Looking for a distraction? Here are 25 of our favourite long reads
The epic, dangerous and weirdly emotional final journey of an oil rig – Tom Lamont
When a drilling platform is scheduled for destruction, it must go on a thousand-mile final journey to the breaker’s yard. As one rig proved when it crashed on to the rocks of a remote Scottish island, this is always a risky business
Rain is sizzling bacon: the art of sound in the movies – Jordan Kisner
Skip Lievsay is one of the most talented men in Hollywood. He has created audioscapes for Martin Scorsese and is the only sound man the Coen brothers go to. But the key to this work is more than clever effects – it is understanding the human mind
The fatal hike that became a Nazi propaganda coup – Kate Connolly
In 1936, a school group from south London went on a hike in the Black Forest. Despite the heroic rescue attempts of German villagers, five boys died. Eighty years on, locals are still asking how it happened
The spy who couldn’t spell: how the biggest heist in the history of US espionage was foiled – Yudhijit Bhattacharjee
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
Total recall: the people who never forget – Linda Rodriguez McRobbie
Around 60 people in the world share a condition called “highly superior autobiographical memory”. They remember absolutely everything
The Batman of obscenity: one lawyer’s crusade to defend extreme pornography – Edward Docx
Myles Jackman is on a mission to change Britain’s obscenity laws. For him, it’s more than a job, it’s a moral calling
The true story of the fake US embassy in Ghana – Yepoka Yeebo
The US state department said it had uncovered a fake embassy in Accra that had been issuing a stream of forged visas. The story went viral – but all was not as it seemed.
Why can’t the world’s greatest minds solve the mystery of consciousness? – Oliver Burkeman
Philosophers and scientists have been at war for decades over the question of what makes human beings more than complex robots
From Game of Thrones to The Crown: the woman who turns actors into stars – Sophie Elmhirst
The casting director Nina Gold has shaped much of what we watch on film and TV. Sophie Elmhirst followed Gold through the casting process of the HBO show Chernobyl to discover what makes her the best at what she does
Bowel movement: the push to change the way you poo – Alex Blasdel
How one company seeks to upend two centuries of western orthodoxy about going to the loo
How to spot a perfect fake: the world’s top art forgery detective – Samanth Subramanian
Forgeries have got so good – and so costly – that Sotheby’s has brought in its own in-house fraud-busting expert
‘Reality shrivels. This is your life now’: 88 days trapped in bed to save a pregnancy – Katherine Heiny
Months before she was due to give birth, disaster struck for Katherine Heiny. Doctors ordered her to lie on her side in bed and not move – and gave her a 1% chance of carrying her baby to term
Fifa: the video game that changed football – Simon Parkin
Fifa belongs to a select group of titles familiar to people who have no interest in gaming – or even real football. What’s the secret of its success?
Unlearning the myth of American innocence – Suzy Hansen
When she was 30, Suzy Hansen left the US for Istanbul – and began to realise that Americans will never understand their own country until they see it as the rest of the world does
The wolves of Instagram – Symeon Brown
Their hero is Jordan Belfort, their social media feeds display super-rich lifestyles. But what are these self-styled traders really selling?
The father who went undercover to find his son’s killers – Matthew Bremner
After police failed to solve his son’s murder, Francisco Holgado infiltrated the local criminal underworld in pursuit of those responsible. He became a national hero – but at what cost?
The foul reign of the biological clock – Moira Weigel
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
Why would someone steal the world’s rarest water lily? – Sam Knight
An endangered plant was taken from Kew Gardens only a few years after scientists saved it from extinction. Sam Knight investigates what happens when plant obsession turns criminal
Bish-bash-bosh: how Phyllida Barlow conquered the art world at 73
– Charlotte Higgins
After overlooking her for decades, the art world has woken up to Phyllida Barlow’s audacious, gargantuan sculptures. Why did it take so long for her to be “discovered”?
Has wine gone bad? – Stephen Buranyi
“Natural wine” advocates say everything about the modern industry is ethically, ecologically and aesthetically wrong – and have triggered the biggest split in the wine world for a generation
Why we fell for clean eating – Bee Wilson
The oh-so-Instagrammable food movement has been thoroughly debunked – but it shows no signs of going away. The real question is why we were so desperate to believe it
The Machiavelli of Maryland: strategist, scholar, cattle rancher – and adviser to world leaders – Thomas Meaney
Just who is Edward Luttwak? And why do very powerful people pay vast sums for his advice?
The race to build the world’s first sex robot – Jenny Kleeman
The $30bn sex tech industry is about to unveil its biggest blockbuster: a $15,000 robot companion that talks, learns, and never says no
My life under armed guard– Roberto Saviano
For eight years, the journalist Roberto Saviano has faced constant threat of death for exposing the secrets of the Naples mafia in his book Gomorrah. Is the price of life under armed guard too much for a writer to pay?
The ungrateful refugee: ‘We have no debt to repay’ – Dina Nayeri
Dina Nayeri was just a child when she fled Iran as an asylum seeker. But as she settled into life in the US and then Europe, she became suspicious of the idea that refugees should shed their old identities and be eternally thankful
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