Single-cell methods are currently broadly used to map cell types and genetic programs, often through cost-efficient sequencing of RNA molecule ends. My lab has been developing single-cell RNA-sequencing methods with read coverage across the full RNA molecules in single cells, and this has been instrumental for studies on transcriptional dynamics, allelic expression, and splicing. I will present the technologies we developed and showcase biological insights uniquely derived from using these technologies in the area of transcriptional bursting and alternative splicing in the brain. This will end with an outlook of emerging single-cell technologies and applications.