After more than four decades at the Monitor, one tends to see patterns in the news. Whether it's a turn in the economic cycle or the dawn of a breakthrough technology, these events can change people's lives, sometimes dramatically. They're new and yet they include echoes from past changes in the economy and technology. As a senior economics writer, it's my job to cover these themes, separate the game-changers from the fads and put them in context in a way readers can easily understand the likely impact on their lives.
It helps to have a broad perspective. Born in Paris and raised in Indiana, educated in a two-room schoolhouse (many still existed in the 1960s) and a top university for journalism (Northwestern), I've had a varied and bilingual experience that has allowed me to relate to and empathize with the people I've interviewed in the Americas and Europe. My two daughters, adopted from China, have further internationalized that perspective. Currently, I'm interested in artificial intelligence and how it might (and might not) further human progress.
Stories by Laurent Belsie
- DC plane crash raises questions about strained resources, military use of air spaces
- China’s DeepSeek impresses. But is a ‘fast follow’ good enough in AI?
- Globalization is over. Will Trump tariffs reset US-China rivalry?
- The Explainer America’s egg prices soar again. Farmers are seeking solutions.
- From immigration to DEI, here are Trump’s Day 1 executive orders
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