True to type: How we fell in love with our letters

Excerpt: Simon Garfield looks at the history of typefaces, the obsessive care taken over their design – and the role they play in shaping our lives

Source: The Guardian
Published: Oct 17, 2010
Length: 19 minutes (4,869 words)

Insane Clown Posse: And God created controversy

America’s nastiest rappers in shocking revelation – they’ve been evangelical Christians all along

Author: Jon Ronson
Source: The Guardian
Published: Oct 9, 2010
Length: 12 minutes (3,141 words)

Interview with Don DeLillo: ‘I’m Not Trying to Manipulate Reality—This Is What I See and Hear’

Don DeLillo, in a rare interview, talks about living the American dream, growing old and how an art installation inspired his latest novel, Point Omega

Source: The Guardian
Published: Aug 8, 2010
Length: 11 minutes (2,945 words)

The Stones and the True Story of Exile on Main St.

It’s nearly 40 years since the Rolling Stones fled to the French Riviera and recorded their masterpiece, “Exile on Main St.” On the eve of its relaunch, Sean O’Hagan marvels that the album was made at all…

Source: The Guardian
Published: Apr 25, 2010
Length: 13 minutes (3,386 words)

How food and water are driving a 21st-century African land grab

An Observer investigation reveals how rich countries faced by a global food shortage now farm an area double the size of the UK to guarantee supplies for their citizens

Author: John Vidal
Source: The Guardian
Published: Mar 7, 2010
Length: 26 minutes (6,573 words)

Ten rules for writing fiction

Get an accountant, abstain from sex and similes, cut, rewrite, then cut and rewrite again – if all else fails, pray. Inspired by Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing, we asked authors for their personal dos and don’ts

Source: The Guardian
Published: Feb 20, 2010
Length: 22 minutes (5,558 words)

Streaming will never stop downloading

Far from being a cure for the industry’s woes, substituting streams for downloads wastes bandwidth, reduces privacy and slows innovation

Source: The Guardian
Published: Dec 8, 2009
Length: 15 minutes (3,940 words)

Glenn Beck: The Renegade Running the Opposition to Obama

Glenn Beck is a TV host, bestselling author and the most influential voice on the rightwing Fox channel. Now, even some Republicans worry that the extreme and maverick views of Beck and his supporters will make their party unelectable. Is the TV tail wagging the political dog?

Author: Gaby Wood
Source: The Guardian
Published: Nov 29, 2009
Length: 43 minutes (10,991 words)

The new offenders of standup comedy

Political correctness used to rule comedy, but now comics routinely offend their audiences. How did things get so nasty?

Source: The Guardian
Published: Jul 27, 2009
Length: 10 minutes (2,732 words)

How Teenagers Consume Media: the report that shook the City

Source: The Guardian
Published: Jul 13, 2009
Length: 9 minutes (2,275 words)