We’ve collected together pieces reviewing the best of 2017, covering journalism, music, cinema, podcasts and more. We’ve also picked one piece from each collection that we particularly liked. We’ll keep updating the post for the next week.
The detritus of Daesh’s occupation reveals hacked-together weapons of all sorts.
The Darien Gap between Colombia and Panama is a treacherous stretch of jungle filled with drug smuggling gangs that’s almost impassable. It is also a major route for migrants trying to reach the USA.
A thoughtful story about writing stories, describing lessons learned as a foreign correspondent in Belarus twenty years ago.
A piece assessing the waning fortunes of South Africa’s far right organisations.
A powerful and moving piece describing the horror of the Grenfell Tower fire through the experiences of a firefighter and a resident who survived the night.
A story looking at what happens to the Islamic State fighters of Iraq in defeat, and in death.
When Belarusian entrepreneur Roman Mazurenko died, his friend built a memorial to him – a chatbot that uses an archive of his text messages to recreate his voice and identity.
A look at the illegal trade in exotic animals.
A ride along with the men tasked with preventing cattle rustling – a crime on the rise again in the USA.