Monocle Films
Syria, from the ground up
Just months after the fall of Bashar al-Assad, Syria is rebuilding – both its institutions and its battered cities. For Monocle’s April issue, our Istanbul correspondent Hannah Lucinda Smith joins a flight from Istanbul…

Latest
Studio Babelsberg: reel deal
Despite the ubiquity of digital effects in cinema, Berlin’s Studio Babelsberg has preserved the craft of prop making. Its lifelike items continue to appear in some of the biggest movies today. We inspect the…

Christchurch School: sunny modernism
We explore a New Zealand take on mid-century modern architecture that fused British brutalism with a Scandinavian aesthetic. The simple construction methods of the Christchurch School’s creative homes have endured changing tastes – and…

Lebanon: state of the nation
With a cosmopolitan capital, picturesque countryside and improving – albeit fluctuating – security, Lebanon is on the up.

Kenya: state of the nation
This east African anchor boasts world-famous writers and athletes but corruption and flawed infrastructure hold it back.

The time for Thailand
As the business world prepares to get moving again, here are 10 things that you might have missed about Thailand during the past 12 months. From its sunny disposition to its trade and innovation,…

Russia: state of the nation
The soft power of the world’s largest country has taken a hit of late. We look at Russia’s ups and downs in our animated nation survey.

Media on the move
We visit two bold companies finding canny ways to pivot their product for changing audiences. Transhelvetica, a Swiss magazine, and Spiritland, a London-based hospitality and audio venture, are each shaping the media landscape for…

Monocle’s digital decency manifesto
Technology is everywhere but that ubiquity can come at a cost to our health, wellbeing and the quality of our conversations. View our manifesto for a more dignified relationship with all things digital and…

Ginza neighbourhood guide
First-timers to Ginza will be struck by its impressive department stores and glossy luxury labels. But head to the back streets and this area offers a riveting mix of exceptional bars, galleries and small…

Ryogoku and Kuramae neighbourhood guide
With any luck you’ll spot a sumo wrestler out and about in Ryogoku, the riverside neighbourhood that is home to Kokugikan, Tokyo’s distinctive sumo stadium. Across the water is Kuramae, another old neighbourhood that…
