How close is the US to invading Cuba?

Summary

The Monocle Daily — Episode Summary

Episode: How close is the US to invading Cuba?
Date: May 28, 2026
Host: Thomas Waterhouse
Guests: Carol Walker (Political Commentator & Times Radio Presenter), Oscar Guardiola Rivera (Professor in International Law and Affairs, Birkbeck College)

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Monocle Daily delves into three major stories:

1. The US' escalating military posture towards Cuba and the risks of potential intervention.
2. Tony Blair's critical essay on the Labour Party's lack of policy coherence, prompting divided reactions from within Labour.
3. An unusual but telling legal case in Italy: can high-end hotels refuse to serve guests tap water?

The show blends sharp geopolitical analysis with lighter cultural reporting and a look at the Monocle Design Awards.

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Feature Story 1: US-Cuba Tensions — Is Invasion Imminent?

(Segment begins at 03:00)

Key Discussion Points

• US Military Buildup:
  The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announces increased Pentagon activity around Cuba, with significant naval deployments reminiscent of Cold War posturing.

• Charges Against Raul Castro:
  The US indicts Raul Castro (former Cuban President, now 94) for conspiracy regarding incidents in 1996—raising tensions to new heights.

• "Spectacle" Diplomacy:
  Oscar Guardiola Rivera argues Trump’s approach is more theatrical than tactical:

  "This is part of Trump's now well known pattern of ruling by spectacle. This show of force has to be taken seriously." (03:57)

• Historical Echoes:
  Rivera points out Cuba’s deep history of resisting US intervention, contrasting narratives about the Caribbean and referencing the 1959 revolution.

  "This is not an easy target... there are many things to criticize about the regime... but they're not ready to trade their freedom for what for them will be again and freedom under the US." (05:15)

• On Economic Pressure:
  Carol Walker details US attempts to pressure Cuba through blockades and sanctions, but notes such measures rarely achieve their intended regime change:

  "Economic and political pressure just doesn't necessarily work. The United States has discovered the same thing with Iran... there is no guarantee that pressure like this is actually going to bring about the sort of regime change Trump would like to happen.” (06:27)

• Risks of Miscalculation and Humanitarian Crisis:
  The Iran analogy is explored; military action could backfire. Rivera underlines the potential "embarrassing optics" of putting a 94-year-old Castro on trial and warns:

  "Imagine thousands of little boats of Cubans moving into the eastern coast of the United States. What kind of response can we expect then from the Trump administration? Embarrassing." (09:37)

• Regional Implications:
  Rivera cautions of regional blowback, with Latin American countries watching closely, and mentions upcoming elections in Colombia affected by US actions (10:44).

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Oscar Guardiola Rivera:
  “You can't keep doing this. People are getting very, very concerned and there are lives on the line.” (04:45)
  "We have the President of Venezuela, which somehow has been mistaken, let me say, by many in Washington..." (04:10)

• Carol Walker:
  “President Trump does not appear to think through the long-term consequences... it's far from clear whether that could be any more successful than the campaign you're Absolutely correct.” (08:19)

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Feature Story 2: Tony Blair’s Labour Critique — Strategy or Sabotage?

(Segment begins at 13:38)

Key Discussion Points

• Tony Blair’s Critique:
  Blair publishes a 6,000-word essay lambasting the Labour government’s lack of a cohesive plan—claiming the need for policy focus over personality politics.

  “If you don't decide what your policy direction is, there's no point in changing the leader.” — Tony Blair audio clip (14:16)

• Internal Labour Backlash:
  Carol Walker articulates Blair’s position (pro-free market, opposed to leftward shift), noting this puts him at odds with key figures:

  “[Blair’s] saying that the Labour government should actually rip up many of its manifesto commitments and have a much more free market approach." (16:03)

• Ground-Level Voter Sentiment:
  Rivera counters, pointing out the disconnect between Blair's concerns and what actual voters express:

  "Three things you would hear when you knock on doors. First, the cost of living, inequality... The second thing you would hear is no more foreign wars... And the third thing, of course...Gaza again and again." (17:11)

• Reactions from Burnham and Streeting:
  Both politicians, noted for their own centrist leanings, challenge Blair by emphasizing grassroots economic struggles over Blair’s ideological blueprint.

