Practical answers for your team.

The World Desk Community Edition is designed first for independent-living and life-plan communities, including CCRCs. It gives residents several ways to stay connected to the wider world, whether they prefer reading alone or joining a group.

If you are considering it for assisted living, memory care, or another setting, tell us about your residents and staffing so we can discuss fit. It is a reading and conversation program, not a clinical or therapeutic service.

• The World Desk Daily: 30–50 internationally sourced stories every morning by 6 AM Eastern, starting with 3 To Know.
• Beyond the Headlines: Four selected stories on four large-type pages each week, ready for local printing.
• Coffee and a Topic: A resident sheet, host guide, and invitation wording for a welcoming 45-minute conversation.
• Coffee and a Story: A classic short story each Sunday, in large print, with a resident sheet and host guide for a 45-minute discussion.
• 3 To Know video: The morning’s three stories as a two-to-three-minute video, read aloud with large captions, ready to play on your building’s screens.
• Coffee and a Country: A 45-minute visit to a different country, through short readings, pictures and good questions.
• Passport Week: A theme kit built around a Coffee and a Country — food, film, music, crafts and conversation ideas to choose from. One a month, chosen from a library that grows by a new Passport Week every week; special Passport Weeks on request. Included at no additional cost.
• Table Talk: Weekly discussion cards for the dining tables.
• Special Report: A Special Report each month.

These parts belong to one program, but residents can use any one without using the others.

Each morning our newsroom turns the day’s 3 To Know into a short video of two to three minutes. Each story is read aloud, with large captions and pictures, and the video is ready to download before breakfast. Free in every plan: the daily 3 To Know video and its 3-minute audio file.

• Where it plays: On the lobby, elevator or common-room screens you already have, or at a morning gathering.
• Staff time: None beyond downloading it and pressing play. There is nothing to write, edit or print.
• Who it helps: Residents with low vision, residents who would rather watch than read, and anyone passing through the lobby. Everyone sees the same three stories, which gives them something to talk about at lunch and at Coffee and a Topic.
• Cost: It’s included in every plan at no extra charge.

A new video goes up every morning. Watch the September 27 video.

The conversation menu is broader than politics. It includes Cultural Experiences, such as music, travel, food traditions, film, and family history; Senior Health Issues, framed as general education; and Geopolitics, including shared water, energy, aging societies, and international relationships.

Topics are labeled by subject and intensity (gentle, reflective or substantial) so your community can choose a gentle cultural conversation rather than a substantial current-affairs topic.

No. Beyond the Headlines is intended as a satisfying read on its own, not homework for a meeting. Coffee and a Topic requires no advance reading or specialist knowledge.

Residents may contribute, ask a question, or simply listen. They can enjoy the daily and weekly reading without attending a gathering, or join a conversation without having read beforehand.

Your community chooses the conversation topic, with subject and intensity labels to help. The aim is a thoughtful exchange rather than a debate residents must win.

The editorial standards require named sources, a clear distinction between reporting and comment, and honest treatment of uncertainty. A local host guides the discussion using the supplied materials; different viewpoints do not require anyone to agree.

The World Desk uses AI-assisted drafting. Every story is researched from named newspapers around the world, often in their own languages.

Every story passes an independent fact-check or our editor’s approval before it runs, and anything flagged red stays out unless it is fixed and re-checked, or the editor approves it. Our editor, William Kohn, sets the rules and is accountable for every edition.

See something wrong? Email comments@theworlddesk.news.

The edition is produced every day by an automated newsroom with backups, so it arrives even when the editor is away, and a human editor reviews it.

Our editor, William Kohn, sets the rules and is accountable for every edition.

No. It is a journalism, reading, and conversation program. We do not claim that it is clinically proven, improves cognition, or reduces loneliness.

Health topics are for general education, not individual medical advice. Residents should discuss their own health and care decisions with their clinicians.

Name one community coordinator and a backup. The coordinator gathers topic choices, confirms the monthly Coffee and a Topic schedule, keeps the program-delivery email list current, and makes sure printing, distribution, and hosting have named owners.

The coordinator does not have to do every task. A staff member or resident host can lead a discussion, and your usual team can handle printing and distribution. The World Desk prepares the editorial and conversation materials; your community organizes their local use.

Plan on a little time for each scheduled calendar event: preparing and setting out the materials, then hosting.

Minimal staff time: about 15 minutes to prepare and host each scheduled calendar event. That includes printing the Table Talk cards.

Your residents can host. We supply everything they need.

Residents use the daily briefing independently, so it does not require a daily staff-led session.

A staff member or a resident can host using the supplied guide. They do not need to be a journalist, lecturer, or subject specialist.

