Notebooks

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

Map of Middle Earth from 'The Lord of the Rings'.

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Tolkien for the unconverted

DJ Taylor's meditation on the author of 'The Lord of the Rings' is incisive and thoughtful, even for those left cold by Middle-earth.

Paul Lay October 7, 2026

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Moscow is watching Latvia. Is Washington?

A record victory for Latvia’s pro-Ukraine prime minister was accompanied by a surge for populist parties in the country’s lowest-ever general election turnout.

Gordon F. Sander October 6, 2026

'Night Rain at Ōyama' from a 19th-century Japanese woodblock.

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Why AI translation is no substitute for learning a language

AI-powered earbuds that translate in real time are remarkable tools. But doing the hard work of learning another language offers something more: a new way of seeing the world.

Caitlin Allen October 5, 2026

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, presidential candidate of Brazil's ruling Workers' Party, speaks during a campaign rally in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Credit: Xinhua

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Is Latin America’s pink tide ebbing in Brazil?

The Brazilian election is being viewed as a referendum on Donald Trump’s ability to reel in Latin America’s largest economy and last major left-wing holdout.

Stephen G. Bloom October 2, 2026

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Watching Steve Reich watch Steve Reich

As Steve Reich turns 90, a chance encounter with the composer shows why his genre-hopping music holds such enduring appeal.

James Hardie October 2, 2026

The cover of Richard Dawkins' 'The God Delusion'.

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Losing faith in New Atheism: ‘The God Delusion’ 20 years on

Richard Dawkins’s bestseller defined New Atheism, an intellectual fashion whose conclusions look increasingly irrelevant.

Guy Stagg October 1, 2026

VASILY GROSSMAN (1905-1964) Soviet writer and journalist with the Red Army in Schwerin, north Germany, in Juloy 1945.

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Vasily Grossman’s account of humanity’s darkest hours

Grossman’s wartime reporting offers a searing account of the depths to which mankind fell in the middle of the last century.

Paul Lay September 30, 2026

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Ergun Çağatay, bridge to the vast Turkic world

In capturing the threads of shared culture and profound differences among a far-flung people, the photojournalist Ergun Çağatay shed light on what it means to be Turkic.

Caroline Eden September 29, 2026

British Soldiers pose with Nazi Luftwaffe Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 which crash-landed at East Langdon in Kent, 24 August 1940.

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Britain’s information war against Nazi Germany

During the Second World War, Britain learnt that a propaganda campaign can only be won with accurate and credible reporting.

Steven Casey September 29, 2026