We speak with Mitchell Kaplan, founder of Books & Books, a leading independent bookshop chain based in South Florida. Plus: Tom Ellis, editor in chief of Greece’s ‘Kathimerini English Edition’, and we find out more about South Korean publications ‘Magazine B’ and ‘Magazine F’.توسط Monocle Radio

This week on ‘The Stack’, we speak with the editor in chief of ‘Garden & Gun’, a magazine celebrating the American South. We also discuss the Mexican elections with Brian Winter from ‘Americas Quarterly’ and talk to Liz Schaffer from ‘Lodestars Anthology’ about the publication’s new book, ‘Slow Travel Britain’.…

With New Democracy set to cement its political dominance in the upcoming European elections, the battle for second place is heating up as SYRIZA and PASOK’s leaders turn up the heat to see who will take on the leading role on Greece’s center-left after the elections. The fight for second place is also viewed by many as a battle of survival for SYRI…

After decades of negotiations and acrimony, Athens and Skopje signed the Prespa Agreement in 2018 that effectively put an end to the Macedonia name dispute and opened the way for North Macedonia to join NATO and start the process toward EU membership. Since the election win of the VMRO-DPMNE in early May, however, its leadership has taken a nationa…

Since an economic overhaul in June last year, Turkey’s central bank has increased its main interest rate to 50 per cent from 8.5 per cent in an effort to tame rampant inflation. Despite this, and other steps, Turks continue to face nearly 70 per cent inflation rates, high borrowing costs and cuts in measures that in recent years helped soften the i…

Earlier this year Turkey completed the maiden test flight of its prototype Kaan fighter, a development celebrated in Ankara. Is this the groundbreaking achievement Turkish media is claiming, and what does it mean for Turkey’s defense industry? Rebecca Lucas, a senior analyst in defense and security with RAND Europe, and Stuart Dee, a research leade…

Last week the EU gave the final green light to a landmark overhaul of its migration and asylum policies, ending more than eight years of efforts to rewrite the rulebook. This was followed up by 15 EU states - including frontline states like Greece, Italy, and Cyprus - demanding further measures to tighten the bloc’s asylum policy, including sending…

This week we speak to David Marchese and Lulu Garcia-Navarro about their new weekly series from ‘The New York Times’ called ‘The Interview’. We also speak to Sandra Reichl and Karin Novozamsky from the Austrian title ‘A Passion Thing’. And we find out more about the Monocle x Gucci collaboration.توسط Monocle Radio

This week kicked off with Turkish President Erdogan stating that 1000 Hamas members were being treated in Turkey, a comment that Turkish officials tried to walk back, saw The Times report that Hamas may have been planning to establish a base in Turkey, and culminated with the Turkish leader suggesting that Israel would “set its sights” on Turkey if…

Over 70 members of Congress sent a letter to the Biden administration this week, urging it to hold Turkey accountable for the 2017 attack by Erdogan’s security guards against American protesters at Sheridan Circle. Members of Congress are calling on the State Department to press President Erdogan and Turkish authorities on this issue as an essentia…

With European elections on the horizon, Greek political leaders are not only hitting the road to campaign across the country, but are also increasingly leaning into social media platforms in their search for voters. While New Democracy will likely maintain its dominant position in Greek politics, attention is turning to SYRIZA and PASOK, and their …

This July, Turkey’s illegal occupation of the northern part of Cyprus will hit the 50-year mark. 2024 also marks another Cypriot “anniversary”, the 2004 rejection of the Annan Plan for the reunification of Cyprus. Endy Zemenides, the Executive Director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, joins Thanos Davelis to break down why the rejection…

North Macedonia’s new president, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, has sparked a diplomatic crisis with Greece following her decision during her swearing in ceremony to refer to her country simply as “Macedonia” rather than the constitutional name “North Macedonia.” Prime Minister Mitsotakis slammed her decision, warning that further violations of the P…

This week on The Stack we speak with Corey Stokes from ‘Essence’ magazine. Plus: the closure of Singapore’s most beloved newsstand and the latest iteration of ‘The Monocle Companion’.توسط Monocle Radio

Europe’s political landscape is changing dramatically, with the latest polls predicting that far right parties will gain across the EU in the upcoming European Parliament elections. Amid concerns over the rise of the far-right, radical-right forces are already influencing EU policies. Giorgia Meloni is the prime example, with the Italian prime mini…

Having been dealt a devastating blow in the municipal elections earlier this year, Turkish President Erdogan - who campaigned tirelessly everywhere and made this election about his rule - is now looking to bounce back. This will undoubtedly have consequences on both domestic and foreign policy. Henri Barkey, the Cohen professor of international rel…

Earlier this week Turkey formally opened the monastery of Chora, a former Byzantine church and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Istanbul, as a mosque. The move follows the conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque in 2020, and has drawn international criticism. It also comes as the US Commission on International Religious Freedom once again recomme…

Over the past two years an area south of Greece’s Peloponnese had become a major location to circumvent sanctions against Russian oil exports. It looks like Greece has now found a way to disrupt these operations - taking place in international waters - after the Greek navy blocked off the area for naval exercises. A factor in this story is the fact…

