This week’s long reads – Mar 15 2026

Support the Guardian

Support us  

Fund independent journalism

This week’s long reads

White fright  
How the US far right bought into the myth of white South Africa’s persecution

Where Duolingo falls down  
How I learned to speak Welsh with my mother

This week’s podcasts

Shock, awe, death, joy and looting: how the Guardian covered the outbreak of the Iraq war – podcast

From the archive: ‘Iran was our Hogwarts’: my childhood between Tehran and Essex – podcast

A pick from our archive

And the Oscar goes to…?  
The casting agent who turns actors into stars

Nina Gold’s role is invisible, and yet her taste has shaped much of what we watch on film and TV. By Sophie Elmhirst

How Bild spearheaded the culture wars  
The inside story of Germany’s biggest tabloid, soon to be the Telegraph’s stablemate as part of the Axel Springer empire

Will Dean

Supporters editor

Hi there,

Our journalism is free to say what it likes. Free from state interference. Free from corporate interference. Free from the editorial interventions of a super-rich owner (because we don’t have one).

We think that the journalism we produce is important and that it can make the world a better place. We think it’s something worth paying for.

If you’re a regular reader of our journalism and can afford to pay – from just
$5 a month – your support will help for all the things necessary for publishing the facts: from reporters, editors and photographers to lawyers, technology and equipment.

Support us  

What else we’re reading

An Evening with the Guardian Long Read  
with readings from Samanth Subramanian, Sirin Kale and Samira Shackle

Wed 8 April, Owl Bookshop, Kentish Town

Get in touch

If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters, please email newsletters@theguardian.com

A free press for a fairer world

Our collective future is being rapidly reshaped by political, technological and corporate forces focused on the accumulation of power and money. Understanding this requires a truly global perspective: this is no time to turn inwards.

Independent journalism protects democracy internationally and helps protect the truth. Will you choose to support it today?

Support us

You are receiving this email because you are a subscriber to The Long Read. Guardian News & Media Limited – a member of Guardian Media Group PLC. Registered Office: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London, N1 9GU. Registered in England No. 908396