Notebooks

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Trump’s unwinnable war

Mired in an open-ended confrontation with the Islamic Republic, President Trump is faced with a painful choice between launching a new forever war or accepting a humiliating defeat..

Eldad Shavit and Jesse R. Weinberg April 1, 2026

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When museums become storehouses

Museums now invite visitors behind the scenes. The result is a new kind of historical sublime: human creativity measured by volume.

Tim Abrahams March 31, 2026

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Moll Flanders and the invention of modern life

In his picaresque novel 'Moll Flanders', Daniel Defoe presents experience as the true measure of character.

David Patrikarakos March 31, 2026

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The age of Me is over. The age of Them has begun

It is half a century since Tom Wolfe coined the phrase the 'Me Decade'. Yet Me, We and You no longer capture a world increasingly shaped by 'Them', the systems and machines that no..

Bryan Appleyard March 30, 2026

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America’s fatal chokepoint

US grand strategy was once guided by a sound understanding of the importance of chokepoints, a vital aspect of geopolitics that the Trump administration has neglected at its own pe..

Phil Tinline March 28, 2026

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Iran and America’s long war

The roots of the current conflict between the United States and Iran go back to the origins of the Islamic Republic and the seismic shockwaves it unleashed across the Middle East.

Ibrahim Al-Marashi and Tanya Goudsouzian March 27, 2026

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Turkey and Syria’s Iran crisis

In the war between the US and Iran, the leaders of both Turkey and Syria face the challenge of maintaining close relations with President Trump, concerns about overt alignment with..

Hannah Lucinda Smith March 25, 2026

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Why the US remains a major Middle Eastern power

Despite talk of US decline, the war in the Middle East shows that American power has not dwindled as much as some have claimed. It may yet prove crucial in resolving the region's c..

Ronan Mainprize March 24, 2026

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What Kant and Spinoza can teach us about AI

Two of Demis Hassabis’s favourite philosophers, Spinoza and Kant, help illuminate the conundrum: can AI turn chaotic data into intelligible, structured reality?

Lisa Klaassen March 18, 2026