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 journalism the Guardian has to offer, including in-depth writing from around the world on immigration, crime, business, the arts and much more. Audio Long Read journalists include Samira Shackle, Tom Lamont, Sophie Elmhirst, Samanth Subramanian, Imogen West-Knights, Sirin Kale, Daniel Trilling and Giles Tremlett.
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, 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 behind 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.
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.
César Aira’s unreal magic: how the eccentric author took over Latin American literature – podcast
He has published more than 100 novels, gives his work away, and his surrealist books have a massive cult following. Now Argentina’s favourite rule-breaker is tipped for the Nobel prize. By Alejandro Chacoff
From the archive: ‘The Silicon Valley of turf’: how the UK’s pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football – podcast
This week, from 2021: They used to look like quagmires, ice rinks or dustbowls, depending on the time of year. But as big money entered football, pristine pitches became crucial to the sport’s image – and groundskeepers became stars. By William Ralston
From the archive: The secret deportations: how Britain betrayed the Chinese men who served the country in the war – podcast
This week, from 2021: During the second world war, Chinese merchant seamen helped keep Britain fed, fuelled and safe – and many gave their lives doing so. But from late 1945, hundreds of them who had settled in Liverpool suddenly disappeared. Now their children are piecing together the truth. By Dan Hancox
