PODCAST · society
The Audio Long Read
by The Guardian
Three times a week, The Audio Long Read podcast brings you the Guardian’s exceptional longform journalism in audio form. Covering topics from politics and culture to philosophy and sport, as well as investigations and current affairs.
Episodes
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The rubbishscapes of Essex: why our buried trash is back to haunt us
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 2023: Landfill sites have swallowed many a beauty spot along the Thames estuary in the past 50 years. Now, as those dumps start to disgorge...
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Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored
Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in an egalitarian utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen? By Jill Lepore. Read by Laurel Lefkow. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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The long shadow of Argentina’s dictatorship: she wasn’t who she thought she was. Neither was her father
A young activist thought her father’s disapproval of her leftwing views was purely political. Then one evening, a kiss goodbye sent her on a remarkable journey that continues today By Meaghan Beatley. Read by Cynthia Farrell. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive: Sudan’s outsider: how a paramilitary leader fell out with the army and plunged the country into war
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 2023: The civilians of Sudan have been trying to throw off military rule for decades, but now find themselves caught in the middle of a deadly...
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The great silence: why haven’t we found any aliens yet?
Given the size and age of the universe, it should be full of species with technology far more advanced than our own. So where are they? By Adam Kirsch. Read by James Sobol Kelly. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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Introducing Black Box: The Chatbots
Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say their AI has ‘awakened’, or is leading them to a higher spiritual realm. The Guardian journalist Michael Safi begins...
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The body snatchers: how a young Nigerian man was lured to London in an organ-trafficking plot
Daniel was working at a market in Lagos when he was given the chance to start anew in the UK. He had no idea what was expected of him in return By Alexis Okeowo. Read by Nneka Okoye. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive: ‘Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic’
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 2023: While the world becomes drier, profit and pollution are draining our resources. We have to change our approach By Tim Smedley. Read by…
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‘I can sense Sinatra enter my body and exit my lungs’: aboard the celebrity impersonators’ cruise
I joined Marilyn Monroe, Walter White, Ozzy Osbourne and other tribute artists on a cruise where imitation is its own art form By Mina Tavakoli. Read by Norma Butikofer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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Best of 2026…so far: ‘Any other child would have died’: the miraculous survival of Nada Itrab
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: After a nine-year-old girl was kidnapped and taken from Spain to...
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Best of 2026…so far: Apocalypse no: how almost everything we thought we knew about the Maya is wrong
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: For many years the prevailing debate about the Maya centred upon why...
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‘The war leaked into every lesson’: learning Ukrainian in a country under siege
Soon after my first visit to Ukraine four years ago, I began language lessons. It taught me more than I ever expected Written and read by Charlotte Higgins On Wednesday 30 September, join Charlotte Higgins and our panel of acclaimed Ukrainian writers to reflect on the profound connections between...
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Best of 2026 … so far: Where Duolingo falls down: how I learned to speak Welsh with my mother
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from March: Once violently defended from extinction, Welsh is still a part of daily...
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Best of 2026 … so far: Asian mothers, bad feelings: notes on an all-conquering stereotype
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from April: A certain image of the tiger mom – strict, cold and demanding – is...
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Iraq’s impossible predicament: why the country is trapped between Iran and the US
With the outbreak of this year’s war, Iraq’s balancing act between the two antagonists has collapsed, exposing a perilously fragile state By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. Read by Mo Ayoub The summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order. Help support our independent journalism at...
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Best of 2026…so far: Endo dreams of sushi: a trip around Japan with one of the world’s greatest chefs
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from April: Endo Kazutoshi spent decades climbing to the top of the culinary world,...
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Best of 2026…so far: 35,000 pints of stolen Guinness, 950 wheels of pilfered cheese: can the UK’s cargo theft crisis be stopped?
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from March: It costs the UK economy £700m a year, and criminal gangs are operating...
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The Dacre dynasty: how Britain’s rightwing press was radicalised
At the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre broke new ground in selling readers an angry rightwing perspective. Today, most of Fleet Street is run by his disciples By Andy Beckett. Read by Simon Vance The summer issue of the Long Read magazine is out now. Click here to order. Help support our independent...
