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Long Reads

by Rest of World
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Latest episodes

  • How a Chinese battery factory sparked a political meltdown in a small Michigan town

    March 13, 2025 · 33 min

    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 — needed. But that’s not how some locals saw it. In this narrated feature Rest of World explores…

  • The global struggle over how to regulate AI

    January 24, 2025 · 29 min

    Big AI companies like Google, Meta, OpenAI and Amazon, have come out hard against comprehensive regulatory efforts in the West — but are receiving a warm welcome from leaders in many other countries. This episode from Rest of World uses…

  • How WhatsApp ate the world

    December 12, 2024 · 26 min

    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 app, with 2 billion daily users, who send 100 billion messages every day in 60 languages…

  • WhatsApp vigilantes in India are converting Christians by force

    October 17, 2024 · 28 min

    In this episode, Rest of World explores how far-right Hindu nationalists use WhatsApp to target Christian families when they’re most vulnerable — by preventing them from burying their dead. Written by Parth MN. Additional reporting by…

  • Destined for clicks: YouTube is driving an astrology boom in Pakistan

    September 19, 2024 · 31 min

    Amid economic, political, and environmental uncertainty, Pakistanis are increasingly seeking guidance from digital astrologers for a sense of reassurance. In this narrated feature, Rest of World profiles celebrity astrologers who are…

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  • Can a church exist exclusively on the internet?

    August 1, 2024 · 29 min

    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 fortunes changed. In this episode, Rest of World takes you inside the emerging…

  • The AI artist who used Bad Bunny’s voice — and shot to fame

    July 12, 2024 · 22 min

    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 Bunny and sing like Justin Bieber. He went viral. Now, he’s at the forefront of a global…

  • Vigilantes for views: The YouTube pranksters harassing suspected scam callers in India

    June 6, 2024 · 34 min

    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 from our archive, Rest of World, profiles the Trilogy Media YouTubers who travel from L.A. to…

  • The graying gig economy

    May 21, 2024 · 21 min

    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. Rest of World spoke to 52 workers above the age of 50 who ventured into gig work to…

  • Inside the BJP’s WhatsApp machine

    May 17, 2024 · 28 min

    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 on WhatsApp like the BJP, the ruling party helmed by Prime Minister Modi. In partnership…

  • Inside TSMC’s struggle to build a chip factory in the U.S. suburbs

    April 25, 2024 · 34 min

    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 expansion hasn’t taken off. In this story, Rest of World follows the experience of an…

  • The changing face of protest

    March 28, 2024 · 33 min

    Mass protests used to offer a degree of safety in numbers. Facial recognition technology changes the equation. This story explores how thanks to new facial recognition technology, protesters’ safety in numbers is becoming a thing of the…

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About the show

Listen to Rest of World's best stories about the way technology is reshaping the globe. Narrated by our staff of writers and editors. Nearly four billion internet users live outside the West. We're telling their stories, with in-depth, on-the-ground reporting on topics like Big Tech’s global influence, e-commerce, cryptocurrency, the struggles of the gig economy, and the rise of EVs.