Notable Quotes

• Oscar Guardiola Rivera:
  “Some politicians, including Mr. Blair, seem to live within a cocoon and they seem to have isolated themselves completely and totally from what real people...the voters are concerned [with].” (17:45)

• Carol Walker:
  “Ever since the Iraq War, Tony Blair is at very best an extremely divisive figure in the country more widely and certainly within the Labour movement.” (19:43)

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Feature Story 3: Italian Hotel Refuses Tap Water—A Sign of the Times?

(Segment begins at 20:45)

Key Discussion Points

• The Case:
  Italy’s highest court upholds a hotel’s right to refuse guests free tap water, after a guest at a five-star Dolomites hotel is denied.

• Customer Service and Social Inequality:
  Rivera quips about the expected experience at ultra-premium hotels, referencing literary classics:

  "Does anybody remember Jean Valjean going to jail for stealing a piece of bread? Sounds a bit like... all of a sudden asking for tap water is something you cannot do." (21:31)

• UK Comparison & Consumer Rights:
  Walker notes UK law requires licensed venues to provide tap water, calling the Italian hotel’s move “disgraceful” and casting doubt on its long-term reputation.

• Tourism Sector Pressures:
  Both commentators agree there’s no credible market force justification for refusing basic hospitality:

  Rivera: “There is no market force or situation that would compel a restaurant to do that, let alone one in a five star hotel. It's simply disgraceful and terrible publicity.” (24:17)

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Special Segment: Monocle Design Awards

(Begins at 25:32)

Highlights

• Celebrating Design Excellence:
  Monocle editors Nick Muniz and Grace Charlton recap the event, including standout winners like Andrew Masebo (Designer Maker 2026), Jean Baptiste d’Anodin (designer of an aluminium turntable), and a project by Hydro emphasizing circular economy principles.

• Design Philosophy:
  The hosts stress that winning designs go beyond aesthetics—they must demonstrate ingenuity, context sensitivity, and enrich quality of life.

  “It's stuff that, like, can elevate a quality of life, but, you know, also projects that really speak to their context as well as transcend it.” — Nick Muniz (28:47)

• The Story Matters Most:
  Charlton stresses depth—projects must have “secondary layers”: social impact, sustainability, or cultural resonance.

  “We're in a world where it's really easy to make beautiful things... So I think the story then becomes perhaps the most important thing and it's what does this object or this work of architecture say?” (30:12)

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Memorable Moments

• Rivera’s Jazz Metaphor:
  “They need a little bit of Sonny Rollins to put a jazz spin on this, more improvisation, think out of the box.” (04:00)

• Blair’s Isolation:
  “Clearly, Blair has a lot of time in his hands.” — Rivera, on the 6,000 word essay (17:19)

• Hotel Water Ruling:
  “Give us the name of the hotel. We're not going there.” — Rivera (24:17)

• Design Awards Anxiety:
  “I was feeling quite anxious that no one would show up...but it was packed.” — Nick Muniz (27:58)

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Key Timestamps

• US Navy Near Cuba & “Spectacle” Diplomacy — 03:00–06:20
• Pressure, Regime Change & US Policy Limits — 06:20–11:37
• Tony Blair’s Critique & Labour Party Response — 13:38–20:45
• Italian Tap Water Case — 20:45–25:01
• Monocle Design Awards Highlights — 25:32–31:23

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Tone & Style

The episode features a mix of incisive geopolitical analysis, direct challenges between panelists, wry humor, and Monocle’s signature cosmopolitan polish. Quotes from both Rivera and Walker capture the measured skepticism of seasoned analysts, leavened with references to jazz, literature, and the absurdities of both power politics and high society.

