From the archive: The disabled villain: why sensitivity reading can’t kill off this ugly trope

On 14 January this year, army and navy squads faced an unprecedented challenge: one bomb on a Plymouth building site, another floating on a dredger in Exmouth. That afternoon, the clock started ticking By Samira Shackle. Read by Dinita Gohil. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2023: For centuries, fictional narratives have used outer difference to telegraph inner monstrosity. As someone who uses a wheelchair, I’ve learned you can’t just edit out a few slurs or bad words to fix this – it’s often baked deep into the story Written and read by Jan Grue. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

The Emirati royal is increasingly influential on the world stage. Some see him as a visionary. Others compare him to a Bond villain. Who is he? By Jack Shenker. Read by Selva Rasalingam. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Are we doomscrolling our way into a democratic crisis? That’s what the playwright James Graham fears may be happening, as he suggests that our algorithms have led us into ‘a massive crisis of the new’ and are preventing us from imagining a different future. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

I felt a duty to write about the Tang dynasty and its incredible social and cultural sophistication – but also to connect my Chinese past with my child By Xiaolu Guo. Read by Elizabeth Chan. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2023: he first became prime minister in 1996 and has been pushing the country further right ever since. Most agree his political days are numbered – but the approach he established will prove very difficult to shift By Joshua Leifer. Read by Andrew McGregor. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Drug gangs have moved off Britain’s streets and into vulnerable people’s homes. Addicts like my friend are easy targets, but the reality can be more complicated than it seems By Max Daly. Read by Simon Darwen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

For more than three decades, Michael Gove has been a leading figure in British Conservatism. As a journalist, government minister and now editor of the Tory bible the Spectator, he has helped shape the UK right even as it has moved further rightwards. In the latest episode of Radical Thinking, Gove joins Aditya Chakrabortty to discuss the future of the right, his record on Brexit and austerity and the Spectator’s position on Islam Radical Thinking will be published every Saturday in the Politics Weekly feed You can also watch Radical Thinking on the Politics Weekly YouTube channel. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Every decade, the BBC’s continued existence must be secured through an elaborate multi-year negotiation with the government. But what does charter renewal actually involve – and will it secure the BBC’s long-term future? By Barbara Speed. Read by Carlyss Peer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Guardian long read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2023: Even those at the top admit the NHS can’t do what is being asked of it today. But it is far from unsalvageable – we just need serious politicians who will commit to funding it By Gavin Francis. Read by Greg Miller Burns. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod