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Beyond the Headlines: The Human Complexity of the Middle East
Books, films and cultural works that help us see the Middle East beyond the noise of geopolitics
#Books
53 results
·Arts & Culture
The 10 Best Durga Puja Pandals from Kolkata, 2025
An exploration on the art of Kolkata during Durga Puja
·Arts & Culture
Curtain Raiser: The Durga Puja Experience in Kolkata
Experiencing the world’s largest street art festival
·Arts & Culture
How to make cultural festivals independent, inclusive, and sustainable
Cultural festivals succeed when they put community before commerce and independence before sponsorship—while continuously experimenting to stay relevant and inclusive. Insights from the builders of the Bangalore Lit Fest and Mumbai’s MAMI film festival
·Travel & Journeys
France’s Wine Cities: A Feast Beyond the Glass
A journey through Dijon and Lyon reveals France at its finest—sublime food, world-class wines, and centuries of history
·Books, Music & Film
Summer Reading | Children’s Books
A selection of books for different age groups (and for the child in you)
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: The Oscar Rosters 2025
A review and breakdown of the nominees of the main categories of the 2025 Oscars and their chances of winning
·Personal Reinvention
FF Life: The rewards of writing
It’s a window to learning, making connections, and a form of personal riches
·Arts & Culture
Pursuit of Identity: ‘Voices’ from Within and Without
My 10 recommendations of avant-garde films screened at the MAMI film festival, 2024
·Travel & Journeys
FF Life: Flamenco, wine and history
If you revel in culture, history, and architecture, there’s every chance you’ll find every bit of Andalusia in southern Spain utterly captivating
·Arts & Culture
Remembering P.G. Mathai
A master of the craft of writing and editing, the senior journalist and editor passed away on May 12
·Arts & Culture
FF Life: A beginner's guide to graphic novels
Discovering the power of visual language
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: The Oscar Rosters 2024
A spoiler-free ranking of the Oscar movies, with winner predictions
·Arts & Culture
Rashid Khan: A voice as pure as the rain
His dulcet baritone could create such slow burn performances, mesmerising the audience. This is the second piece on the eternal genius, that delves into the traditions of Hindustani Classical Music and Rashid Khan’s legacy
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: Where the good wine is
Kickstart the holiday season with a learner’s guide to everything wine: Books, movies, festivals and more
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: Systems thinking — Seeing the whole
Five books to nurture your systems thinking skills
·Arts & Culture
FF Life: Teens are fascinating. This is what they like to watch
August 26, 2023: Five shows recommended by two teens that may offer a window into their world
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: 7 favourite books
In our daily newsletter FF Insights, we cull a book extract that we believe will add value to our subscribers’ day. Here are our favourite books from that long list
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: Oppenheimer & the scientific phenomena of the Nuclear Age
The biopic Oppenheimer, on ‘the father of the atomic bomb’, just released in India. Here’s a curated list of books and movies that explore the people behind the Nuclear Age and the conflicts that shaped it
·Travel & Journeys
FF Life: Notes from a wanderer in London
An evergreen city that springs to life during Wimbledon and the Ashes
·Books, Music & Film
My six summer must-read books of 2023
FF Life: My choice of the 2023 summer books is reflective of the times we live in and the key topics on executives’ minds
·Travel & Journeys
FF Life: Sunny summer days and shadows of the past
Berlin: A city that is as contemporary as it gets, but hasn’t forgotten its grim past
·Arts & Culture
FF Life: The Cholas — Beyond Ponniyin Selvan 2
Beyond the movie, there are a number of reasons why the Cholas matter. Here’s how one can follow the Chola trail and get a deeper experience of what you saw in the movie
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: The Oscar Rosters 2023
4 March 2023: This year has been a fantastic year for movies. Predictions for which films, directors, actors will take the awards
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: 8 Stories of Financial Fraud & Hubris that You Must Know About