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For First-Time Listeners

This episode provides a brisk yet thorough round-up of major international political developments, insights into UK political dynamics, a quirky look at consumer rights, and closes with celebration of design excellence—delivered with sharp debate, memorable soundbites, and engaging stories.

Transcript

[Carol Walker]

You're listening to the Monocle Daily, first broadcast on 28 May 2026 on Monaco

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Radio, is Cuba the latest in a line of international dominoes that Donald Trump wants to topple? Leading lights of British labour hit back after their former conductor accused the party of lacking coherence. And Italy's highest court isn't going with the flow with judges ruling that a luxury hotel would was right in refusing a guest tap water. I'm Thomas Waterhouse. The Monocle Daily starts now. Hello and welcome to the Monocle Daily, coming to you from our studios here at Midori House in London. I'm Thomas Waterhouse. My guests Carol Walker and Oscar Guardiola Rivera will dissect and discuss. Discuss the day's big stories with me. And we'll also bring you a roundup of last night's Monocle Design Awards with our editors Nick Moniz and Grace Charlton. Stay tuned. All that and much more coming up right here on the Monocle Daily. This is the Monocle Daily, and a very happy Thursday to you all. I'm joined today by the political commentator and Times radio presenter, Carol Walker, and Oscar Guardiola Rivera, who is a professor in international law and international affairs at Birkbeck College. Good afternoon to you both.

[Carol Walker]

Yeah, hello there.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

This is my maiden voyage on the Monocle Daily. Thank you both for being with me

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

and we are honoured to be here. It's fantastic.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

You absolutely should feel honoured. Does anyone have anything exciting to report? I think, Carol, you were in Ireland this weekend.

[Carol Walker]

Yeah, I was at a delightful party of an old friend, celebrating with lots of other old friends of mine, many of whom I hadn't seen for a long time. We were in County Wicklow. It's about an hour south of Dublin, but a world away. We were down by a lake. We swam in the lake. We might have had one or two drinks. But I did have a few conversations about Irish politics, which is so fascinating. You know, there are not. There are many countries around the world, obviously, where you have coalitions, but I can't think of another one where you have two parties, Fina, Foil and Fine Gael, where they basically just take it in turns to be Prime Minister. And I think that's a wonderful idea.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

And, Oscar, you are preparing for something big in New York, apparently.

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

That's it. Take notice. 7th of June, there will be a fantastic poetry and jazz performance at the Jazz Skater Club near Haarlem. So I'll see you all there.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Great. Yeah. We should look into how we can come and see you perform. Let's get into the program, then let's kick off with an island nation that's had an historically fraught relationship with its northerly neighbour. Yesterday, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Cuba was in a lot of trouble with the Pentagon, having spent weeks now positioning troops, vessels and hardware to the region ahead of a potential hit. Last week, of course, Cuba marked Independence Day as the US charged former Cuban President Raul Castro with conspiracy to kill US nationals and other crimes linked to the 1996 downing of two planes between Cuba and Florida. Oscar, let me start with you. The US has maneuvered its strongest naval showing outside the Middle east to the Cuba region. Is this all just saber rattling on the part of the US or will an invasion actually go ahead?

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Well, this is part of Trump's now well known pattern of ruling by spectacle. This show of force has to be taken seriously. We know for a fact that the Cubans are taking it very seriously. We have the President of Venezuela, which somehow has been mistaken, let me say, by many in Washington, as the way to go about it. As if every country, every island in the greater Caribbean had the same history. Cuba, as everybody knows, has a very different history. 1982, the US was occupying the island and of course that paved the way towards dictatorship, revolution. And here we are playing the same script again. I think they need to in Washington, they need a little bit of Sonny Rollins to put a jazz spin on this, more improvisation, think out of the box. You can't keep doing this. People are getting very, very concerned and there are lives on the line.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Absolutely. Just. Oscar, when it comes to Cuba as a territory, military speaking, how difficult is this a country to invade and to capture?

