Philip Roth 30 years afterMid-term American PastoralThe Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s best-known masterpiece returns in a new translation and edition from Adelphi. Almost 30 years on, everything has changed: America, what it means to be Jewish, and even what it means to be a writer. byMichele Masneri9 NOV 26
the interviewEngaging with the right is possible if the left is as dangerous as Trump. Marattin’s take“A broad coalition in the Mamdani style is just as dangerous as Trump for Italy’s public finances and its international standing. At the moment, populism on the left is on the rise, though largely with less demagoguery thanks to Vannacci,” says the centrist courted by the ruling liberalsbyRiccardo Carlino9 NOV 26
Investigations on trialWhy the Garlasco case concerns all ItaliansThe errors, the delays, the conviction: the investigations into the murder of Chiara Poggi as a wake-up call for the Italian justice system. The Stasi case and the suspicion no one would want to harbour: what if it happened to us?byRosaria Capacchione9 NOV 26
Il Foglio atMove regarding BPM. Paris plans a third hub. The challenge to GiorgettiCrédit Agricole is proposing to merge its Italian bank with Banco Bpm: Castagna at the helm, listed on the Milan stock exchange, but the French would increase their stake to 45 per cent. A different approach to the MPS plan9 NOV 26
scenarioCrosetto: “No one is equipped to win the hybrid war”. Cyberattacks and the Interior Ministry CommitteeFollowing a week of tampered fridges, data published on the dark web and false bomb alerts, the Defence Minister is calling on all branches of government to present a united front. He proposes shifting from defence to attack: “If we limit ourselves to defending ourselves, we have lost.” The Security Committee is due to meet tomorrow at the Ministry of the Interior.byRedazione9 NOV 26
An investigationThe black holes in Schlein’s agenda. Dear programme, how much are you costing us?To revitalise the country, the PD’s programme envisages increasing state intervention across all sectors, from energy to employment, and from industrial policy to welfare. However, a massive increase in public spending can only be achieved by flouting the European Stability Pact or by raising taxesbyLuciano Capone e Carlo Stagnaro9 NOV 26
Il Foglio reviewWho is Gadi Eisenkot? The arrow on the map and the one in his heartThe Israeli general orchestrated the conflict in Gaza in which his son, Private Gal, was also killed. On the day of the funeral, he said: ‘We will look after the country you loved.’ The heart-wrenching sense of protection, caught between peace and war, the need to coexist and the endless rubblebyMicol Flammini9 NOV 26
Formula 1Mercedes triumphs, Ferrari struggles: a tally of Elkann’s broken promisesThe Constructors’ title returns to Brackley, whilst at Interlagos the Scuderia confirmed all its difficulties in wet conditions and the communication issues between the drivers and the pit wall. Since 2022, the Scuderia has failed to fulfil its commitment to win a World Championship: the figures are starkbyFabio Tavelli9 NOV 26
MagazineVoices and fears from an Ireland that depends on Big Tech and is celebrating the US election result. But now it is looking to EuropeTrump has reopened a long-standing wound, but everyone – from the Foreign Secretary to the Italian Ambassador, right through to the influential economist who has advised several governments – has poured water on the fire smouldering beneath the ashes. And they have emphasised the shift that has now become necessary: more EU, less America. ReportbyStefano Cingolani9 NOV 26
MagazineFrom Lucretius to Moravia: a literary history of boredomThe sentiment underlying today’s brutality has permeated, like an invisible spectre, so much of the thought and suffering in the history of our civilisation. An excursusbyCarmelo Zaffora9 NOV 26
MAGAZINELost in endless libraries. The subtle art of knowing which books not to read or to forgetEvery book is an attempt to distil a library. Today, selecting information is easier, but knowing what to ignore still requires a great deal of reading. From the invention of the printing press to AI, an unresolved paradox and a question: what value does what we have discarded hold?byGiorgio Caravale9 NOV 26
An international newspaperFor Houellebecq, it is easier to understand evil than good. “And so what if they call me a fascist?”“The French are starting to get used to violence. For several years now, whenever there is an event that brings large numbers of people onto the streets, there is looting. Always.” So said the writer to the Spanish newspapers El País and ABC.9 NOV 26
The editor’s editorialTrump’s defeat is a political rout for Putin and PutinismBeing close to the Kremlin does not pay off; it does not win votes, in America any more than in other countries. Russia is in trouble, militarily and economically, and within its sphere of influence. Putinism not only fails to work but is anything but invincible. One simply has to be willing to understand this.byClaudio Cerasa9 NOV 26
in JerusalemManaging the demonisation of IsraelEisenkot’s move and the future. Why the crisis of anti-Zionism will not be resolved by a change of governmentbyPierluigi Battista9 NOV 26