The host’s role is to welcome people, introduce the topic, keep the conversation moving, and close on time. Live facilitation by The World Desk is not part of the base program and would need a separate quote.

We begin with a conversation about your campus, resident interests, the coordinator and backup, and who will host. We then agree the dates and responsibilities in writing.

Setup includes staff orientation and confirming the monthly planning cutoff, how you submit topic choices and delivery-list changes, weekly delivery days, resident-access instructions, printing and distribution arrangements, and your first gatherings. The launch date is agreed together; requesting a pilot does not schedule one automatically.

Before your next monthly activity calendar closes, the coordinator completes one short planning check with the host or resident representative. A meeting is not required.

1. Choose the conversations. Review the monthly menu and select one topic for each gathering you plan to hold. Use the subject and intensity labels, residents’ interests, and feedback from recent sessions. You do not have to schedule a discussion every week.
2. Confirm the calendar. Match each topic to a date, time, room, and named host. Identify someone who can cover if the host is unavailable.
3. Check the delivery list. Confirm who should receive the plans and materials by email. Add new coordinators or hosts and remove people who no longer need them.
4. Assign the local tasks. Confirm who prints and distributes Beyond the Headlines, who prepares the Coffee resident sheets and host guide, and who posts the invitation. Note expected copy counts and distribution locations.
5. Send one consolidated plan. Send the month’s choices, schedule, delivery-list changes, and any special requests to The World Desk through the channel agreed at setup. Check the returned confirmation against your calendar and resolve any differences before announcing the sessions.

Agree the monthly cutoff and confirmation process during setup rather than assuming a fixed date. An optional current-news topic is suggested every other week; if you want to substitute it for a planned discussion, request and confirm the change before updating the invitation.

Your monthly reply can be simple: month and campus; coordinator and backup; each gathering’s topic, date, time, room, and host; recipient additions or removals; printing and distribution owners; expected copies; and any requested changes.

Your community coordinator is responsible for keeping the operational delivery list accurate. It should include the people who need the plans or materials, such as the coordinator, backup, hosts, and staff responsible for printing or distribution.

Review the list during the monthly planning check and send additions, corrections, or removals promptly when roles change. Maintain one current roster with each recipient’s name, role, and email address. Use a monitored community role address where practical, and make sure someone checks that the expected delivery has arrived.

At setup, agree whether The World Desk sends to named recipients or to a community-managed group address. For named recipients, the coordinator submits changes through the agreed channel and checks that they have been applied. If your community uses its own group address, your team maintains that group’s membership.

This is the list for administering the program, not residents’ optional daily-briefing subscription list. Do not add all residents automatically or include resident health information in the operational roster.

The World Desk supplies the materials. Your community assigns the local printing and distribution, including a backup for staff absences. No special printer is needed: Beyond the Headlines is a four-page, letter-size edition designed to print clearly in black and white on an office printer.

• Beyond the Headlines: On the agreed weekly delivery day, check the edition date, print the agreed number of complete copies, and deliver them to your chosen pickup points or residents. Check demand and adjust future quantities.
• Coffee and a Topic: Before each gathering, check that the topic and materials match the calendar, give the host the host guide, and print enough resident sheets for expected attendance, with a few spares. Use the supplied invitation wording in your usual channels.
• Before the session: Confirm the room, host, printed sheets, and any refreshments. Advance reading is not required; residents can receive their sheets when they arrive.

The coordinator checks that each task has an owner and that materials arrived when expected. Report missing or mismatched materials through the agreed support channel. Your community covers local printing, distribution, hosting, refreshments, and any mailing costs.

No. The World Desk supplies reading and conversation content, not an activity-management platform. Your team can use its usual channels to invite residents and distribute the agreed materials.

If you want a particular portal connection, display-screen format, translation, or other custom work, describe it during setup so we can confirm feasibility and any separate scope or price. Do not assume a custom integration is included.

The program includes staff orientation, email support, a pilot review, and launch materials carrying your community’s name. We also supply the conversation materials and invitation wording.

Translations and custom editorial or design work are quoted separately. Please discuss any special support needs or time-sensitive requests before launch so we can agree what is practical.

No. Residents of an enrolled community receive full access to the daily briefing at no personal cost. The daily 3 To Know video and its 3-minute audio file are free in every plan. Every story read aloud is included with the Community Program at no extra charge.

Residents of enrolled communities are not asked to buy the individual $5 membership. That is a separate offer for readers outside an enrolled community.

Residents join on their own: they scan your community’s QR code or sign in with just their email address. No passwords, and the community never has to share a resident email list.

For prospects, your sales team can enter a prospect’s email (with their OK) to start their courtesy briefing.

Residents of an enrolled community get full access with no personal subscription charge.

