Monocle on Saturday (October 5, 2024): After a week of escalating tensions in the Middle East, Yossi Mekelberg, associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House, joins Emma Nelson to reflect on the week’s news from the region.
Then: Monocle’s Helsinki correspondent, Petri Burtsoff, tells the story of a restored cultural icon in the city, and we learn about the future of digital art with the CEO of Lumen Studios, Jen Roebuck, and the director of The Lumen Prize, Gillian Varney.
Punishing hours, dilapidated facilities and an ill-conceived retiree program left the agency without the personnel it needed in a year of threats and violence.
As America’s Marijuana Use Grows, So Do the Harms
The drug, legal in much of the country, is widely seen as nonaddictive and safe. For some users, these assumptions are dangerously wrong.
At a time of increased security risks, the former president has urged thousands of supporters to return with him to the place a gunman tried to take his life.
Monocle Radio Podcast (October 4, 2024): Russia’s new law exempting defendants from criminal liability if they join the army, the Iran-backed Houthi militia carry out a drone attack on Tel Aviv and the lives of children on Ukraine’s frontline. Plus: we dive into protest architecture.
A year after perhaps the worst military and intelligence debacle in the country’s history, its armed forces have regained the momentum. Some ask: to what end?
If elected again, he would become the oldest president by the end of his term. Yet he is refusing to disclose even basic health information.
Filing in Trump Election Case Fleshes Out Roles of a Sprawling Cast
Donald Trump is the only defendant in the special counsel’s case that charges him with a plot to remain in power after his 2020 loss. But a newly unsealed brief provides fresh details about many other figures.
Monocle Radio Podcast (October 3, 2024): How close are the Middle East’s two greatest foes to all-out conflict? Then: German chancellor Olaf Scholz and French president Emmanuel Macron meet in Berlin, Singapore’s former transport minister is on trial and we get an update on Hurricane Helene.
Plus: a visit to Christie’s Asia flagship and there’s a reshuffle at Celine.
With no way for cars to get into Bat Cave, N.C., food and water have been dropped off by helicopters or carried over the river on foot or by a raft.
The Moment When Vance Dodged a Jan. 6 Question but Said Plenty
JD Vance sailed fairly smoothly through some 90 minutes of Tuesday’s debate with Tim Walz. Then the subject turned to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.
CNBC (October 2, 2024): For a decade, Elon Musk has championed the idea that one day Tesla cars will drive themselves as robotaxis. On October 10, the company plans to reveal a “dedicated robotaxi” design at an invitation-only event in Los Angeles.
Chapters: 3:18 Ch 1 – Tesla’s vision for autonomy 6:33 Ch 2 – Full self-driving 10:13 Ch 3 – Realizing the robotaxi 15:34 Ch 4 – Sizing up the robotaxi competition
Despite years of bold predictions and missed deadlines, fans of the company are holding out hope that Musk will finally deliver. Regardless of what the company showcases at its robotaxi day, experts are skeptical of the company’s strategy, citing its Auotpilot and Full Self-Driving technology as a barometer for Tesla’s progress, or lack thereof.
While Tesla has been developing its autonomous vehicles, competitors like Google-owned Waymo and Chinese companies like Pony.ai and Baidu have already launched commercial robotaxi services. With U.S. EV sales growth slowing, there’s a lot riding on Tesla’s potential pivot to autonomy. CNBC explores whether the company is ready for robotaxis and if Musk’s vision for driverless Teslas will become a reality anytime soon.
Monocle Radio Podcast (October 2, 2024): We get the latest from Iran and the US after a long night of activity. Plus: a look at Marine le Pen’s embezzlement trial, the latest design news and a hunt for the oldest DNA.
The 180 missiles fired at Israel on Tuesday evening sharply escalated the conflict between the two countries and threatened to engulf the Middle East in all-out war.
Already crippled by years of economic decline, political paralysis and other crises, Lebanon has little but its own citizens’ grit to survive the Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
Worries of flooding had not been top of mind as the mountain-ringed city flourished in recent years as a haven for artists, chefs, brewmasters, entrepreneurs and retirees.
Pete Rose, Baseball Star Who Earned Glory and Shame, Dies at 83
One of the sport’s greatest players, he set a record with 4,256 career hits. But his gambling led to a lifetime ban and kept him out of the Hall of Fame.
Monocle Radio Podcast (October 1, 2024): The latest from Lebanon, Czechia’s coalition crisis, the Mozambican soldiers operating out of Total Energies’ natural gas plant, why sex has returned to cinema and news from the world of architecture. Plus: we report from Paris Fashion Week.
News, Views and Reviews For The Intellectually Curious
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