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Well, I'm sure Mr. Castro, who's now 94 years old, would give you the answer, as they proved. You know, when grandma sailed the boat, sailed from Mexico back in 1959, it was what, two dozen men. And they landed, went to the Sierra Maestra, this is the mountainous part of the island. And from there they mounted a guerrilla warfare that ended up being successful against a dictator that was backed by the United States. This is not an easy target. Also because of the history and the spirit. Of course, there are many things to criticize about the regime in Cuba, but everybody knows there, and I say so because talked to a few friends there, everybody knows that they're not ready to trade their freedom for what for them will be again and freedom under the

[Thomas Waterhouse]

us Carol, does this mean that economic and political pressure from the US has failed?

[Carol Walker]

Well, look, I mean, clearly the economic Pressure, as I'm sure Oscar would agree, that is being imposed on the people of Cuba is absolutely horrendous. There is this effective oil blockade. It's causing power cuts. There are huge difficulties getting even basic supplies. And the tales of the difficulties that that is causing for the medical system and of course, for the poorest in society are completely horrendous. But as Oscar has said, you know, this is a nation that has lived next to its powerful neighbor, the United States, and fought against becoming another horn of the US for so very long that economic and political pressure just doesn't necessarily work. And I mean, the United States has discovered the same thing with Iran. It imposes sanctions, it's now imposing this blockade. It has clearly inflicted huge amounts of damage. Iran has fought for decades to maintain its own regime. Again, a deeply unpalatable regime. But there's no guarantee that pressure, pressure like this is actually going to bring about the sort of regime change that President Trump would, would clearly like to happen. He is hoping that somehow this will just lead to the regime crumbling. But there appears to be little sign of this despite the ramping up of, of not just political and economic pressure, but of course, the, the threats in terms of the military buildups that there are around Cuba.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

You mentioned the Iran war there, which is of course far being this blitzkrieg, quick in and out, quick regime had been hoping for. Might Cuba be another embarrassment for Donald Trump?

[Carol Walker]

Potentially, of course, it could be because President Trump does not appear to think through the long term consequences. It's clear that in Iran, he thought that by pounding the military infrastructure of the regime, that by taking out several of the senior figures within the regime, as the Israelis have done, that would bring about regime change. Instead, you found that the Iranians have resisted. They've imposed their own blockade, of course, of the Strait of Hormuz, which is causing huge economic pressure around the world. But also back in the United States, you know, there is this sense there that Trump has completely miscalculated how the Iranians would respond. Now, it's not inconceivable that he might think, well, Cuba's much smaller, it hasn't got the same military might, maybe I could just think distract from how badly things have gone in Iran by quickly taking out a few leaders in Cuba and having a similar effect that he has in Venezuela, where he's now at least got his hands on the oil or certainly US Business has. But I think it's far from clear whether that could be any more successful

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

than the campaign you're Absolutely correct. Let me chip in very briefly two scenarios. Let's say they go in, they capture Raul Castro and take him to the U.S. imagine the optics of a 94 year old being put on the dock. For comparison, General Augusto Pinochet was around 85 and he was let go on health and age reasons. So now we're gonna have a 94 year old. Even Cristiana Manpour on CNN is telling us the optics of this are embarrassing. And then imagine the kind of humanitarian crisis that will be caused if a military action is taken. Imagine thousands of little boats of Cubans m into the eastern coast of the United States. What kind of response can we expect then from the Trump administration? Embarrassing.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Oscar, just briefly, what would a potential invasion and takeover of Cuba mean for the wider region, the wider Latin America region? And is there anyone standing by in that region who's going to come out and say Donald Trump? No.

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

There is a very clear sense that what has happened in Iran is showing how weak the United States can be in trying to make a show of force. Let us not forget that the Caribbean Sea is effectively being enclosed very much in the same way in which the Strait of Hormuz is. And there are shock hold points there. I'm not going to go into the Panama Canal. But there are other possibilities. I just mentioned this humanitarian crisis. Loads of migrants in the sea and so on and so forth which lean progressively like Brazil, Colombia and Mexico are keeping tabs on this. There are elections in Colombia this Sunday and Trump is having an effect, not necessarily the effect that they would like.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Carol, is there an end, do you think, to the list of regimes or governments that Donald Trump wants to effectively see the back of?

