The Audio Long Read podcast is a selection of the Guardian’s long reads, giving you the opportunity to get on with your day while listening to some of the finest longform journalism the Guardian has to offer, including in-depth writing from around the world on current affairs, climate change, global warming, immigration, crime, business, the arts and much more. The podcast explores a range of subjects and news across business, global politics (including Trump, Israel, Palestine and Gaza), money, philosophy, science, internet culture, modern life, war, climate change, current affairs, music and trends, and seeks to answer key questions around them through in depth interviews explainers, and analysis with quality Guardian reporting. Through first person accounts, narrative audio storytelling and investigative reporting, the Audio Long Read seeks to dive deep, debunk myths and uncover hidden histories. In previous episodes we have asked questions like: do we need a new theory of evolution? Whether Trump can win the US presidency or not? Why can't we stop quantifying our lives? Why have our nuclear fears faded? Why do so many bikes end up underwater? How did Germany get hooked on Russian energy? Are we all prisoners of geography? How was London's Olympic legacy sold out? Who owns Einstein? Is free will an illusion? What lies beghind the Arctic's Indigenous suicide crisis? What is the mystery of India's deadly exam scam? Who is the man who built his own cathedral? And, how did the world get hooked on palm oil? Other topics range from: history including empire to politics, conflict, Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Gaza, philosophy, science, psychology, health and finance. Audio Long Read journalists include Samira Shackle, Tom Lamont, Sophie Elmhirst, Samanth Subramanian, Imogen West-Knights, Sirin Kale, Daniel Trilling and Giles Tremlett.
Three years ago, a huge explosion ripped the city apart – and with it people’s hopes for rebuilding. The most vulnerable, many of them women, are bearing the brunt of Lebanon’s endless disasters. 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 2020: A decade ago, violent racists exploited a national crisis and entered mainstream politics in Greece. The party has since been caught up in the biggest trial of Nazis since Nuremberg, and is now crumbling – but its success remains a warning. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod...
When hundreds of my fellow Uyghurs started disappearing into ‘re-education camps’ every day, it became clear that it was only a matter of time before I would be detained. So my wife and I got ready to run. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum was there at the dawn of artificial intelligence – but he was also adamant that we must never confuse computers with humans. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Across this fractured region, informal networks rule. So if you need to send something, ask someone who’s already going that way. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Every Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2023, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from April: From her shimmering novels to her ‘living autobiographies’, Deborah Levy’s work inspires a devotion few literary authors ever achieve. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Since Sudan’s capital was engulfed by violence in April, life there has been all but destroyed. As we tried to get family members to safety, the ruination of my former home became hard to fathom. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Every Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2023, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from March: Nisar Ahmed was almost killed in the Delhi riots. But when he became a witness in court cases against the alleged perpetrators, he realised that was only the start of his troubles. By Rahul Bhatia. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod...
Plenty of people will tell you the East Neuk of Fife in Scotland is the best place in the world to eat fish and chips. So what happens when its chippies – and chippies across the UK – start to close?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Every Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2023, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from March: For two years, Betsy Stanko has been leading an investigation into why the police have been failing so badly to tackle sexual violence. But is there any chance of fixing a system that seems so broken? By Melissa Denes. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpo...
From the early days of the Tahrir Square protests, music was vital to the young people making their voices heard. And though the country is taking another authoritarian turn, that spirit of dissent cannot be extinguished. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Every Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2023, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: When a US businessman took over a beloved garden a decade ago, he decided on a radical new approach, all in the name of sustainability. But angry critics claim it’s just plain neglect. By Mark O’Connell. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod...
Before she was killed by a Russian missile strike, the acclaimed novelist and war crimes researcher wrote about growing up in Moscow’s shadow, and how she came to understand what being Ukrainian really meant. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
It has been said that condoms share marketing characteristics with napalm and funerals. But it is Ben Wilson’s mission to make us believe they are key to human happiness. 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 2020: Gene and Sandy Ralston are a married couple in their 70s, who also happen to be among North America’s leading experts at searching for the dead. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
We cannot let our cities descend into islands of privilege amid seas of disadvantage. With the right policies and investments, a better future is possible. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Hoarding can be distressing and dangerous. But it’s not just a matter of ‘too much stuff’ – it’s a complex condition that requires careful, targeted help. 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 2020: For decades, one company has ruled the world of tampons. But a new wave of brands has emerged, selling themselves as more ethical, more feminist and more ecological. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
The soup of my childhood, borsch, has become emblematic of Putin’s assault on Ukrainian land, culture and heritage, of his drive to plunder and obliterate Ukraine. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Malcolm Macarthur was the wealthy, bookish socialite who shocked Ireland with a brutal double killing in 1982, and caused a major political scandal. I tracked him down and heard, for the first time, the tale he told about himself. 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 2020: The Windrush scandal brought the cruelty of Britain’s deportation policies to light, but the practice continues to this day – and shockingly, it is made possible by UK aid money. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
While the world becomes drier, profit and pollution are draining our resources. We have to change our approach. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
The Kenyan novelist’s life and work has intersected with many of the biggest events of the past century. At 85, he reflects on his long, uncompromising life in writing. 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 2021: Richard Amoah went to Ghana for his father’s funeral and found himself barred from Britain for two years. Like other victims of the Windrush scandal, he is owed compensation – but what will he get?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Her hit book Doughnut Economics laid out a path to a greener, more equal society. But can she turn her ideas into meaningful change?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
When my father began to forget words, and then basic skills, I sensed his fear. After my own alcoholic blackouts, I understood what he was going through. 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 2020: A police raid on a gay bar in New York led to the birth of the Pride movement half a century ago – but the fight for LGBTQ+ rights goes back much further than that. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Read more in this series: Cotton Capital More and more institutions are commissioning investigations into their historical links to slavery – but the fallout at one Cambridge college suggests these projects are meeting growing resistance. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
A flood of new research is overturning old assumptions about what animal minds are and aren’t capable of – and changing how we think about our own species. 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 2019: Calculating the patterns and cycles of the past could lead us to a better understanding of history. Could it also help us prevent a looming crisis?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
