The front page of the Guardian website can be a busy place, full of live and breaking news. But one of our strengths as an organisation is our reporters’ ability to slow down, go back, and look in depth at the lives behind the headlines.

Our long read section is a great example of the benefits of a slower approach to reporting. Its writers spend many months researching articles in order to tell the wider story behind events that may have only appeared in the national news for a couple of days.

Take the disturbances that took place in Leicester in 2022. The city, one of the UK’s most diverse, was briefly shocked by unrest between some members of its Hindu and Muslim communities. Yohann Koshy spent more than a year speaking to people there to try to make sense of what happened. Had a city in the English east Midlands become a proxy for the divisive politics of Narendra Modi’s India?

Our news teams also work hard at continuing to probe stories that may have slipped off the news agenda. The Post Office Horizon scandal became a national outrage in Britain in the first few weeks of January and we’re keen to keep telling the stories of those whose lives were wrecked by the affair. This week, in a moving interview, former post office operator Teju Adedayo exclusively told Damien Gayle how she has lived under a shadow after feeling she was pressured into confessing to the disappearance of £53,000 in 2005.

There have been other striking human stories behind the news this week, including the journey of asylum seeker Leonard Farruku, who died on board the Bibby Stockholm barge in Dorset in December, written by Emine Sinmaz, and that of Roger Davies, an army veteran who died while rough sleeping, by Christopher Knaus. Roger’s story was part of a year-long investigation by Guardian Australia into the early deaths of homeless people. I was also struck by Simon Hattenstone’s interview with British TV personality Rylan Clark, who opened up for the first time about how he helped his friend Lucy Spraggan after she was raped during the filming of The X Factor in 2012.

On a separate note, I’d urge you to read some striking letters we received this week from readers in reaction to King Charles’s cancer diagnosis. All expressed sympathy, but were impelled to compare the monarch’s rapid care to their own slow treatment in the NHS.

Our central and eastern Europe correspondent Shaun Walker was granted rare access to two Ukrainian prisons – one for men and one for women – where he spoke to prisoners jailed for collaborating with Russia. Alongside striking photography by Misha Friedman, Shaun’s interviews showed a complicated picture of the war, and the ​​different shades of guilt that exist among the so-called turncoats.

In another week of heightened tensions and violence in the Middle East, Jason Burke spoke exclusively to demobilised Israeli troops who shared their experiences fighting in an almost-destroyed Gaza, while Emma Graham-Harrison and Quique Kierszenbaum reported powerfully from Hebron, one of the most heavily contested and heavily militarised places in the West Bank.

Hannah Ellis-Petersen and Shah Meer Baloch reported from Pakistan on this week’s crucial election, a vote which took place following the imprisonment of former president Imran Khan, whose party says it faced constant harassment and curbs on its ability to campaign. Nosheen Iqbal hosted a fascinating episode of Today in Focus which explained why this was a Pakistani election like no other.

An investigation last summer revealed claims that guards at a Del Monte pineapple farm in Kenya, which supplies most major supermarkets, had assaulted and killed people suspected of trespassing on its land. This week, the allegations went a step further: Del Monte representatives have been accused of offering bribes in a bid to cover up the circumstances of yet more deaths. Emily Dugan, working with the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Edwin Okoth in Nairobi, continues to scrutinise the role of this major global food supplier.

Guardian US environment reporters Oliver Milman and Dharna Noor wrote an alarming piece on the potential ramifications of a second Trump administration for the climate. “A return of Trump would be, in a word, horrific,” one expert said.

In another new twist in the Michelle Mone scandal, David Conn revealed leaked emails in which the Conservative peer told the UK government she was not entitled to “any financial benefit whatsoever” from the company PPE Medpro. Five months later £29m of its profits were transferred into a trust for her benefit.

John Harris and Maz Ebtehaj travelled to Wellingborough for our Politics Weekly UK podcast to capture the mood in the English constituency as it prepares for a byelection. There, they witnessed a general sense of apathy towards all in Westminster, as well as concerns about immigration.

Our look back at the photographs that changed how Britain sees its leaders – introduced by Jonathan Freedland – was a fascinating journey through dynamic and often turbulent times in UK politics.

Our US sports team interrogated the dangerous partnership between the Super Bowl and gambling industry ahead of tomorrow’s big game. Tom Dart interviewed recovering gambling addicts, and detailed how the industry and professional sports are now dangerously intertwined in America.

As fasting sees an increase in popularity as a weight-loss solution, author Jeanette Winterson outlined her argument in favour of the technique, which she has been practising for years.

I loved Laura Barton’s touching and lyrical look at how she became a mother after she had given up all hope, and also this piece by our arts columnist Katy Hessel on why we should celebrate Saint Brigid of Ireland, an effortlessly progressive female figure who lived on her own terms, fought against forced marriage, brewed beer from lakes and cared for the land. Living the dream!

Cook this | Riaz Phillips’ vegan recipe for spicy vegetable roti

Indo-Caribbean chokas are a popular spicy breakfast treat in Trinidad. Roast your veg of choice with onion, garlic, chilli and spices, mash it roughly, then pour over some hot spicy oil and stuff into soft flatbreads.

Listen to this | Why is gen Z so divided on gender? – Today in Focus

Studies on the attitudes of young people between the age of 16 and 29 show a serious split towards both feminism and influencers such as Andrew Tate (pictured). What’s behind it?

Watch this | Inside the youth anti-abortion movement in the US

Since the US supreme court’s overturning of Roe v Wade, 16 states have enacted stringent bans on nearly all abortions. But that is not enough for a new generation of organised and passionate young activists intent on pushing even stricter laws across the country.

Come to this | Hollywood, race and the power of storytelling

As awards season approaches, Guardian film and TV critic Ellen E Jones (pictured) will join Steve Rose to discuss this year’s Bafta and Oscars frontrunners. She’ll also introduce her new book, Screen Deep, which explores race and politics in Hollywood.

Thursday 15 February, 8pm-9pm GMT

The Guardian’s crosswords and Wordiply are here to keep you entertained throughout the weekend – with plenty more on the Guardian’s Puzzles app for iOS and Android.