Notebooks

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

Smoke billows near windows as performers participate in the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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What the Paris Olympics opening ceremony really meant

There was method in the madness of the Paris Olympics ceremonial displays. The message was one of ideological rancour, reflecting the politics of a deeply fractured nation.

Muriel Zagha August 16, 2024

The theatre of Dionysus at the Acropolis, Athens.

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What did ancient Athens sound like?

The soundscape of ancient Athens told a tale of philosophy, industry and aesthetic revolution.

Armand D'Angour August 14, 2024

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The genius of Stan Getz

Known simply as 'the Sound', the saxophonist Stan Getz could transport the listener to jazz heaven.

Henry Jeffreys August 13, 2024

A violinist plays in front of a Venezuelan flag.

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Venezuela faces the music

In Venezuela, globally renowned musicians and orchestras are grappling with their obligation to speak out against Nicolás Maduro's attempts to steal another term as president.

Elisabeth Braw August 7, 2024

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1524: The year beer came to England

Writers as eclectic as Daniel Defoe, Rudyard Kipling, and Thomas Tusser have cited 1524 as the year that made English beer as Protestant immigrants brought the European process of ..

Fred Garratt-Stanley August 7, 2024

Flags of the New Welfare Party in front of a poster of Erdogan, Istanbul, Turkey.

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The Islamist rivalry reshaping Turkish politics

The success of an alternative, and more hard line, Islamist party threatens the dominance Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's AKP and may open the door to a secular government in Turkey.

Dora Mengüç August 5, 2024

A Japanese water colour showing the destruction brought by the Mongols.

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Post-apocalyptic nomads

Nomads were often more durable, more hardy, and more competent in warfare than their farming-based counterparts, offering important lessons for post-apocalyptic societies.

Nicholas Morton August 2, 2024

Palestinian refugees wave flags and hold pictures of the leader of the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Beirut.

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Two assassinations and a region on the brink

The Middle East teeters on the brink of wider conflict as Israeli assassinations in Beirut and Tehran intensify the complex, multi-pronged war between Israel, Iran and their allies..

Afshon Ostovar August 1, 2024

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How to reform the House of Lords without really trying

Rather than playing around with grand plans to removed aged and hereditary peers, the House of Lords would best be reformed by a simple reduction in the number of its members.

Clive Aslet July 31, 2024