Notebooks

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

President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at a meeting of the G7 in Japan.

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Japan, AUKUS and the future of Western defence

The US, Britain and Australia are considering partnering with Japan in the AUKUS security pact, marking an important moment in the Japanese defence relationship with the West since..

William Reynolds April 10, 2024

Sunset at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.

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America must find its middle ground

Regardless of who wins the presidential election November, America likely will see new outbursts of protest, revealing a pessimism and anger that threatens to become the norm in Am..

Michael Auslin April 9, 2024

Painted shopping windows in front of Thomaskirche Church, Leipzig.

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The passion of Bach

On 7 April 1724, Johann Sebastian Bach led the first performance of his St John Passion, a monumental work that revolutionised liturgical music.

Elisabeth Braw April 5, 2024

A system of human knowledge from the ‘Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers’ edited by Denis Diderot and Jean le Rond d'Alembert.

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The forgotten art of memory

For centuries, mnemonics was valued by societies and cultures across the world. We would be wise to rediscover it.

Josh Mcloughlin April 3, 2024

Relief of dignitaries addressing a Nowruz celebration, 5th century BC.

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The spirit of Nowruz is the real Iran

For Iranians, increasingly suffocated by the cultural austerity of the Islamic Republic, Nowruz is a stubborn reminder of who they really are.

Ali Ansari April 2, 2024

Stoke Poges churchyard, which inspired Thomas Gray's poem, 'Elegy in a Country Churchyard'

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An Easter elegy

The power of Easter is that it doesn’t deny the pain or darkness of death, but it places it in the context of hope.

Fergus Butler-Gallie March 29, 2024

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My crush on cars

We wear our cars like jumpers: the saggier they get the closer the attachment, even if, or especially when, they don't quite fit the requirement any more.

Suzanne Raine March 25, 2024