The long read
In-depth reporting, essays and profiles
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From a young age, humans love to press buttons that light up and make a noise. The thrill of positive feedback lies at the heart of addiction to gambling, games and social media
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The true impact of activism may not be felt for a generation. That alone is reason to fight, rather than surrender to despair
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The retail giants are not only competing to sell outdoor gear – they are rivals in the contest to sell the thrill of the wilderness to the urban masses
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The Long Read: Two years ago, 57,000 refugees were stranded when Europe’s southern borders closed. What followed has been called the most expensive humanitarian response in history
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The Long Read: A bitter battle is raging within the mole-catching community over the kindest way to carry out their deadly work
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Oxford University graduates in philosophy, politics and economics make up an astonishing proportion of Britain’s elite. But has it produced an out-of-touch ruling class?
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Russia’s role in Trump’s election has led to a boom in Putinology. But do all these theories say more about us than Putin?
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The Long Read: After arriving in Britain as a child, I fought hard to feel like I belonged. Now it feels that the status of migrants like me is permanently up for review
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The Long Read: Most of those who attempt to climb the wall into the US will be arrested and sent back. If they survive, they will keep trying
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The Long Read: From a young age, humans love to press buttons that light up and make a noise. The thrill of positive feedback lies at the heart of addiction to gambling, games, and social media
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The problem of fake data may go far deeper than scientists admit. Now a team of researchers has a controversial plan to root out the perpetrators
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An extremely rare condition may transform our understanding of memory
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The Long Read: An extraordinary number of Britain’s elite studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford. But does it produce an out-of-touch ruling class?
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The Long Read: Russia’s role in Trump’s election has led to a boom in Putinology. But do all these theories say more about us than Putin?
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Florian Philippot is the strategist behind the rebranding of the extreme right Front National as a populist, anti-elite movement. But don’t mistake him for a moderate
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The president and his advisers paint Muslims as enemies of modernity. The neglected history of an age of Middle Eastern liberalism proves them wrong
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The Long Read: When an anonymous Mexican man was taken to an American hospital after a car crash a 16-year quest began. Lying in a persistent vegetative state, he became a source of hope for thousands of families looking for lost loved ones
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The Long Read: Ever since Winston Churchill invented it in 1946, successive prime ministers have discovered that the bond between the US and UK is anything but sacred. So, why does this absurd idea refuse to go away?
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For decades, computers have got smaller and more powerful, enabling huge scientific progress. But this can’t go on for ever. What happens when they stop shrinking?
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Ever since childhood, Brian Regan had been made to feel stupid because of his severe dyslexia. So he thought no one would suspect him of stealing secrets
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The Long Read: If a patient’s heart stops, the doctor can resuscitate them. But how does the doctor decide if it’s the right thing to do?
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The Long Read: An extremely rare condition may transform our understanding of memory
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The Long Read: In the era of satellites and Google Maps there are still areas that remain a mystery
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The ability of statistics to accurately represent the world is declining. In its wake, a new age of big data controlled by private companies is taking over – and putting democracy in peril
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Why has Britain turned its back on its favourite food – and shut out the people needed to cook it?
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In the late 1960s the scientist behind the world’s most successful antiviral vaccines went into battle against his employer and the US government for custody of the cells that he called his ‘children’
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The Long Read: The problem of fake data may go far deeper than scientists admit. Now a team of researchers has a controversial plan to root out the perpetrators
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The Long Read: Florian Philippot is the strategist behind the rebranding of the extreme right Front National as a populist, anti-elite movement. But don’t mistake him for a moderate
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Desperate to find somewhere she could live and work as she wished, Xiaolu Guo moved from Beijing to London in 2002. But from the weather to the language and the people, nothing was as she expected
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Can the Hollywood star’s Khmer-language film – with an all-Cambodian cast and crew – help a nation to confront the horrors of its past?
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The long read: For decades, computers have got smaller and more powerful, enabling huge scientific progress. But this can’t go on for ever. What happens when they stop shrinking?
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The Long Read: Suffering is difficult to describe and impossible to see. So how can doctors tell how much it hurts?
Patagonia and The North Face: saving the world – one puffer jacket at a time