Crime and the city: the Chicago prison in a skyscraper, how Oslo street lighting prevents crime, and a look at New York gangsters of old.

Daniella Peled, editor at the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, discusses the identity of the Israeli prisoner known as "prisoner X". On the eve of President Barack Obama’s state of the union address we ask what makes…

Reactions to Germany’s eurobond plan, why Olympics branding has spread to the knitting industry, and we hear of Brazil prisoners reducing sentences by reading books.

Hugo Macdonald selects Monocle’s fifth birthday celebrations, the highlights from our recent Greece series, and a Chicago prison report as his favourites of the week.

Edition two looks at the rebranding of Azerbaijan, the Israeli/Palestine prisoner swap, sport in South Korea and the grumpiest people in the world.

We look back over APEC’s achievements, get the business news from Moscow, and discuss the US handover of Bagram Prison to Afghanistan.

Professor Scott Lewis discusses Aleppo’s prison riots, Rose Skelton explains the current political landscape in Mali, and we ask why Virgin Australia is rebranding.

Why Benghazi’s police are refusing to work, we learn the reasons behind the recent riot at Folsom prison, and discuss arguably the world’s finest chocolate.

Why Argentina nationalised its biggest oil company, we discuss an escapee from North Korea’s prison camps, and look at US TV’s latest sensation.

We discuss 335 prisoners recently released in Iraq, assess Russia’s plan to send an unmanned spacecraft to the Moon in 2015, and learn about Egypt’s fastest growing female sport: roller derby.