Why the Netherlands is Having Its Global Moment in the Sun Alright, folks, gather ’round. We need to talk about the Netherlands. No, it’s not just about tulips, windmills, and that one time you tried (and failed) to pronounce “Groningen” correctly. The Netherlands is trending globally, and there’s a lot more to it than meets…
Maluma Mania: Why the World is Losing Its Mind Over This Latin Heartthrob If you’ve been anywhere near the internet lately, you’ve probably stumbled upon the name “Maluma” more times than you’ve seen a cat video. But who is this man, and why is he taking over the world like a Latin pop emperor? Let’s…
CANNAVALE, THE ACCIDENTAL DIPLOMAT: HOW ONE BROOKLYN-BORN ACTOR BECAME A GLOBAL TROJAN HORSE By the time Bobby Cannavale walked the red carpet at Cannes for the second time, diplomats from three continents were quietly asking the same question: how did a loud-mouthed kid from Union Street become the soft-power equivalent of a trade deal? It…
NASHVILLE, TN—Somewhere between the second verse of “Road Less Traveled” and the fourth refill of a flat Diet Coke, Lauren Alaina has become the accidental cultural attaché of a world that can’t decide whether it’s falling apart or just remixing itself. Yes, she’s the Georgia-born runner-up from American Idol’s tenth season—remember when that franchise still…
Bella Hadid, the 27-year-old supermodel whose cheekbones could slice prosciutto at twenty paces, has spent the last decade converting asymmetrical pouts into a soft-power empire that spans continents—and, inadvertently, into a case study on how fame now outruns passports. While most mortals need visas, Hadid merely boards a Gulfstream and the world rearranges its cultural…
Matt Olson and the New American Soft-Power: How a First-Baseman Quietly Became a Global Brand PARIS—In the diplomatic salons off Place de la Concorde, envoys fret over Biden tariffs, Chinese rare earths, and the latest North Korean missile tantrums. Yet last week the talk over chilled Sancerre turned, improbably, to Matt Olson, a 29-year-old first-baseman…
Michelle Pfeiffer, the original cat-eyed sphinx of Hollywood, has spent four decades quietly proving that global soft power can be exercised in a Chanel suit and a smirk. While nations pour billions into embassies, summits, and panda-diplomacy, Pfeiffer has been exporting a far more potent product: immaculate cheekbones and the implicit promise that somewhere in…
