Society
Monocle’s December/January issue is here to offer you a steer on the new year
As we hurtle from a particularly eventful and consequential 2025 into a new year full of promise, we reflect on all that Monocle has achieved over the past 12 months.
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Editor’s letter: The power of determination
From ageless artists and independent labels to new frontiers in foreign policy, Monocle’s November issue celebrates those who stand firm in their principles and prove that resolve never goes out of style.
Contrary to what you might have heard, Europe is a 21st-century success story
Listen to the critics and you would think Europe was finished. Too bureaucratic, they say. Cannot agree on migration. Moving at glacial pace while Silicon Valley races ahead. It has become such a tired…
Why Asia still prefers emojis over email: A lesson in cross-border communication
In Southeast Asia, emails gather dust while Line buzzes with cute emojis and updates. Global business hinges on tapping into cultural quirks, while apology emails often raise eyebrows.
No politics at the table: The Russian restaurants taking over Dubai
Dubai Hills could easily pass for a suburb of St Petersburg these days. Drive through and you’ll find Russian cafés, Slavic bakeries and restaurants that wouldn’t look out of place on Nevsky Prospect. My…
Why Italy’s beaches became a battleground this summer
Italian beachgoers are experiencing spiralling fees and shrinking free sand. As debate rages, the question is whether the coastline is for the people – or for profit?
What €74,000 a year will buy you at Switzerland’s most remote boarding school
Children are often kept indoors as cold weather bites – but do they learn better by braving the chill? At Préfleuri, we discover why a nature-based education offers a true breath of fresh air.
Vienna’s most naked secret lives in the open on the Danube
The Austrian capital’s artificial island hosts a community of nudists keeping the 19th-century tradition of “free bodies” alive. Here’s what one writer learned from those with nothing to hide.
The Battle of Denny Blaine: Nudists vs prudists on Seattle’s lakefront
A nudist beach. A children’s playground. An embattled mayor. And a chain-link fence. The common thread is a sordid and silly episode that has roiled Seattle’s politics – and its summer by the lake.…
How the Faroe Islands reversed the brain drain of an ageing population
The small community found a big answer to an ageing population crisis
