The long read
In-depth reporting, essays and profiles
‘We know what is happening, we cannot walk away’: how the Guardian bore witness to horror in former Yugoslavia
The long read: During the decade-long conflicts, the major powers dithered as Serb militias carried out their brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing. Guardian reporters became more passionate and more outspoken in their condemnation, attracting praise and criticism
From acid house to ancient rites: Jeremy Deller’s enormous, collaborative, unsellable art – podcast
The artist Jeremy Deller can’t really draw or paint. Instead of making things, he makes things happen. And later this year, he is planning to unleash a bacchanalian festival that will be his most daring public artwork yet
By Charlotte Higgins. Read by Richard Coyle
What happens when the US declares war on your parents? The Black Panther Cubs know – podcast
The Black Panthers shook America awake before the party was eviscerated by the US government. Their children paid a steep price, but also emerged with unassailable pride and burning lessons for today
By Ed Pilkington. Read by Chiké Okonkwo
The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them’
The narrative of ancient tribes around the world regularly using ayahuasca and magic mushrooms in healing practices is a popular one. Is it true?
From the archive: The last phone boxes: broken glass, cider cans and – amazingly – a dial tone – podcast
This week, from 2022: Five million payphone calls are still made each year in the UK. Who is making them – and why?
By Sophie Elmhirst. Read by Emma Powell
Death, divorce and the magic of kitchen objects: how to find hope in loss
The long read: As they pass through different hands, cooking utensils can magically connect us to loved ones who are no longer with us
Many life-saving drugs fail for lack of funding. But there’s a solution: desperate rich people – podcast
Each year, hundreds of potentially world-changing treatments are discarded because scientists run out of cash. But where big pharma or altruists fear to tread, my friend and I have a solution. It’s repugnant, but it will work
By Alexander Masters. Read by Tom Andrews
In search of the South Pacific fugitive who crowned himself king – podcast
Noah Musingku made a fortune with a Ponzi scheme and then retreated to a remote armed compound in the jungle, where he still commands the loyalty of his Bougainville subjects
By Sean Williams. Read by Simon Darwen
A year of hate: what I learned when I went undercover with the far right
The long read: Working for Hope Not Hate, I infiltrated an extremist organisation, befriended its members and got to work investigating their political connections
From the archive: ‘I pleaded for help. No one wrote back’: the pain of watching my country fall to the Taliban – podcast
This week, from 2021: As the fighters advanced on Kabul, it was civilians who mobilised to help with the evacuation. In the absence of a plan, the hardest decisions fell on inexperienced volunteers, and the stress began to tell
By Zarlasht Halaimzai. Read by Serena Manteghi
‘You can let go now’: inside the hospital where staff treat fear of death as well as physical pain
The long read: In a Danish palliative care unit, the alternative to assisted dying is not striving to cure, offering relief and comfort to patients and their families
The real Scandi noir: how a filmmaker and a crooked lawyer shattered Denmark’s self-image – podcast
The Black Swan follows a repentant master criminal as she sets up corrupt clients in front of hidden cameras. But is she really reformed – and is the director up to his own tricks?
By Samanth Subramanian. Read by David Bateson
Kahane’s ghost: how a long-dead extremist rabbi continues to haunt Israel’s politics – podcast
A violent fanatic and pioneer in bigotry, Meir Kahane died a political outcast 35 years ago. Today, his ideas influence the very highest levels of government
By Joshua Leifer. Read by Kerry Shale
‘Why would he take such a risk?’ How a famous Chinese author befriended his censor
The long read: Online dissent is a serious crime in China. So why did a Weibo censor help me publish posts critical of the Communist party?
The mystery of the nameless girl found dead in a Spanish border town
From the archive: The great betrayal: how the Hillsborough families were failed by the justice system – podcast
My mother, the racist – podcast
She spent her life in northern France doing exhausting, back-breaking work – and yet she turned her anger against people who had done no wrongs to her. But as much as I couldn’t stand her rants, I was forced to accept her as she was
By Didier Eribon. Read by Mark Noble
The reluctant collaborator: surviving Syria’s brutal civil war – and its aftermath – podcast
At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad’s fighters could get him killed
By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. Read by Mo Ayoub
‘I am not who you think I am’: how a deep-cover KGB spy recruited his own son
The long read: For the first time, the man the KGB codenamed ‘the Inheritor’ tells his story
From the archive: Votes for children! Why we should lower the voting age to six – podcast
This week, from 2021: The generational divide is deforming democracy. But there is a solution
By David Runciman. Read by Andrew McGregor
About 2,560 results for The long read 
