Notebooks

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The Indo-Pacific is an idea whose time has come

In the twenty-first century globalised and cyber-connected world, the economic engine is the centre, and that centre is the Indo-Pacific.

Tim Marshall October 29, 2021

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Italy: Mother of all invention

The country loves to laud its inventors, veracity aside. History, after all, isn’t the past, it’s what we say the past was.

Tobias Jones October 28, 2021

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The beauty of municipal swimming pools

The everyday municipal pool does not feature much in the canon of great swimming pools. But it has its charms.

Fay Schopen October 26, 2021

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On mothers and politicians

Letizia Bonaparte, Napoleon’s so-called Madame Mère, loomed large in the emperor’s life instilling in him the tenacity and force of will which led him to conquer much of Europe.

Agnès Poirier October 22, 2021

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The perils of the quest for immortality

Modern magnates such as Jeff Bezos and Peter Thiel should heed the warnings of the Ancients in their quest for immortality.

Armand D'Angour October 15, 2021

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Dürer in Venice

Albrecht Dürer felt that he had to prove his ability as a painter to Italian audiences. His time in Venice left an indelible imprint on Italy's culture and on the great artist's le..

Daisy Dunn October 12, 2021

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The other Middle Sea

The Black Sea is back at the centre of a new order of world geopolitics.

Edward Thicknesse October 11, 2021

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Remembering Liu Xiaobo’s moral critique of modern China

The Nobel Peace Prize-winning dissident is representative of a tragic generation of intellectuals in China who had some voice in the wider world, and almost none in their home coun..

Kerry Brown October 10, 2021

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Kids these days

Teenagers first emerged as a distinct group seventy years ago, sparking outrage and moral panic – as well as a rush by corporations to cash in on a new demographic. But adolescent..

Eve Webster October 8, 2021