Robert Bound
Oil painting
Dubai believes luxury and sunshine can seem stale without culture. Monocle visits Art Dubai to see who’s buying and ask if an oil state can reinvent itself as a capital of culture.
Presenting the nation
A boom in state-funded English news channels aims to transmit a country’s brand alongside the news. We report on these new broadcast empires and ask if it's propaganda disguised as programming.
A song for supper
A shy teenager from an island off Rotterdam, Anton Corbijn only felt confident behind a camera. He has since befriended many subjects, including U2, and invited us for lunch in The Hague.
Mix in the right circles
Four enthusiastic Swedes believe the future of music doesn't end with the iPod. Their Pacemaker, a palm-sized DJ system, promises musical discovery, pitch-perfect audio quality and instant party epiphany for music lovers.
Culture
Music: Vampire Weekend and Chris Bathgate. Film: 3:10 to Yuma and Battle of Haditha. Art: A New York art cpp[ and exhibition picks. Books: JG Ballard's autobiography, Granta and Madam President.
Fog City News
The magazine store in San Francisco that's bucking the mainstream, a satirical Parisian paper and healthcare, manga-style.
On the pulse
Medica is the world’s largest healthcare trade fair. This year 4,360 companies displayed the latest must-haves for the 21st-century doctor from souped-up ambulances to rather too realistic anatomical models
Culture
From the Second World War as told by an ordinary German civilian to the latest album from Cat Power, Monocle's culture editors pick the midwinter's essential books and music.
Arte & Craft
High-definition TV is forcing a return to old-fashioned craft. Monocle visits Arte, the polished Franco-German channel that has never let its standards drop, to learn the art behind its high-quality broadcasting.
The next best thing
In the Netherlands’ crowded newspaper market, new daily NRC Next has found an untapped readership with its wit, analysis and opinion. Could this be the new role model for the European press?
