Notebooks

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

J.L. Carr's county map of Yorkshire.
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The man who gave books away

J.L. Carr’s singular career as a teacher, publisher, and novelist was marked by eccentric ingenuity.

Nigel Andrew February 27, 2026
National Guard and Secretaría de Seguridad Ciudadana units guard the Fiscalía General de la República during the investigation into the operation that killed Nemesio 'El Mencho' Oseguera Cervantes.
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Mexico after El Mencho

The death of the cartel leader marks a turning point for Mexico. Whether the country seizes this moment will shape its security for years to come.

Connor Pfeiffer February 25, 2026
Medallions showing Tarique Rahman, Chairman of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Bangladeshi Prime Minister, and other figures from the BNP.
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Bangladesh’s old new politics

The Monsoon Revolution in Bangladesh produced a landslide election victory in favour of fundamental reforms. Yet the country's new governing party has a past marked by military rul..

Arjuna Keshvani-Ham February 24, 2026
Robert, Duke of Normandy, in prison.
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Royals and the rule of law

From the Wars of the Roses to the Glorious Revolution, arrest, imprisonment, and even execution have been occupational hazards for royals.

Samuel Rubinstein February 24, 2026
US President Donald Trump signs an Executive Order last April on the Administration’s tariff plans.
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The geopolitical fallout from Trump’s tariff troubles

The US Supreme Court's challenge to President Trump's tariffs will have its greatest impact in the realm of geopolitics, not economics.

Duncan Weldon February 24, 2026
US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office, 26 March 2025.
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Trump’s tariffs v the US Constitution

The historic ruling by the US Supreme Court – perhaps the most significant challenge to executive power since the 1930s – has important implications beyond trade policy.

George Magnus February 23, 2026
A building destroyed by Russian shelling in Ukraine.
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Russia’s empire of ruins

From blackouts in Kherson to water shortages in Luhansk, Russia’s new imperial domains in Ukraine’s occupied territories are in turmoil.

Jade McGlynn February 23, 2026
Gen-Z demonstration against corruption and proposed social media restrictions in Kathmandu, Nepal on 8th September, 2025.
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Nepal’s road to revolution

Nepal’s Gen-Z revolution is the latest in a series of political crises that have unseated governments in South Asia.

Ankit Tiwari February 18, 2026
A gravestone with a relief of two mourning female statues at Waldfriedhof, Munich.
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Munich and the shadow of the past

At the heart of today’s transatlantic divide lies a divergence between European and American elites over how they interpret their shared past.

Brendan Simms February 17, 2026

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