February 4, 2023: History provides many examples of how the mix of business, politics, markets and finance can end up serving up a deadly cocktail
·investing
FF Life: Investing lessons from evolutionary biology
Rate hikes, inflation, market movements… Here’s what investors can learn from evolutionary biology on what matters. (Plus book recommendations: Like psychology, an understanding of evolutionary biology can help us become better investors)
·Arts & Culture
FF Insights #706: Chennai’s chess pioneers
August 1, 2022: The first step; Be sceptical; E-com anxieties
·Arts & Culture
FF Life: Art in the name of the Mother Goddess
Kolkata’s creative spark is virulent. And it all comes alive during Durga Puja
·Arts & Culture
FF Life: 21 Places that define India@75
The stories that shaped modern India with new sensibilities
·Arts & Culture
FF Life: Five ways to indulge in the spirit of chess
August 6, 2022: There is more to chess than following the game
·Arts & Culture
Ms Marvel is an important cultural event, and you don’t even know about it
FF Life: A superhero show that oozes a chill desi vibe and battles hate. But an algorithm is keeping it secret from you
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: The best translated works from Indian languages
June 11, 2022: Discovering India through its literature, translated in English
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: Understanding Sri Lanka
May 21, 2022: Four books and two films that help us decode what is causing a crisis this harsh in the island nation
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: Notes on appreciating Jazz
May 7, 2022: What it takes to appreciate Jazz (Hint: Pattern recognition)
·Books, Music & Film
5 movies that should have won Oscars in 2022 but weren’t even nominated
April 2, 2022: FF Life | Movies that give the winners a run for their money
·Living with Technology and AI
FF Life: Organise your digital assets
March 12, 2022: Save and easily find all your important media and files
·Happiness, Meaning & Purpose
FF Life: Six podcasts to decode a shifting world
February 12, 2022: Great conversations to get you thinking
·Arts & Culture
FF Insights #585: Lata Mangeshkar’s enduring appeal
February 8, 2022: How to keep sane in the digital world; Why chase flying cars?; We are like this only
·Books, Music & Film
FF Life: The Best Stories of 2021
January 21, 2022: We take stock and reflect over all that transpired through the previous year
·Happiness, Meaning & Purpose
Diwali gifts to win the hearts of the youngsters in your extended family
September 11, 2021 | FF Daily #472: FF Recommends five gift ideas
·Books, Music & Film
Ten Books to Read to Mark India’s 75th Independence Day
August 14, 2021 | FF Recommends: Glimpses into history and insights on what the future may look like
·Nature & Wilderness
FF Recommends: Six wildlife documentaries
FF Daily #408 | June 26, 2021: A wildlife photographer and conservationist points to nightlife in a jungle, what an octopus might teach us, Karnataka’s wildlife, a panther that stalks Kabini, the truth about fishing, and a heroic story of a valiant stance against poachers
·Personal Reinvention
FF Daily #372: Stephen King on writing simply
May 13, 2021: The (im)morality of patents; Pointers from Shahid Jameel; (Poem) All you who sleep tonight
·Arts & Culture
Strokes of genius: Ten sports documentaries you should not miss | FF Recommends
April 3, 2021: FF Daily #338 | On the tenth anniversary of India’s famous World Cup at Wankhede, relive some of the iconic legends and moments through these ten documentaries from a range of sports
·Books, Music & Film
FF Daily #298: Listen up! A guide to audiobooks
FF Recommends: Audiobooks. Four audiobook fans tell us why they got hooked, how it has helped them keep up with books, and their tips to make the most of this format—plus the audiobooks they’ve enjoyed, if you are looking for how to get started
·Books, Music & Film
FF Daily #253: FF Recommends | 20 songs for your holiday playlist
20 songs for this season recommended by Team FF along with their family and friends
·Books, Music & Film
Music and life
In the finale of season 2, Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation, the Pauls—BBDO’s chairman Josy, doctoral student Shlok, and jazz and gospel singer Marie—share their journey of how music influenced their lives
·Books, Music & Film
FF Daily #224: FF Recommends | Political thrillers that are worth binge-watching
November 07, 2020: This weekend, enjoy our specially curated collection of political thrillers