Notebooks

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

A ball of fire erupts from the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, April 19, 1993.

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What Waco Means Now

The outlandish ideas of US conspiracists caught fire in Texas 30 years ago. Their flame still burns.

Phil Tinline April 18, 2023

Young boy building balsa wood scale model aeroplane.

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A New Breed of Hobby Horse

At present, far too much seriousness is invested in hobbies. They should instead be pursued quietly, for their own sake.

Alastair Benn April 14, 2023

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Macron stands apart from the United States – and Europe

The French President’s visit to China demonstrates why European Strategic Autonomy cannot be just a French Project.

Alessio Patalano April 14, 2023

Still from the 1993 film Three Colours: Blue.

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Three Colours: Blue — growing old gracefully

Thirty years on from its release, Three Colours: Blue remains as vivid a depiction of grief as ever.

Agnès Poirier April 12, 2023

The End of the Ancien Régime. The Great Fear. August 4, 1789

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Pensions in a time of kings

The idea of a ‘right to retirement’ dates back to the Ancien Régime, derived from the social expectations of its elites, and dependent upon the king’s authority. The French protest..

Lola Salem April 7, 2023

Brian Cox as Logan Roy in HBO's Succession.

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Succession: the end of the line

Succession will probably conclude like so many other great narrative artworks – a bit shambolically, leaving the viewer mostly bewildered and frustrated.

Alastair Benn April 7, 2023

Amused young women in traditional costume on Easter Sunday.

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Laughing with the Face of God

Christianity is often derided as a humourless creed, but since earliest times Easter has been a time of laughter, prompted by a belief in Christ’s victory over death.

Fergus Butler-Gallie April 7, 2023

The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was detained on charges of espionage, leaving the Lefortovsky District Court, Moscow.

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Prisoner of Putin

During the latter decades of the Cold War, Western correspondents could feel reasonably secure behind the Iron Curtain, but because Vladimir Putin no longer aspires to be part of t..

Elisabeth Braw April 5, 2023

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When the Founding Fathers opposed the Supreme Court

With the overturning of abortion rights in America, questions have turned to the court’s legitimacy and power — but this is not a new debate. It has haunted US politics for centuri..

Angus Brown March 31, 2023