Notebooks

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

Matt Damon as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.
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The perils of adapting Homer’s epic

In remaking Homer's Odyssey for the big screen, Christopher Nolan must reckon with the poem's sheer vastness, as well as the poignancy and power of the human story at its heart.

Armand D'Angour August 1, 2025
A stamp printed in the USSR celebrates The Helsinki Accords.
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The Helsinki Final Act – a masterpiece of modern diplomacy

Fifty years on from the signing of the Helsinki Final Act, one of the most important agreements of the Cold War, the accord remains a textbook example of successful negotiations am..

Kai Hebel August 1, 2025
A vintage vinyl album of Tom Lehrer.
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Tom Lehrer dared you to laugh

Clear-sightedness and the absence of self-regard made Tom Lehrer's art unique, exposing the pieties of middle-class America with dash and daring.

Mathew Lyons July 29, 2025
The rock band Black Sabbath.
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The global phenomenon of Black Sabbath

Ozzy Osbourne and his bandmates were a global symbol of liberty, whether inspiring freedom behind the Iron Curtain, or the struggle against the influence of the Catholic Church in ..

Duncan Wheeler July 29, 2025
A mural depicting Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in Tehran, Iran.
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What does regime change in Iran look like?

Following the Islamic Republic’s 12-Day War with Israel, there may be a genuine opportunity for the Iranian people to reclaim their future from the regime's grasp.

Kasra Aarabi and Saeid Golkar July 28, 2025
Carl Jung smoking a pipe in c. 1940.
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Jung’s map of the soul

Born 150 years ago, Carl Jung drew on mythology and personal experience to create a visionary body of work, resonant in a disenchanted age.

Garima Garg July 25, 2025
Swedish incoming commander Col. Micheal Claeasson, centre left, receives the Sweden flag from outgoing commander Col. Torbjorn Larsoon during a changing of command ceremony at the Provincial Construction Team compound in Mazar-i- Sharif, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, 2012.
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The UK and Sweden, two tales of Afghan withdrawal

Britain was not alone in mishandling its withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Johan Wennström July 24, 2025
Bedouin and tribal fighters gather in a vehicle in the city of Suwayda.
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The Syrian state is unravelling

If the Syrian government cannot impose order on disparate sectarian militias, the country could lapse into a destructive new civil war.

James Snell July 22, 2025
Druze women carrying water in Jabal al-Druze, Syria.
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The Druze, no friends but the mountains

Syria’s Druze have often been caught between their commitment to national independence and a wariness of Sunni domination.

Jack Dickens July 21, 2025

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