The Monocle Minute

The Democratic National Convention concluded late last night with a speech by the party’s nominee, Kamala Harris, and the delegates in high spirits. Among the hustle and a huddle was a non-stop conga of Coloradans in cowboy hats festooned with flashing lights, Iowan treasurers, small-town mayors and a band of noisy Wisconsinites in Swiss cheese-shaped headgear. Everyone wanted to chat. Most travelled hundreds if not thousands of miles to be heard in Chicago. At times the atmosphere on the convention floor was akin to a sports final, that similar effusion felt by superfans seeing star players – be they pitchers or politicians – take to the stage.

But this isn’t the end of the Harris-Walz campaign – in fact, it has only just begun. On the convention floor I talked to “uncommitted” delegates angry about the current administration’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza. One said that he was still not sure how he would mark his ballot paper come November. For all the rousing talk of hope, freedom and opportunity, even the most ardent supporters said that they’re ready to get into policy, to work out how the party will boil down its differences.

The Democrats leave Chicago more united. But the true test of a candidate’s cut-through is meeting voters without the teleprompter. After four days of drilling by the full force of the Democratic machine, from choral chants to awe-inspiring odes, it was clear that this party has undergone a profound shift in mood. Just four weeks ago, it was “bad vibes” about a good economy, an ailing president and deep divisions; a month before the event, Chicago hoteliers still had a surfeit of available rooms. On the day, though, the city was packed out thanks to a Harris-Walz ticket that has energised the Democratic base. But vibes can only last so long; now they have to take this show on the road.

Christopher Lord is Monocle’s US editor. For more opinion, analysis and insight subscribe to Monocle today.

A new seasonal sleeper train service between Brussels and Venice was announced this week, with its inaugural journey scheduled for 5 February. It’s the latest itinerary to be added to European Sleeper’s operation, which already includes capitals such as Amsterdam, Berlin and Prague. Bookings for the service to Venice, which will run twice a week in February and March, open on 1 September.

Passengers departing Brussels can dine in the train’s restaurant car while passing through Germany and the Austrian Alps, before reaching Venice at 14.00 the next day. “For a while, these sleeper trains were dying,” Christian Wolmar, transport writer and broadcaster, tells The Monocle Minute. “But so many services have been revived over the past decade. We can finally start talking about a real renaissance.” With still more destinations in the works, European commuters can look forward to more restful nights on their travels in the years to come.

London-based events business Broadwick Live is behind 23 nightclubs in the UK, so expansion into the US felt like a natural next step for the company. Many of its spaces have an industrial past and its latest location, New York’s Brooklyn Storehouse, is no exception. The former military dockyard has been used for civil shipping and boat repairs for the past 50 years.

“New York has swaths of amazing spaces that can be reused,” says Simeon Aldred, Broadwick Live’s director of strategy. “Shipyards, power stations, warehouses – these buildings are often loved by the community, so developers are no longer commissioned to knock things down.” Brooklyn Storehouse will have a mixed schedule that spans concerts, fashion shows and theatre performances. “We have to make bold strides,” says Aldred. “Culture is being squeezed out of cities in the rush to build cheap housing. We want to do something to redress that.”

A longer version of this piece features in Monocle’sSeptember issue, which is out now. For more agenda-setting stories on culture and the arts, subscribe to Monocle today so that you never miss an issue.


This week’s picture showing a man jumping off a beach rock is taken from Días, a photobook by Spaniard Pia Riverola, published tomorrow by Loose Joints. The self-taught photographer is known for her hazy style where motion, blur and dappled light create evocative images of fleeting sun-drenched moments.

Días is a tonal collage of such moments. There are photographs of rainy, neon-lit Japanese nights, of a Mediterranean breeze lifting a Spanish tablecloth and of Italian drizzle softly falling from beneath a parasol in a Roman garden.

Good journalism can have an effect on our cities’ quality of life. In this episode, we speak to a media company in the Philippines aiming to make Manila livable. We also visit a new waterfront park near the Port of Los Angeles and flick through the pages of Monocle’s mobility special issue.