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Best of 2026…so far: ‘I see it as trafficking’: the brutal reality of life as a foreign student in the UK
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from January: Universities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees,...
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Best of 2026…so far: My maddening battle with chronic fatigue syndrome: ‘On my worst days, it feels almost demonic’
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: I suffered with my mystery illness for decades before gaining a...
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‘This process has turned into a form of torture’: inside the trial of Erdoğan’s challenger
He was elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019, and had announced his candidacy for the 2028 presidential elections. But Ekrem İmamoğlu is now behind bars, and his trial, on charges including fraud and organised crime, could take 12 years By Kaya Genç. Read by Philip Ishak Arditti This piece first...
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‘It makes your heart sing’: can a pioneering project show that rewilding really works?
Intensive farming has all but destroyed England’s ancient woodlands and freshwater wetlands. On a farm in Lincolnshire a radical aristocrat hopes to show there’s money in protecting nature By Patrick Barkham. Read by Dermot Daly. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive: ‘A dizzying maze’: how the UK immigration system is geared to reject
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: Navigating the roadblocks into Britain gets ever more difficult and expensive, as government hostility leaks into every transaction. By...
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‘It is comforting to be haunted’: how attitudes to abortion have changed through the ages
The abortion debate – the language of life, choice and rights – severs women, and their pain, from history. I don’t want to forget my abortion and I don’t want to forget theirs By Erin Maglaque. Read by Lanna Joffrey. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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What training my chaotic dog taught me about power, control – and human beings
Our lovable yet unruly boxer Dusty forced me to wonder: if a dog has no morals, how do you teach it to be ‘good’? By William Davies. Read by John Robins. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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Pinker’s progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wars
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: How the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker became one of the world’s most contentious thinkers By Alex Blasdel. Read by Christopher…
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Saint Levant: the pop star from Gaza caught between passionate fandom and bitter disapproval
His detractors say he shouldn’t be making pop music in times of war and destruction. His millions of fans say he has given them permission to celebrate their culture and their cause Written and read by Nesrine Malik. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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‘There’s this deep mystery of what, actually, is this thing?’: the philosopher inside Google DeepMind AI
Since 2017, Iason Gabriel has worked at the tech giant, trying to anticipate – and think through – the impact of AI. But as commercial and geopolitical pressures escalate, can ethicists make any difference? By Robert P Baird. Read by Simon Darwen. Help support our independent journalism at...
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From the archive: Battle of the botanic garden: the horticulture war roiling the Isle of Wight
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 2023: 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.…
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‘Navigating the unknown together’: me and my idiot AI boyfriend
I believe that chatbots have no place in a decent society, and am repelled by the topic of AI in general. But could I be seduced? By Lauren Oyler. Read by Kate Handford. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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‘He liked that people were scared of him’: my year unpicking fantasy and reality with a veteran of Italy’s football ultras
I’ve met many hardcore, violent fans, but the hostage-negotiating, cocaine-smuggling, Marxist-Leninist Alessandro Casolari still stood out By Tobias Jones. Read by Bert Seymour. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive: Leave no trace: how a teenage hacker lost himself online
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: Edwin Robbe had a troubled life, but found excitement and purpose by joining an audacious community of hackers. Then the real world…
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How did Mexico’s president become the world’s most popular leftwing leader?
Claudia Sheinbaum started as an activist. Now she is Mexico’s president. Has she stayed true to her ideals? By Rachel Nolan. Read by Gemma Acosta. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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I launched Cuba’s first independent magazine. And that’s when my troubles began
My friends and I wanted to tell the story of Cuban life, without interference. Before long, I was being isolated, monitored and interrogated By Abraham Jiménez Enoa. Read by Sebastián Capitán Viveros A version of this essay was previously published in the Dial under the title The Sneeze....
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From the archive: Flour power: meet the bread heads baking a better loaf
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: The days of the mass-produced pappy white British supermarket loaf may be numbered. Meet the bread heads revolutionising the way we eat…
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‘They take you out of life, out of time’: a journey into Spain’s astonishing cave paintings
For tens of thousands of years, these Palaeolithic artworks were unseen. When they were rediscovered, onlookers marvelled at their vivid beauty. One of the world’s leading experts took me up close Written and read by Stephen Phelan. Help support our independent journalism at...
