Affairs
A Paris outdoor gym is giving vulnerable people back their dignity. Now it’s time for other cities to raise the bar
If you were asked to list the things that might improve the lives of homeless men and women living in a Paris shelter, it might take a while before you added “outdoor gym” as…
Latest in Monocle Radio
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When it comes to midterms, Maine tends not to stick to the beaten track. Here’s why its Republican senator still has a chance
Hit hard by Donald Trump’s policies, Maine should be a guaranteed midterm win for the Democrats. But the state might need more than a man in faded denim to disrupt Trump’s final two years.
Why mobility became the new battleground of geopolitics
In our interconnected world, the ability to keep goods flowing is paramount. A truly secure state is one with comprehensive and adaptive safeguards against disruptions across all transportation corridors.
The modernist dream: How a housing experiment in Vienna became a lasting community
Vienna’s 1930s Werkbund estate had lofty goals to create a ‘new culture of living’ but many homes failed to sell. Almost a century on, the residences are in-demand addresses that have a modern relevance.
Meet the man schooling Parisians on the etiquette of city living with a dog
The founder of Le Chien du Citoyen, Alain Lambert, has been teaching manners to the city’s dog owners for nearly three decades. We tag along on his cargo-bike circuit around the city’s dog parks.
Can US political network Braver Angels cool America’s divide and bring the left and right together?
We spend an evening with the non-profit debate programme, where red and blue Americans gather to talk through their differences and learn to ‘get curious, not furious’.
Who will be the next UN secretary-general? Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa makes her case
Seven candidates are racing to lead the UN, and all face the daunting task of reforming it amid geopolitical fracture. We sit down with Ecuador’s María Fernanda Espinosa and check out her competition.
With the help of Red Bull, young Japanese track stars prepare for the Hakone Ekiden in Austria
In Thalgau, a sleepy town near Salzburg, elite runners from Tokyo’s Aoyama Gakuin University are training at Red Bull’s Athlete Performance Center ahead of Japan’s biggest annual relay marathon.
K-Citymarket’s slow checkout lane is Finland’s successful reminder that not everything needs to be hurried
A supermarket slow lane might sound counterintuitive to some, but the concept has found success in Finland and beyond.
Spain’s second major train crash of 2026 has put the country’s railways back under the spotlight
The high-speed collision near Toledo follows a similar incident in January. Where do Spain’s rail operators go from here?
Brits rarely agree on government policy. Addressing the national shortage of common sense would be a start
Forget grand economic fixes for a moment. If the government really wants to restore public confidence, it could start by tackling the daily irritations that make modern life so maddening. Enter the modest manifesto.