[Carol Walker]

Look, reading President Trump's mind is very difficult indeed. But I think you have to look at this so called Don Roe doctrine. You know, he clearly does feel that Latin America is part of the United States backyard. And I think that's why you're seeing this focus now on Cuba. He likes to list all the wars that he has resolved and unsettled. But I think the risk in all of this is that he does completely overreach himself. We're already hearing, for example, that many of the military, in particular the naval staff on board the aircraft carriers and so on, are already well beyond the terms that they should have been at sea. When you've got aircraft carriers deployed at the moment to Iran, you've similarly got one huge aircraft carri outside the Caribbean. How many different directions can he stretch? Even the might of the US Military. I think that you would hope that there would be wiser heads perhaps in the State Department saying to him, look, President Trump, just perhaps think through the longer term consequences of this.

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Finally, it is also the case that things are not going very well for the rulers in Latin America who are supporting Trump. If you take Bolivia or Argentina, Milei is at its lowest in popularity, losing support by the second. And of course in Bolivia, we are onto the second week of a general strike and there is also a general strike in Peru which also tends to lean towards Mr. Trump. So plenty to think about indeed.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Yeah, absolutely. Let's move on now from Cuba to the uk. Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair has found enough fodder to type up a near 6,000 word essay about what he believes is wrong with the policies of the party that he used to steer. He uses this essay to claim that the main issue with Sikhir Starmer's Labour government isn't the personality of the Prime Minister or a failure to communicate their accomplishments, but rather the lack of what he calls a worked out coherent plan for the country in a fast changing world. Let's take a quick listen now to what Blair said on air following the release of his text.

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

It's possible we're about to have the seventh prime minister in 10 years. A serious country can't do that to itself. And what is bizarre about the present situation is that we're all talking about politics when the key thing is to talk about policy. If you don't decide what your policy direction is, there's no point in changing the leader.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Carol, let's start by talking about the timing of Suttoni's essay. It's already been a really difficult few weeks for Labour. The last thing the current embattled leader wanted surely is one of his predecessors coming out and pointing out what's going wrong. Just why has Tony Blair tabled these ideas?

[Carol Walker]

I think it's because Tony Blair has been thinking about these things and gradually just putting out a few of his ideas and he's reached this point that he feels that it's so important. And the Tony Blair view of how the country should be run is too important to be kept under wraps any longer. He was initially pretty supportive of Sir Keir Starmer, not least because he replaced the very left wing previous Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who stood for everything that Tony Blair does not believe in. Look, I think it is a fascinating intervention. It clearly makes things even harder for Keir Starmer. But what is interesting is that he hasn't really made things any easier for those who are likely to be challenging to overthrow Keir Starmer's leadership. Where Tony Blair, I think, has a very good point is the lack of, of a coherent strategy from Keir Starmer's government, which came to power with this huge majority. It tried to do a little bit of welfare reform. There was then a rebellion by some of his own MPs and he backed down and he backed away from it. That was the first of. I think we're onto 16 different U turns now from this current government. But I think what is fascinating is that Tony Blair's big argum is that you shouldn't replace Keir Starmer by a shift to the left, by more public ownership, by more regulation. Instead, he's saying that the Labour government should actually rip up many of its manifesto commitments and have a much more free market approach. And that has sparked a further backlash. And you've now got this almighty struggle going on about the future direction and shape of the Labour Party, the Labour government and the country, with Keir Starmer a kind of a weirdly absent voice vote virtually in all of this.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Oscar, let's bring you in on this. We're talking there about the dangers of moving to the left at the current time. What's your take on that?

