Tuning into the news that matters: DW's Undercurrent

Hi! Welcome to Undercurrent. Undercurrent was a newsletter pilot project that ran from January to April 2021. Undercurrent is no longer publishing, but you can find our run of issues archived below.

Here's a little bit about where we were coming from and Undercurrent's mission: 

If you're like us, maybe you've been feeling major news fatigue. Cutting through the constant churn of Twitter noise and staying sane in the 24-hour news cycle can be a lot. It can be hard to know where to dig in and when to turn it off. Not to mention, you're busy! You've got stuff to do and dreams to accomplish.

That's why we launched Undercurrent — a weekly newsletter that brought you closer to the stories that shape our world.

Each week, the Undercurrent team (more on us below) delivered you the stories that are just below the surface, shining a light on the forces driving the news and how they impact your life. 

Every Thursday we sent out an email with incisive, thoughtful analysis about the most momentous headlines in tech, the future of politics, social justice, the climate crisis, the global economy, (mental) health & wellness, and much more — straight from our global network of DW correspondents and young thought leaders on the front lines.

Our aim was to tackle the topics that occupied our collective brain space — sometimes offering fresh perspectives on stories you've heard before, and sometimes diving into ongoing issues that weren't on your radar.

We also recognize that a story that seems straightforward and clear-cut can actually look very different depending on where you stand, which is why it was so important to us to launch a dialogue with readers like you. 

We loved making sense of the news with you. 

Thanks for joining us,

Sam Baker & Michaela Cavanagh
Undercurrent Editors

Meet the Undercurrent writers

Umer Ali — who is always driving right to the crossroads of human rights and tech, and is fond of dissecting viral TikToks — explains why decentering mainstream, Western perspectives is essential to understanding the way the world works today. 

📍 Bonn, Germany by way of Pakistan 

It's a (global) village, and we're all equal residents, right? Maybe in an ideal world — but ours is far from it. The West still dominates the global agenda, from GDP and global politics to cultural exports and news narratives. In an inequitable world, the problems we face are also lopsided. And they require innovative solutions rooted in diverse vantage points. For me, Undercurrent was an attempt to diversify the news and offer a platform to the many thought leaders in the Global South (which represents well over half the world's population) — voices from communities that often get pushed out of front page news coverage. 

Cherie Chan — a dedicated cinephile who is constantly on her phone, but swears it's for work — shares why you are an essential part of our shared effort to make sense of the world. 

📍 Berlin by way of Hong Kong 

Just because we cover the news in English, it doesn’t mean our focus should be on the English-speaking world. As Germany’s international broadcaster with reporters and contributors around the world, we wanted to bring you global news from local perspectives. But Undercurrent wasn't a one-way channel — it was a conversation. Instead of offering one narrative about the news, we wanted to understand what the world looks like from your perspective. That means we collaborated with you to serve as a platform for shared knowledge. We all miss traveling to faraway places and learning about cultures that we would have otherwise never encountered in our bubbles — so until we can again, thanks for sharing your story with us. 

Cai Nebe — the former comic book writer with a spine of titanium who covers the African continent as a radio reporter — tells us why it's time to tell readers where we're coming from, literally and figuratively. 

📍 Bonn, Germany by way of Namibia

Media audiences are savvier than ever and know that while journalists can strive to be objective, we're molded by our lived experiences, just like you. Come to think of it, is anyone even looking for a disinterested, all-knowing voice anymore?  

We understandably search for certainty as we make sense of the world, but we must fight the urge to consume media that only confirms our views. At Undercurrent, we wanted to give voice to those messy and divergent insights, because what seems clear can depend on where you stand. With perspectives from different thought leaders, DW correspondents, experts – and you – we aimed to offer a more nuanced understanding of the news. 

Dive into previous newsletters here: 

• April 1, 2021: Are we having fun yet?
• March 25, 2021: Making space for mental health
• March 18, 2021: Those carrying the torch of climate justice 
• March 11, 2021: You can find me in the club
• March 4, 2021: More than a Rihanna tweet
• February 25, 2021: The vaccine dilemma
• February 18, 2021: Is China's reputation on the rocks?