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Ping-pong sponges, ‘black smokers’ and floating somethings: the secrets of the deep sea
The bottom of the ocean has barely been explored, but every journey to the deep reveals wondrous new lifeforms. As underwater mining gains momentum, we risk destroying one of Earth’s last great wildernesses By Jacob Mikanowski. Read by Lincoln Conway. Help support our independent journalism at...
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From the archive: No coach, no agent, no ego: the incredible story of the ‘Lionel Messi of cliff diving’
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 2023: Gary Hunt is an enigma. He trains with the intensity of a modern athlete, but relaxes like a sportsman of a bygone era. He is fiercely...
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‘Seriously the best boss ever’: inside the world of Jeffrey Epstein’s assistant
No one’s name appears in the Epstein files more than that of Lesley Groff, his assistant. Reading through the thousands of emails, a troubling question arises: what did she know? By Sophie Elmhirst. Read by Norma Butikofer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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‘The devil’s child’: the rise and fall of the only female yakuza
Mako Nishimura fought her way into the Japanese underworld, but drug addiction and the slow demise of organised crime gangs almost destroyed her By Sean Williams. Read by Ami Okumura Jones. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive: Terrorists, cultists – or champions of Iranian democracy? The wild wild story of the MEK
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 2018: They fought for the Iranian revolution – and then for Saddam Hussein. The US and UK once condemned them. But now their opposition to…
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As a Ukrainian journalist, I’ve covered the US for 20 years. I find it increasingly shocking
My country has been under occupation, dogged by corruption and war. Yet even I’ve been bewildered by the way the US seems to be fracturing By Nataliya Gumenyuk. Read by Inna Bagoli. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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‘Should we leave them to die?’ The battle over how to save orangutans from the curse of palm oil
As new settlers clear their forest habitat, the apes are coming into conflict with humans. But simply moving them to another part of the forest may not be the answer By Sally Williams. Read by Saskia Reeves. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive: Sold to the Trump family: one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean
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 2025: Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort – once the unexploded...
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Prisoner number 804: the plot to erase Imran Khan
It’s one thing to remove a PM from office, as happened to the former cricketer in 2022. But it’s another thing to try to eradicate the most famous person in Pakistan’s history By Osman Samiuddin. Read By Aaron Neil. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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‘I couldn’t breathe’: the sinister spread of France’s killer seaweed
After a series of deaths on the beaches of Brittany, one bereaved family set out to prove the foul-smelling bloom was to blame By Marta Zaraska. Read by Lucy Bromilow. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive: Three abandoned children, two missing parents and a 40-year mystery
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 2023: Elvira and her brothers, Ricard and Ramón, were left at a train station in Barcelona aged two, four and five. As an adult, when Elvira...
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After a hard-fought victory to legalise medical cannabis in the UK, why is it still so hard to access?
Two mothers fought British bureaucracy to obtain lifesaving cannabis medicines for their children. But most patients are having to go private – at huge cost Written and read by Kojo Koram. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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Asian mothers, bad feelings: notes on an all-conquering stereotype
A certain image of the tiger mom – strict, cold and demanding – is ubiquitous in popular culture. Why? By Rebecca Liu. Read by Ginnia Cheng. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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From the archive:‘I feel like I’m selling my soul’: inside the crisis at Juventus
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 2023: a series of financial scandals have rocked Italy’s most glamorous club. But is the trouble at Juventus symptomatic of a deeper rot in…
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Three times a week, The Audio Long Read podcast brings you the Guardian’s exceptional longform journalism in audio form. Covering topics from politics and culture to philosophy and sport, as well as investigations and current affairs.
HOSTED BY
The Guardian
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does The Audio Long Read have?
The Audio Long Read currently has 300 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is The Audio Long Read about?
Three times a week, The Audio Long Read podcast brings you the Guardian’s exceptional longform journalism in audio form. Covering topics from politics and culture to philosophy and sport, as well as investigations and current affairs.
How often does The Audio Long Read release new episodes?
The Audio Long Read publishes regularly with 300 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
Where can I listen to The Audio Long Read?
You can listen to The Audio Long Read on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts The Audio Long Read?
The Audio Long Read is created and hosted by The Guardian.
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