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Well, I wonder, when was the last time Mr. Tony Blair went knocking on doors for election? Those of us who have done that in recent times, and we just had an election, heard a very different thing in door after door. There were three things you would hear when you knock on doors. First, the cost of living, inequality. And that's the one word that was completely absent from the 6,000 words that he wrote. Clearly, Blair has a lot of time in his hands. The second thing you would hear is no more foreign wars. Here comes. Because people are putting the dots together, it is because of the war in Iran that the oil prices are going up and now my food is going to be 50% more expensive. And Blair says, no, let's actually, you know, go closer together with Mr. Trump. And the third thing, of course, plenty of controversy here, Gaza again and again. So I have to say I've heard this before. I've heard it in a meeting, a community meeting last week. Some politicians, including Mr. Blair, seem to live within a cocoon and they seem to have isolated themselves completely and totally. From what? People on the ground, real people. The voters are concerned. And in that respect, I mean, nobody can accuse either Burnham or Stritting of being Corvinistas, not in the very least. And yet they're very Conscious of the fact that the point of inequality and cost of living, even if that means turning to the left. That's one thing we cannot forget.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Carol Oscar mentioned there Andy Burnham and Wes treating. There's been backlash of course to Tony Brett's comments. What do you make of that backlash?

[Carol Walker]

Well, yeah, I don't know whether Oscars are working on Andy Burnham's campaign, but Andy Burnham is the mayor of Manchester. He's been seen as having a pretty good track record there. I remember Andy Burnham when he was actually one of the most Blairite ministers in Tony Blair's government back in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But he has come out today and written his own. It's not quite 3,000 words, it's a bit more digestible than this. But making exactly the point that Oscar makes, saying that what is missing from Tony Blair's analysis is a look at the inequality that there is in society, a look at the effect that the cost of living is having. And he Andy Burnham is saying some of the things that have proved successful in management in Manchester is where you've got local government control over things like local transport, the health service and so on. And Wes Streeting, who was also seen as something of a Blairite minister, he's a former health secretary, he resigned in the immediate aftermath of the disastrous local elections. He has been making similar points and I think these are two challenges who are seeing the way that the mood amongst voters and are actually seizing on it as a chance to define themselves against against the liberal elite, which they believe that Tony Blair epitomizes. And of course, ever since the Iraq war, Tony Blair is at very best an extremely divisive figure in the country. More widely and certainly within the labor movement.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Okay, let's move on. Now on today's the Daily Six years ago and during New year festivities, a guest booked into one of Italy's five star hotels in the Dolomites, hoping no doubt to to celebrate, relax, reboot and apparently leave refreshed. But things didn't qu quite go to plan. When she requested a glass of tap water with a meal. She was told by hotel staff that this wouldn't be possible. They offered her a bottle of 7 Euro water instead. The case then jumped from this ski resort dining table to Italy's highest court, which recently ruled that hotels there, restaurants and bars can refuse customers tap water. Oscar, is free tap water the same as getting a towel or soap in your hotel?

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Look, on the one hand I do find it hard to be sympathetic to this character who goes to a five star hotel expecting anything less than being treated as he was or she was treated? No surprises there. Particularly if you know your five star Italian hotels in that part of Italy. On the other hand, this obviously resonates with some classics of literature. Does anybody remember Jean Valjean going to jail for stealing a piece of bread? Sounds a bit like, you know, it sounds a bit bizarre that all of a sudden asking for tap water is something you cannot do. But again, the context of this case was a bit different. You know, having a tap water is a right, isn't it? Right. Of course a hotel will try and sell you their seven euro bottle of water. What else would you spend?

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Carol, are we seeing a growth in a culture of the customer not being always right?

[Carol Walker]

I think I'm right in saying that in this country, hospitality businesses, bars, pubs, restaurants have to provide tap water.

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Licensed ones by law have to.

