stories illuminate how power, resilience, and institutional change play out across different scales—from the Vatican to the classroom to the natural world. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.