The Audio Long Read
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, immigration, crime, business, the arts and much more.
The podcast explores a range of subjects and news across business, global politics, money, philosophy, science, internet culture, modern life, war, climate change, current affairs (including Trump, Israel, Palestine and Gaza), music and trends, and seeks to answer key questions around them through explainers, interviews, 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? 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? Whether Trump can win the US presidency or not? 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.
From the archive: ‘As borders closed, I became trapped in my Americanness’: China, the US and me – podcast
This week, from 2021: I’ve long nursed vague plans of moving back to China for a few years, to solidify my place there. But with each year that passes in the US, such a move gets harder and harder to make. By Cleo Qian
‘If there’s nowhere else to go, this is where they come’: how Britain’s libraries provide much more than books – podcast
In 2024, libraries are unofficial creches, homeless shelters, language schools and asylum support providers – filling the gaps left by a state that has reneged on its responsibilities. By Aida Edemariam
From the archive: The elephant vanishes: how a circus family went on the run – podcast
This week, from 2021: Dumba has spent her life performing in circuses around Europe, but in recent years animal rights activists have been campaigning to rescue her. When it looked like they might succeed, Dumba and her owners disappeared. By Laura Spinney
From the archive: ‘Colonialism had never really ended’: my life in the shadow of Cecil Rhodes – podcast
This week, from 2021: After growing up in a Zimbabwe convulsed by the legacy of colonialism, when I got to Oxford I realised how many British people still failed to see how empire had shaped lives like mine – as well as their own. By Simukai Chigudu
How the Tories pushed universities to the brink of disaster – podcast
Over the past 14 years, the Conservative dream of a free market in higher education has collided with the harsh reality of austerity and the cultural resentment of the radical right – driving some institutions close to bankruptcy. By William Davies
Nairobi to New York and back: the loneliness of the internationally educated elite – podcast
Every year, hundreds of Kenyans head off to study at elite universities in the US and UK. On graduating, many find themselves in a strange position: unable to fit in abroad, but no longer feeling like they belong back home. By Carey Baraka
From the archive: Brazilian butt lift: behind the world’s most dangerous cosmetic surgery – podcast
This week, from 2021: The BBL is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery in the world, despite the mounting number of deaths resulting from the procedure. What is driving its astonishing rise? By Sophie Elmhirst
Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison – podcast
My poems were written in anger after Tiananmen Square. But what motivates most prison writing is a fear of forgetting. Today I am free, but the regime has never stopped its war on words. By Liao Yiwu
As a teenager, John was jailed for assaulting someone and stealing their bike. That was 17 years ago – will he ever be released? – podcast
Indeterminate sentences are devastating to mental health, but prisoners with mental illness are less likely to be released. The result is a vicious cycle whereby the most vulnerable inmates often have the least chance of getting out – as John’s case shows. By Sophie Atkinson
Google podcasts is closing so if you are listening on this platform, you will need to find a new app on which to listen to The Audio Long Read. Spotify, Pocketcasts, Podcast Player or find one that works for you.
From the archive: Can computers ever replace the classroom? – podcast
This week, from 2020: With 850 million children worldwide shut out of schools, tech evangelists claim now is the time for AI education. But as the technology’s power grows, so too do the dangers that come with it. By Alex Beard
Google podcasts is closing so if you are listening on this platform, you will need to find a new app on which to listen to The Audio Long Read. Spotify, Pocketcasts, Podcast Player or find one that works for you.
The man who turned his home into a homeless shelter – podcast
Stuart Potts is an unlikely do-gooder – a former crack addict who has hit rock bottom more than once. But since 2020, he has offered hundreds of homeless people a bed in his small flat – and for many of them, it has been life-changing. By Samira Shackle
Google podcasts is closing so if you are listening on this platform, you will need to find a new app on which to listen to The Audio Long Read. Spotify, Pocketcasts, Podcast Player or find one that works for you.
