Notebooks

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The first great radio hoax

In January 1926, a satirical broadcast by Father Ronald Knox sparked panic across Britain. Listeners mistook his parody of an impending revolution for real riots in the capital – a..

Daniel Marc Janes January 20, 2026

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Iran’s protest movement and the shadow of 1979

Iran’s current wave of unrest echoes the revolutionary fervour that gripped the country in the late 1970s.

Ashkan Hashemipour January 13, 2026

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How France forged the prison memoir

Nicolas Sarkozy’s 'Journal d’un prisonnier' joins a centuries-old tradition of political and personal prison writing.

Muriel Zagha January 13, 2026

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America’s techno-imperial moment

The audacious raid in Venezuela reveals how technological advances are expanding the United States' geopolitical options.

Christian Ruth January 13, 2026

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The war for oil never really went away

From Venezuela to Ukraine, the struggle for oil continues to shape global conflict.

Paul Josephson January 12, 2026

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The Islamic Republic’s Trump problem

With Iran crippled by renewed popular unrest and economic turmoil, President Trump is presented with an opportunity to dismantle the regime and its nuclear programme for good.

Charlie Laderman January 8, 2026

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A return to the classical foundations of American statecraft

Trump's coup in Caracas exemplifies a form of statecraft rooted in antiquity – and in America's founding.

Joshua Treviño January 8, 2026

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After the Eighth Great Power

Each communications revolution rewrites the political order. Democracies will not survive by clinging to broadcast certainties or chasing every viral falsehood.

Lisa Klaassen January 7, 2026

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Iran’s new age of revolutions

Iran's protests are part of a new phase of unrest in the Islamic Republic that began in 2017, when calls for reform were displaced by demands for regime change.

Kasra Aarabi and Saeid Golkar January 6, 2026