[Carol Walker]

They have to provide it. I think this is first of all pretty disgraceful. What would it have cost, this five star hotel, which has been charging customers vast sums for expensive lavish dinners and lunches and goodness knows what, to provide a glass of water? I also am someone who frequently does ask for tap water in bars and restaurants. If I go out for dinner, I don't feel I like to drink still water as well as a glass of wine. And I do not see why it should be necessary to buy expensive mineral water in this country. There are some parts of the world where I would always drink mineral water simply because it is safer. So I think this hotel has made a big mistake. Does it really think that it's going to endear itself to future customers by refusing somebody a glass of water? The customer in this case may have been perhaps trying to prove a point. Maybe she was a bit officious. Maybe she was trying to get her little taste of the smart restaurant without actually having to pay anything. Maybe that was a bit cheeky. We don't really know those kinds of details, but come on, if a customer wants a glass of water, just give them a glass of water.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Oscar, is the climate then so tricky for the tourism trade at the moment that businesses are compelled to make us pay to hydrate?

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Of course not. Of course not. I mean, you're absolutely right. Give me the name of that hotel. Give us the name of the hotel. We're not going there.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

I do know the name of the hotel, but we're not going to.

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Yeah, it is disgraceful. Of course you should give a glass of tap water. I understand that you could get or hydrate in other parts of the hotel, not in the restaurant, which again makes it even more ridiculous. There is no market force or situation that would compel a restaurant to do that, let alone one in a five star hotel. It's simply disgraceful and terrible publicity and I know, I'm sure they're already regarding this as a huge mistake.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

Okay, let's thank our guests Carol Walker and Oscar Guardiola Rivera for being with me here on today's the Daily here on Monocle Radio. To West London now and to last night's Monocle Annual Design Awards which were dished out at Ladbroke Hall. Earlier, I spoke to our design editor, Nick Moniz, and Grace Charlton, Monocle's Associate editor for design and fashion, who were both at the event. And I began by asking them to discuss who was invited and just who won.

[Nick Muniz]

It was basically a bit of an industry event and also an opportunity for us to invite friends of the brand, friends of the magazine over, you know, architects, designers, people who've actually won a Monocle Design award this year, which was super exciting. So, yeah, just an opportunity to raise a glass of champagne or.

[Grace Charlton]

Yeah, and I kept it sensible. But I think for us, we had a number of people come through the door and it's funny, you kind of, you realize that this is an ongoing story. These aren't people that are just like kind of flash in the pan features. I had a great chat with Andrew Masebo, who's been on Monocle on Design. He has been in the pages of the magazine, obviously with this design award win, but also last year in this amazing furniture shoot. So he, he won designer maker for, for the Monocle Design Awards for 2026. But it was, it was just a kind of a chance to have a little bit of a chat with him and a look and kind of talk and celebrate his entire body of work. So we had, we had people like Andrew join us, but then we also had the team from Hydro, one of the world's biggest aluminium producers or manufacturers, material suppliers. And we celebrated one of their projects in the Design Awards. This really excellent kind of, it's, it's a look at the circular economy and how we can make things closer to source. So they have this project called where they use 100% recycled aluminium, kind of collected within 100 kilometer radius of a particular manufacturing facility. And it's in that place that they'll make, say, a light by Sabine Marcellus, who's a brilliant Dutch designer, or objects by Steffen Dietz, who's another incredible designer. So it was a kind of a chance to get these people in the same room, acknowledge them, but also, you know, encourage a little bit of cross pollinating.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

And who else got a prize?

[Nick Muniz]

Oh, so many people. One of my favorites is Jean Baptiste d', Anodin, who's a Paris based designer. He made this really cool aluminium turntable. He came, came in for the night as well, which is so from Paris. From Paris got the Eurostar with his turntable. So that was exhibited also. It's really heavy. It's like nine kilos.

[Grace Charlton]

Was it carry on only, do you know, or did he have a rolly suitcase?

[Nick Muniz]

I actually don't know.

[Grace Charlton]

You've got strong opinions on rolly suitcases as well. When are they good and when are they not good?

[Nick Muniz]

I.

[Grace Charlton]

When are they acceptable?

[Nick Muniz]

It is a design chat. Okay, fine. I don't like small rolly suitcases. I don't know what's wrong with me. I do have one, I do have to use it every now and then. But like, I just, I find him slightly abject. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is that he came in from Paris. We had people flying in and I think what's really interesting when you like throw an awards ceremony or a little cocktail soiree, like I was feeling quite anxious that no one would show up.

