A Hodgepodge for the Hungry Mind.

The Continental Marketing Error. Flanders Is Prominently Wielding the Art Budget Axe. The End of the Old World Is Nearing — Europe Is Cutting Its Main Global Relevance. By Rik Raats

Dolly will always remain vibrantly present in our hearts as most probably one of the wittiest spirits in musical literature. In her hyper-feminine, iconical character of traditional rural Americana, Dolly turned femininity into a powerful bandwagon and harnessed her unique genius to pull it all the way to the top as probably the most successful emancipator of our era. And for the literature-hungry—if you studied Shakespeare and Parton, you already digested two grand universit

We've landed in the era of the absurd idea of winning and losing as good vs. bad. The reality is, more often than not, the loss of victory in the win and the blessing found in the disappointment, as Whistler's Mother taught us. Her icon is engraved in our American DNA; but her lesson seems forgotten. Article by Rik Raats —the fool who practices the pen in an attempt to process reality.

Few partnerships have shaped modern global philanthropy as profoundly as that between Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. Two entrepreneurial giants, they came to embody a model of corporate leadership in which commercial success and philanthropic ambition reinforced one another. Their shared legacy extends far beyond the businesses they built. Yet when Buffett quietly excluded the Gates Foundation from the latest chapter of his historic giving, the significance of the decision la

The invisible cargo of the Mayflower was a precious intangible asset — an idea. It was the small candle whose light, once kindled, could ignite thousands more. Its flame crossed the Atlantic almost unnoticed, yet it carried far more than the hopes and beliefs of a handful of English Separatists. In fact it even outgrew the American project. The candle embodies the essence of a human spirit that may lead to the better versions of ourselves.

We are all, from time to time, homesick for ourselves. It's part of being pilgrims, whether we choose to be one or not.

Margo Raats Concert, Brixton, London, April 7 2026

Has the aviation industry lost its magic? Or are we just overwhelmed?