Long Reads
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town
13 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Chinese company Gotion's EV battery plan was the kind of big, ambitious, the U.S. economy — and the struggling small town of Big Rapids — nee...
The global struggle over how to regulate AI
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Big AI companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI and Amazon, have come out hard against comprehensive regulatory efforts in the West — but are receiving a...
How WhatsApp ate the world
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
WhatsApp is already the world’s most widely used messaging app. Meta wants it to be a lot more. WhatsApp is the world’s most widely used messaging...
WhatsApp vigilantes in India are converting Christians by force
17 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Rest of World explores how far-right Hindu nationalists use WhatsApp to target Christian families when they’re most vulnerable — ...
Destined for clicks: YouTube is driving an astrology boom in Pakistan
19 Sep 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amid economic, political, and environmental uncertainty, Pakistanis are increasingly seeking guidance from digital astrologers for a sense of reassura...
Can a church exist exclusively on the internet?
01 Aug 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Amid a life of upheaval and poverty, Jeffter Wekesa tried and failed to found three churches in Kenya. Then he started preaching on TikTok, and his fo...
The AI artist who used Bad Bunny’s voice — and shot to fame
12 Jul 2024
Contributed by Lukas
For years, Mauricio Bustos used his YouTube channel to try and break into the music industry. Then he discovered AI. Overnight, he could rap like Bad ...
Vigilantes for views: The YouTube pranksters harassing suspected scam callers in India
06 Jun 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Los Angeles-based Trilogy Media took “scambaiting” to a new level, but some claim they’re gaining viral fame at others’ expense. In this story...
The graying gig economy
21 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The average age for delivery workers is 29 and the average age for ride-hailing drivers is 36, but many older individuals are turning to gig work, too...
Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine
17 May 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As millions of Indians vote, there’s one platform most of them will turn to for information: WhatsApp. And no one controls the political narrative o...
Inside TSMC’s struggle to build a chip factory in the U.S. suburbs
25 Apr 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) was slated to open a plant in Phoenix, Arizona in 2024. It aimed to bring thousands of jobs, but the...
The changing face of protest
28 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Mass protests used to offer a degree of safety in numbers. Facial recognition technology changes the equation. This story explores how thanks to new f...
The rise and fall of Argentina’s celebrity crypto pastor
14 Mar 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Generación Zoe’s Leonardo Cositorto was charged with fraud in Argentina in April 2022. His and staff arrests have users asking, “¿Qué pasó con...
Riders in the smog
29 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
From toxic skies to health hazards: Rest of World measured air quality for riders in Lahore, New Delhi, and Dhaka. The results were devastating. Pollu...
The fall of the King of Squirrels
15 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
In this feature from our archive, Rest of World follows the story of exotic animal trader as he capitalizes on Vietnam's growing digital connectiv...
Inside Foxconn’s struggle to manufacture iPhones in India
08 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Foxconn is flying engineers from China to India to train the next generation of iPhone builders. But both the Chinese engineers and Indian assembly li...
When digital nomads come to town
06 Feb 2024
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to cities when they become digital nomad hotspots? In this narrated feature, Rest of World looks at how the remote work revolution is cha...