[Grace Charlton]

I think that's very normal. Yeah, but it was packed.

[Nick Muniz]

But it was packed and it was so nice and it was good to like, you know, gather people and sort of practise what we preach, which is, you know, the art of being together and being a community.

[Grace Charlton]

As a, I mean, Sophie Grove, Monocle's executive editor and Confex editor, who's currently working on a book of hosting, was there hosting. So I think, I think, I think it's that. But then also maybe potentially trying to plant the seeds for, for further collaborations between these people, as we've kind of hinted at. I mean, Nicholas from Nomad, which is an amazing kind of roving collectible design showcase, which is also about the, the buildings that it takes place in. They, they did this amazing showcase last year in Abu Dhabi's former airport. So it's also a chance to kind of bring him in and maybe, I don't know, who knows, maybe we can find him a place in London to do a Nomad pop up as well. So I think there was a little bit of that, of kind going on too.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

In the eyes of Monocle, what makes a winning design?

[Nick Muniz]

Oh, I love this question because I hate using this word, which is a benchmark project, but I think you're going to. I know I'm going to have to say a benchmark project. I think it's something that sort of stands out from the rest. Is it, you know, thanks to its aesthetics or its ingenuity or the purpose that it serves. We've made jokes about this this year, but it's a really sporty edition of the Monocle Design Awards. Like, we have a tennis court in Ghana and, like, a bike from Namibia. We've got a little, like, pocket park in Bangk. I think it's stuff that, like, can sort of elevate a quality of life, but, you know, also projects that really speak to their context as well as transcend it.

[Grace Charlton]

And I think equally, it's things that are beautiful, functional, but maybe go a little bit deeper. You know, we're thinking about, you know, I used hydro as an example, but we're also thinking about supply chains. We're thinking about cultural reach as well. Another excellent project is we gave the Zurich Print Institute an award for. For being the printer of choice. And what I love is that they're about preserving the four traditional means of printmaking. So they're producing contemporary work, but they're also preserving a craft, preserving a heritage. There's those cultural links that I think are really significant as well.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

This edition's now been wrapped up.

[Grace Charlton]

Thomas, don't do this to me right now. I mean, I don't want to jump ahead to 2027.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

If I'm a designer somewhere in the world and I'm hoping to win a Monocle Design Award. What are you guys looking for? What's the best possible thing that I could offer you next year?

[Grace Charlton]

I think for me, yeah, it's looking at those projects that maybe make links across disciplines. Is there somebody who's. Who's doing some work that's shaping politics, that's influencing economics and supply chains, that's, you know, whether that's. They're making with a particular factory that's keeping a town afloat. I think. I think it's all those secondary layers that are really important to me. You know, and somebody said this to me the other day in New York at icff, but they were like, it's actually. We're in a world where it's really easy to make beautiful things. You can. If you've got a vision, you can. You can get AI to. To create a render of what you want. You can then send it to someone or have it. Have it printed, have it made. So I think the story then becomes perhaps the most important thing and it's what does this object or this work of architecture say? What's, what's the message behind it? How can we connect with it as humans and as people? And I think that's, that's sort of really important for what doing we're looking

[Nick Muniz]

for, I think just like a really strong focus on materiality and quality and executing something to the highest level. I think that's like maybe step one, you know, I think all of the projects that we feature in the Monocle Design Awards have that as a bit of a through line. And then, yeah, what Nick was saying, like an amazing story to back it up in a sense of purpose.

[Thomas Waterhouse]

That was Nick Muniz and Grace Charlton speaking to me earlier. That's all for this edition of the Monocle Daily. A big thank you once again to today's panelists, Carol Walker and Oscar Guardiola Rivera. The show was produced by Hassan Anderson and researched by Josefina Gomez. And our studio manager was Steph Chungu. I'm Thomas Waterhouse. The Monocle Daily is back at the very same time tomorrow. Thanks for listening and goodbye from everyone here at Midori House in London.

[Oscar Guardiola Rivera]

Sam.