magazineThe timeless Bob Dylan. Please switch off your mobile phones before entering.The elusive song of the rock poet who turns his music on its head. Amongst the bewildered yet adoring audience, there are those who snap a few photosbyVittorio Bongiorno9 NOV 26
MagazineSing to me, O woman, of your wrath. A bookRelentless, bloody and morally reprehensible, female rage has always been ‘observed through the peephole’ by men. In her book Furiose, Silvia Romani traces the origins of this immense rage back to the ancient world.byAnnalena Benini9 NOV 26
The editorial from ‘L’Elefantino’The war of state-sponsored harassment that we do not believe inIt doesn’t even seem like a breach of the peace: hybrid warfare is the gangster-style variation on the use of force in relations between nations, the creeping prelude to the loss of sovereignty and freedom. Yet we still do not consider tackling itbyGiuliano Ferrara8 NOV 26
The SituationThe defeat of Trump’s agendaThe midterm results show that protectionism, tariffs, the trade war with Europe, leniency towards Putin, hostility towards Ukraine and isolationism have neither improved the lives of Americans nor rewarded those who advocate thembyClaudio Cerasa8 NOV 26
magazineThe pyromaniac intellectuals. The nasty little schoolmasters who fan the flamesNot one huge fire, but many small blazes across the West. “Let’s set the streets of Paris alight; there is no revolution without excesses”byGiulio Meotti8 NOV 26
MagazineVenice: letters from the future of a city that refuses to dieIn 1966, the Acqua Granda transformed the city into the “central episode of the crisis of the modern world”. To save it, it was ‘hospitalised’. Now Paolini’s beautiful civic “Veglia” for the Biennale at the Arsenale does not mourn but looks aheadbyMaurizio Crippa8 NOV 26
ROME CAPOCCIAA square is being turned into a pedestrian zone and, as always, protests ensue. Surreal but trueThe redevelopment of Piazza Monteleone in Spoleto, in the Fleming district, will see the introduction of new trees, benches and pedestrian areas. However, some residents and shopkeepers are protesting against the loss of parking spaces and changes to the traffic layout. It’s a scenario we’ve seen before in many Roman neighbourhoods. byGianluca Roselli8 NOV 26
GRAN MILANOIn the south, it’s all about logisticsThe southern belt is attracting new investment in logistics, with major operators set to open new distribution centres. It is a growing sector, but one facing the risk of saturation of available sites and an increasingly congested road network. The regional government is exploring new transport links byGiovanni Seu8 NOV 26
Il Foglio SportFrom Balotelli to Vialli, football on a disc. The idea from Materazi Future ClubThe three musicians’ new album tells the story of Italians in England who, at different times and with varying degrees of success, have ventured into the richest and most challenging league in the worldbyMaurizio Zoja8 NOV 26
MagazineAI for candidates. A brief history of election campaignsArtificial intelligence has turned the rules of propaganda on their head, but it all began on the walls of PompeiibyMaurizio Stefanini8 NOV 26
ODD FACESDirector Antonietta De Lillo: “In cinema, the industry cannot triumph over culture”“If you do something that doesn’t fit into the mainstream or the authorial category, you become unclassifiable. To me, both labels seemed too restrictive.” InterviewbyFrancesco Palmieri8 NOV 26
in the mid-term electionsAmerica has had enough of Trump. But the Democrats have yet to work out why they wonThe Republican defeat goes beyond the traditional rejection of the president’s party: voters have punished Trump and his administration, without necessarily endorsing the Democratic agenda. Now the winning party must unite moderates and progressives, whilst the Republicans must reflect on their future. Analysis by political scientists Hans Noel and Anthony FowlerbyAni Chkhikvadze8 NOV 26
the literary featureLatchford: the dark side of MalrauxAmidst plundered temples, the Khmer Rouge and Western museums, Douglas Latchford turned the looting of Cambodian art into an empire. Reporter Matthew Campbell traces the rise and fall of an art dealer who wanted to be Malraux, yet failed to turn his plunder into literature or civic engagementbyMassimo Morello8 NOV 26
Foglio della ModaA history of costume at Palazzo MorandoMosé Bianchi’s painted fashion: an exceptional collection on displaybyIlaria De Palma8 NOV 26
Fewer dreams, more idealsHow can a generation of dull and bored adults be a source of inspiration for young people?An increasing number of tedious adults are urging bored young people: ‘Come on, dream’. But where? Which adult today can a young man or woman look up to and want to emulate, to live ‘like’ him or her? byDavide Rondoni8 NOV 26
Cats on the front pageUnderstanding humanity through animals: the injustice of a hen with a messy combIlide Carmignani and Elena Battista have compiled a list of idioms which, by featuring animals, convey the joys, hardships, disappointments, enthusiasm or mistrust that we experience every day, whatever language we speakbyTina Guiducci8 NOV 26