June 2026

The biggest heist of all time?

In "The Anarchy", William Dalrymple recounts how the British East India Company conquered the mighty Mughal Empire, plundered the wealthy region of Bengal, and, in its day, became an early symbol of global corporate power

The song of the heartbroken

Abdellah Taïa's "Die Bastion der Tränen" is a poetic and painful novel about homosexuality, exile and the incurable wounds of origin, family and social confinement in a Morocco of memory

Those who remain silent about techno-capitalism are talking about vampires

A billionaire, the blood of young women, bomb-making, Islamists online: Madeline Cash collects contemporary conspiracy theories. It’s funny, but why does 'Lost Lambs' remain silent when power is laid bare?

After Mandela

Mandela is analyzed here less as an heroic historical figure than a contested symbol of transition between political epochs. A reflection on neoliberalism, generational rupture, and the unfinished promises of post-apartheid South Africa.

Quicksand

An Egyptian short story

What intention governs a human rule?

A critical reflection on the deep origin of human rules: prohibition, culture and social unconscious versus the rationalist fictions of liberalism and contemporary Marxism

Undercover among German Nazis

During the covid pandemic, journalist Angelique Geray wanted to understand the thinking behind covid deniers and why they become conspiracy theorists. To do this, she created a cover identity.

Edo and the ghosts

In "Edo's Souls", Stella Gaitano condenses family history, civil war and the female experience into a novel of poetic force and analytical clarity, impressive also in its language and structure

Between word and truth

Why the combination of mysticism, ontology and radical truthfulness of the Hurufi poet Imadeddin Nesimi continues to have an impact today – as a challenge for individual freedom, language and lived conviction

Glass splinters in the throat

A poem from Tunisia