Long Read


Attendees gather at the RGS Explore Weekend in 2024

RGS Explore celebrates 50 years of expeditions

For five decades, the RGS Explore Weekend has helped turn ambitious ideas into viable expeditions. Diana Maclean traces the event's evolution and asks what exploration is for today
UK banknotes

The dark side of our increasingly cashless society

ByMark RoweNov 2, 2026
Why is cash circulation soaring in an increasingly cashless society, and how much of it is fuelling criminal activity?
Sheep grazing on the coast of southern Greenland

The battle to save Greenland’s sheep farms from a multibillion-dollar mine

ByStuart ButlerOct 31, 2026
In southern Greenland, a bucolic farming landscape sits at the centre of a battle over rare-earth minerals – and an US$11.6billion mining company compensation claim
Robert Macfarlane

Robert Macfarlane on nature writing, rivers and room for hope

From mountains and ancient paths to threatened rivers and disappearing species, Robert Macfarlane tells Jonathan Lorie why our relationship with the natural world still leaves us with room for hope
A cleaner in a corridor

Who runs Britain? Inside the outsourcing of the British state

ByMark RoweSep 9, 2026
Across the UK, public services are increasingly delivered by private companies working behind the scenes. Critics say outsourcing has not only produced failures and scandals, but changed the relationship between citizen and state
Sean Sutton with landmine victim Oo Hpar and son David

Inside Myanmar’s civil war and its deadly landmine crisis

Few journalists have reached Myanmar's Karenni State since the 2021 coup. Sean Sutton reports on the communities determined to return home
Dominica has a resident population of more than 200 sperm whales

On the wild side in Dominica

ByBryony CottamAug 12, 2026
From hot sand and bubbling bays to sperm whales and rainforest trails, Bryony Cottam discovers how community-led tourism is shaping a different kind of Caribbean escape
A breeding pair of northern gannets

Inside Scotland’s controversial guga hunt

ByMark RoweJul 31, 2026
Amid avian flu and mounting animal-welfare pressure, one of Britain’s most controversial traditions faces an uncertain future
Forty per cent of the cut flowers sold in the EU come from Kenya

How Kenya’s flower industry is becoming more sustainable

ByVictoria HeathJul 23, 2026
After years of criticism over water use, pollution and working conditions, the cut flower industry in Kenya is trying to show it can have a greener future
Voltage cables

The battle over Britain’s new energy grid

ByMark RoweMay 13, 2026
As the UK transitions away from fossil fuels to renewable energy, the underlying infrastructure used to generate and transport electricity is changing dramatically
Ukraine Russia war concept

The world’s geopolitical fault lines, from Ukraine to the Arctic

ByVictoria HeathFeb 16, 2026
Unpack the geography of global instability – from contested borders to forced displacement in nations around the world
Woman accused of witchcraft in West Africa

The women banished as witches in West Africa

In a remote part of West Africa, centuries-old superstitions continue to condemn women accused of witchcraft to exile. A landmark bill offers hope — but can justice overcome belief?
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