Last fall Greece joined the Three Seas Initiative, which brings together 13 EU countries located between the Baltic, Black, Adriatic, and now the Aegean Seas. The Three Seas Initiative was initially founded with the economy in mind, to foster regional dialogue and boost investment, and with Greece’s addition, its diplomatic and economic pull now ex…

This week we speak with Emily Tobin, the new editor of ‘The World of Interiors’. Plus we pay a visit to NY’s Art Book Fair and preview our new title, ‘France: The Monocle Handbook’.توسط Monocle Radio

Anyone who has visited the United States or is familiar with shows like Seinfeld will have come across a diner, a uniquely American type of restaurant. Few may know, however, that from the 1960s onward Greek-Americans came to dominate the diner restaurant scene, especially in the Northeast and the Midwest. Professor Alexander Kitroeff, one of the l…

The Financial Times recently reported that Greece and some other EU countries have been under pressure to send more aid to Ukraine, specifically air defense systems. Prime Minister Mitsotakis has ruled this out, citing Greece’s defense needs. Constantinos Filis, the director of the Institute of Global Affairs and a professor of international relati…

This summer will mark 50 years since Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus, and for the last five decades tens of thousands of Turkish occupation troops have been present in the northern part of the island. 50 years later, the US still refuses to officially recognize Turkey’s illegal occupation as an occupation. Michael Rubin, a senior fellow at the American…

Politicians, scientists and organizations from all over the world were in Athens this April as Greece hosted the 9th International Our Ocean Conference. Greece, the US, and all stakeholders made some 450 commitments totalling billions of dollars for the protection of the oceans and seas, including two new marine parks in the Aegean and the Ionian s…

After originally leaking that a White House visit was in play in the lead up to municipal elections at the end of March, President Erdogan is now postponing his May meeting with President Biden in Washington, DC. No reason was cited, but, as some analysts note, the move will likely upend efforts to mend ties between the two NATO allies. Wolfango Pi…

Voters in North Macedonia went to the polls on Wednesday for the first round of presidential elections in a vote widely seen as a litmus test for upcoming parliamentary elections. There are some concerns the election outcome could affect North Macedonia’s relations with Greece and Bulgaria - given references to the Prespa Agreement and constitution…

Claims that Turkish President Erdogan has canceled an upcoming meeting at the White House have been circulating in Turkish media. With neither Washington nor Ankara formally denying the rumors, it is raising more questions about whether they are true or not. In the meantime, it seems Ankara is once again putting up hurdles with regard to NATO, this…

Today marks 109 years since the Armenian genocide began. With commemorations taking place across the world, there is a renewed fear that the lessons of “Never Again” have been forgotten following Azerbaijan’s attack on Nagorno Karabakh and the subsequent mass exodus of over 100,000 Armenians from the region in what has been described as ethnic clea…

Changes to Greece’s Golden Visa scheme are set to kick in at the end of the summer. This will see increases in the minimum amount needed to invest in order to secure a residence permit in an effort to tackle the country’s housing crisis. This move comes as golden visa programs are being phased out or shut down around Europe, and as housing has beco…

Investments in Greece have shot up over the past years, with the country outperforming its Eurozone partners when it comes to the pace with which it is attracting and increasing investments. Despite this positive picture, there are a number of myths around investments in Greece, especially when it comes to real estate and the Golden Visa scheme. Mi…

We speak with ‘Wildsam Magazine’ editor in chief Taylor Bruce. Plus: we talk to the founder of Paper Café in Nairobi and visit an exhibition on Japanese music books at Japan House London.توسط Monocle Radio

Since emerging from its international bailouts and a decade-long economic crisis, the Greek economy is now surging, outperforming its eurozone partners with its economy expected to grow nearly 3% this year. Despite this positive outlook, there are key challenges ahead, as some economies in the eurozone have slowed down, and many Greeks hurt by the …

Following Iran’s latest attack on Israel over the weekend Defense Minister Nikos Dendias said that Greece plans to develop a defense system similar to Israel’s Iron Dome aimed at safeguarding the country against airborne threats. Meanwhile, while Iran was also the focus of a summit in Brussels, EU leaders also highlighted relations with Turkey, lin…

Back in February, the readout from the 5th US-Greece strategic dialogue saw the US and Greece stress the importance of integrating youth in climate change mitigation and resilience, including through a youth corps exchange program that links the California Conservation Corps with Ecogenia in Greece. Thanos Davelis caught up with Larry Notheis, the …

The memoirs of former German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble were recently released in Germany. As expected, Greece features heavily. All the key moments of the crisis and its main actors are sketched in his memoirs, from the times Grexit was genuinely on the table, to his dealings with prime ministers Papandreou, Samaras, and Tsipras, and finan…

Last week thought leaders, politicians, experts and the business community gathered in Delphi in Greece for the 9th Delphi Economic Forum. The Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC) had an important presence there as well, leading discussions on the role of the diaspora, the importance of Cyprus, the Middle East post October 7th, and the futur…

We speak with author and journalist Simon Kuper on his new book about Paris, ‘Impossible City – Paris in the Twenty-First Century’. Plus: food titles are invited to a special event at Salone del Mobile, and the return of ‘Saveur’ magazine.توسط Monocle Radio