30–50 internationally sourced stories every morning by 6 AM Eastern, starting with 3 To Know, seven days a week, including Saturday and Sunday. The morning email is scheduled for 6 AM Eastern.

Residents may sign up for the optional morning email themselves or go to the daily briefing online. The email is a route into the reading, not a requirement for using the printed weekly materials or attending a conversation.

They can still enjoy Beyond the Headlines in large-type print and join Coffee and a Topic using the printed resident sheet. Neither requires a personal email address or advance online reading.

The daily digital briefing and its audio require a suitable connected device. Your community supplies any shared devices or screens; these are not included in the program fee.

Free in every plan: the daily 3 To Know video and its 3-minute audio file. Listen: every story in the daily edition read aloud on the website, with a Listen button on each story, included with the Community Program at no extra charge. It is another way to enjoy the published text, rather than a separate podcast.

The daily reading pages provide Standard, Large, and Largest text-size controls. Beyond the Headlines is a large-type printed edition, with one selected story per page.

Listening provides another option for residents who would rather hear a story. If a resident group has particular access needs, please discuss them with us so you can assess the actual samples before deciding.

Please tell us how you want to distribute or display the materials so the permitted use can be confirmed for your arrangement. Sharing beyond the enrolled community, posting materials publicly, and use by other campuses should not be assumed from the one-campus price.

Public sample pages can be used to review the offering. If you need a multi-campus arrangement or wider distribution, raise it when we discuss the program.

Monthly pricing is based on the total number of independent-living units, occupied or not, at one campus. In every plan, everything on the weekly calendar is included: the daily briefing, the 3 To Know video, Beyond the Headlines, Coffee and a Topic, Coffee and a Country, Coffee and a Story (the Short Story of the Week), weekly Table Talk cards and the monthly Special Report, plus one Passport Week a month (chosen from a library that grows by a new Passport Week every week) at no additional cost. Listen is included at no extra charge.

The formula: $75 a month covers up to 75 units; each unit from 76 to 450 adds $0.60 a month, and each unit over 450 adds $0.30; the price never goes above $399 a month (reached at about 780 units). Find your price →

For communities over 75 homes, the cost is under $1 per unit a month. Subscriptions are month to month, with a 3-month minimum. After that, cancel anytime with 30 days’ notice.

People considering a move to your community get the daily briefing free for 365 days, as your community’s gift. Your sales office pays for the Sales Plan after the free trial: 30 days for the Sales Plan, or 60 days in the Founding Sales Partner campaign; after a year, you choose to take each prospect off or keep them on longer.

Count every independent-living apartment, cottage, or villa once, occupied or vacant. A home shared by a couple counts once.

Each community is priced on its own band. If your occupancy or campus arrangement changes, tell us so the applicable pricing can be confirmed. Operators with several communities: group pricing is set on the Order Form.

There are three separate stages. Staff trial month: one calendar month of access for your team, with nothing sent to residents. Start with one briefing and one host guide; you don’t need to evaluate every format. Resident pilot: a separate 30-day stage, only when you agree, with no program fee and listening included. We explain what it involves before it starts and review it with you near day 25. Paid service: only with your community’s written acceptance.

We agree dates and responsibilities in writing and provide staff orientation. Your community still covers its local printing, distribution, hosting, refreshments, and devices.

No. There is no automatic paid conversion. Continuation requires your community’s written acceptance.

The review near day 25 is a chance to discuss resident response, staff experience, and whether the program fits. A trial request is an inquiry, not a paid subscription order.

Included: Everything on the weekly calendar is included: the daily briefing, the 3 To Know video, Beyond the Headlines, Coffee and a Topic, Coffee and a Country, Coffee and a Story (the Short Story of the Week), weekly Table Talk cards and the monthly Special Report, plus one Passport Week a month (chosen from a library that grows by a new Passport Week every week) at no additional cost; full resident access at no personal cost, community-named launch materials, staff orientation, email support, and a pilot review.

Handled locally: Printing, distribution, any mailing, hosting, refreshments, devices, and screens.

Separately priced: Listening after the pilot, live World Desk facilitation, translations, and custom editorial or design work. Any custom work needs an agreed scope and quote.

Ask us to confirm the ongoing service term, billing arrangements, renewal, and cancellation provisions in writing before you accept paid service. The monthly price table should not be read as a promise of a particular cancellation period or contract length.

For the pilot, the approved rule is straightforward: no automatic paid conversion, and continuation only with written acceptance.

Start by exploring the public samples or telling us about your campus. We will discuss fit, responsibilities, timing, and the applicable price before any pilot is scheduled.

Please do not include resident names or health information in your inquiry. You can also call (645) 654-0684 or email sales@theworlddesk.news.