Notebooks

Notebooks are snapshots from our writers, reflecting on current affairs and underappreciated aspects of culture and history.

Monica Vitti in Michelangelo Antonioni's l'Avventura. Credit: Entertainment Pictures

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Antonioni’s adventures with Monica

Michelangelo Antonioni's film 'L'Avventura', a classic study of modernity's moral coldness, found its supreme embodiment not in an abstraction but in an actress: the enigmatic Moni..

Pratinav Anil August 6, 2026

Scene from 'The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor' directed by Rod Lurie (2020). Credit: Collection Christophel

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The Outpost: a Homeric world of warfare

Rod Lurie's 2020 film provides a visceral, harrowing depiction of one of the most brutal battles of America's war in Afghanistan.

Paul Lay August 5, 2026

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Classical music’s enduring allure

The rise in the number of classical music festivals testifies to a growing demand for the timeless beauty of the western musical canon, especially among the young.

Elisabeth Braw August 4, 2026

Protesters hold placards during a demonstration on the first day of Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte's impeachment, in Manila, on May 18, 2026.

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The cost of the Philippines’ clan politics

Whoever comes out on top in the bitter clash between the country's political dynasties, it is ordinary Filipinos who will pay the price.

Imran Shamsunahar August 4, 2026

Allegorical sculpture depicting Europe on the façade of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in London, United Kingdom.

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Europe’s lost reason of state

At the heart of Europe’s crisis is a neglect of the common good and the prerogatives of the state.

Jack Dickens August 3, 2026

Commander Franco, head of the third of Volunteers, giving orders to his Captains for the assault on Ras Medua, November 1921. Credit: Album/ Archivo ABC

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Franco’s formative years in Spanish Morocco

It was in the Army of Africa that the future dictator fashioned his ill-defined vision of Spain's grandeur, and of his own destiny to salvage it.

Ioannes Chountis de Fabbri August 3, 2026

Foreign and domestic officials pay their respects before the coffins of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family in Tehran on 3 July. Credit: UPI

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Why the Gulf states won’t side with America

The war in Iran is likely to accelerate a trend already underway in the Gulf: multi-alignment and strategic hedging.

Yoel Guzansky and Jesse R. Weinberg July 31, 2026

British Army soldiers head out on patrol during exercise Steadfast Dart 25 in Romania

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How America’s allies can preserve the West

Faced with a more transactional and unilateral presidency in Washington, western nations are forging new partnerships in an effort to steward the US-led world order through a time ..

William D. James July 31, 2026

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Is Europe’s future northern?

The South is still beautiful, but likely to suffer severely in a century of climate extremes. It is time the continent rediscovered its northern soul.

Alastair Benn July 30, 2026