The long read
In-depth reporting, essays and profiles
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Tudormania: Why can’t we get over it?Our fixation with the sexy powerplays of the Tudor court shows no signs of fading. What is it about this 16th-century dynasty that still obsesses us?
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How the Pentagon punished NSA whistleblowersThe Long Read: Long before Edward Snowden went public, John Crane was a top Pentagon official fighting to protect NSA whistleblowers. Instead their lives were ruined – and so was his
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Love’s runaways: the gay Ugandans forced into exileThe Long Read: Banished from home and beaten, gay teenagers have sought refuge in Kenya. But instead of finding acceptance, they are treated with suspicion and contempt
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Sticky fingers: The rise of the bee thievesThe Long Read: Bees have become a billion-dollar business. But who would try to steal them?
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The shelter that gives wine to alcoholicsGiving free booze to homeless alcoholics sounds crazy. But it may be the key to helping them live a stable life
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The clean, green and slightly bonkers world of CBeebiesCBeebies isn’t just a channel, it’s a culture – and as a new parent you have little choice but to surrender to it
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The inside story of Facebook’s biggest setbackThe Long Read: The social network had a grand plan to connect millions of Indians to the internet. Here’s how it all went wrong
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The gangsters on England's doorstepThe Long Read: In the bleak flatlands of East Anglia, migrant workers are controlled by criminal gangs, and some are forced to commit crimes to pay off their debts. This is what happens when cheap labour is our only priority
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The foul reign of the biological clockThe Long Read: It seems like the concept of the biological clock has been with us forever. In fact, the metaphor was invented in the late 1970s. And it has been used to reinforce sexist ideas ever since
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Offshore in central London: the curious case of 29 Harley StreetOn a central London street renowned for high-class healthcare sits a property that houses 2,159 companies. Why has this prestigious address been used so many times as a centre for elaborate international fraud?
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The clean, green and slightly bonkers world of CBeebiesThe Long Read: CBeebies isn’t just a channel,
it’s a culture – and as a new parent you have little choice
but to surrender to it
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Tudormania: Why can’t we get over it?The Long Read: Our fixation with the sexy powerplays of the Tudor court shows no signs of fading. What is it about this 16th-century dynasty that still obsesses us?
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How Boots went rogueBritain’s biggest pharmacy used to be a family business, dedicated to serving society. Now, many of the company’s own staff believe that its relentless drive for profit is putting the public at risk
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The trouble with renting a wombThe Long Read: India has shut its borders to foreigners seeking surrogacy – purportedly to prevent the exploitation of poor women. But will this make matters worse?
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How Uber conquered LondonThe Long Read: To understand how the $60bn company is taking over the world, you need to stop thinking about cars
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The shelter that gives wine to alcoholicsThe Long Read: Giving free booze to homeless alcoholics sounds crazy. But it may be the key to helping them live a stable life
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Ugg: the look that refused to dieHow an ostentatiously ugly Australian boot defied fashion’s laws of gravity
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The sugar conspiracyIn 1972, a British scientist sounded the alarm that sugar – and not fat – was the greatest danger to our health. But his findings were ridiculed and his reputation ruined. How did the world’s top nutrition scientists get it so wrong for so long?
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The retired cops investigating unsolved murders in one of America’s most violent citiesThe Long Read: A former murder capital of the US, Camden, New Jersey has created its first cold case squad. Can solving old killings help restore an embattled community’s trust in law and order?
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‘That thing gnawing away at all of us’: Calais and the shantytown on its doorstepThe Long Read: Once a centre of industry as well as a prosperous port, the city is now synonymous with the misery of migrants, and its residents are not enjoying their notoriety
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Offshore in central London: the curious case of 29 Harley StreetThe long read: On a central London street renowned for high-class healthcare sits a property that houses 2,159 companies. Why has this prestigious address been used so many times as a centre for elaborate international fraud?
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The aggressive, outrageous, infuriating (and ingenious) rise of BrewDogOnce known more for its stunts than its beers, the ‘punk’ Scottish brewer is now the UK’s fastest-growing drinks company. You have a problem with that?
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The lawyer who takes the cases no one wantsThe long read: It has never been easy to win as an immigration lawyer – but now the government is trying to make it impossible
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How Boots went rogueThe Long Read: Britain’s biggest pharmacy used to be a family business, dedicated to serving society. Now, many of the company’s own staff believe that its relentless drive for profit is putting the public at risk.
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The reluctant jihadi: how one recruit lost faith in IsisThe long read: When Abu Ali joined Isis, he thought he had nothing left to lose. Once he had crossed the border into Syria, he quickly realised it was the last place he wanted to be. By Robert F Worth
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‘Fitbit for your period’: the rise of fertility trackingInvestors are pouring money into apps that allow women to track their fertility. Can tech companies use data to change the world of women’s reproductive health?
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The missing: what have they done with our sons?To lose a child in war is a nightmare. But when your quest to find them is met with lies, it’s a nightmare that never ends. Lily Hyde travels with the Ukrainian mothers seeking their sons
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The sugar conspiracyThe Long Read: In 1972, a British scientist sounded the alarm that sugar – and not fat – was the greatest danger to our health. But his findings were ridiculed and his reputation ruined. How did the world’s top nutrition scientists get it so wrong for so long?
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The fall: how diving became football’s worst crimeThe long read: In a game with many forms of foul play, the dive now inspires a particular moralistic outrage
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Yanis Varoufakis: Why we must save the EUThe long read: The European Union is disintegrating – but leaving is not the answer
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Death by gentrification: the killing that shamed San FranciscoAlejandro Nieto was killed by police in the neighbourhood where he spent his whole life. Did he die because a few white newcomers saw him as a menacing outsider?
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Welcome to the land that no country wantsIn 2014, an American dad claimed a tiny parcel of African land to make his daughter a princess. But Jack Shenker had got there first – and learned that states and borders are volatile and delicate things
Welcome to the age of Trump