Issue 01 . June 2026Loose change. Sharp eyes.

essay.

4 pieces filed under essay

OpinionJun 3
In Praise of the Boring Conference. Souk Weekly opinion. Photograph keyed to conference.

In Praise of the Boring Conference

Why the regional conference circuit's best moments happen, increasingly, at the dullest events nobody wants to put on the highlight reel.

By Diego Arroyo

OpinionJun 3
In Defence of the Uneventful Tuesday. Souk Weekly opinion.

In Defence of the Uneventful Tuesday

Why a region whose self-image is built around dramatic moments needs to relearn the quieter discipline of the institutional weekday that nothing in particular is happening on.

By Diego Arroyo

OpinionJun 3
The Man Who Sells Nostalgia to Oil Traders. Souk Weekly opinion. Photograph keyed to vintage.

The Man Who Sells Nostalgia to Oil Traders

What a particular Dubai shop tells us about a regional market for the lost world that the regional economy itself was, in part, responsible for losing.

By Diego Arroyo

OpinionJun 3
The Friday Edit Is the Best Hour of the Week. Souk Weekly opinion. Photograph keyed to newsroom.

The Friday Edit Is the Best Hour of the Week

Why one editor's late-Friday read of the week's pieces produces the texture of decision-making that no Monday morning meeting has ever quite reproduced.

By Diego Arroyo