- 32 minutes 29 secondsThe impossible promise: are we witnessing the return of fascism?Some of today’s far right is openly violent and undemocratic – and even in its less extreme forms, far-right populism is a profound threat. But that doesn’t mean it is just a re-run of history By Daniel Trilling. Read by Sami Abu Wardeh. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod11 May 2026, 4:00 am
- 31 minutes 1 second‘I see it as trafficking’: the brutal reality of life as a foreign student in the UKUniversities in Britain rely on overseas applicants paying full fees, which has given rise to some unscrupulous recruiters and left many hopefuls and their families deep in debt By Samira Shackle. Read by Dinita Gohil. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod8 May 2026, 4:00 am
- 42 minutes 29 secondsNo cults, no politics, no ghouls: how China censors the video game worldWe 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: China’s video game market is the world’s biggest. International developers want in on it – but its rules on what is acceptable are growing increasingly harsh. Is it worth the compromise? By Oliver Holmes. Read by Jordan Erica Webber. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod6 May 2026, 4:00 am
- 48 minutes 4 secondsWhere Duolingo falls down: how I learned to speak Welsh with my motherOnce violently defended from extinction, Welsh is still a part of daily life. By learning my family’s language, I hoped to join their conversation By Dan Fox. Read by Matt Addis. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod4 May 2026, 4:00 am
- 50 minutes 29 seconds‘Any other child would have died’: the miraculous survival of Nada ItrabAfter a nine-year-old girl was kidnapped and taken from Spain to Bolivia, authorities feared the worst. They found her in the rainforest nine months later – but that wasn’t the end of her ordeal By Giles Tremlett. Read by Norah Lopez Holden. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod1 May 2026, 4:00 am
- 1 hour 7 minutesFrom the archive: the impossible job: inside the world of Premier League refereesWe 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: players, pundits and fans complain bitterly that referees are getting worse each season – but is that fair? By William Ralston. Read by Simon Darwen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod29 April 2026, 4:00 am
- 43 minutes 25 secondsInside China’s robotics revolutionHow close are we to the sci-fi vision of autonomous humanoid robots? I visited 11 companies in five Chinese cities to find out By Chang Che. Read by Vincent Lai. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod27 April 2026, 4:00 am
- 44 minutes 59 secondsEndo dreams of sushi: a trip around Japan with one of the world’s greatest chefsEndo Kazutoshi spent decades climbing to the top of the culinary world, only for a devastating fire to threaten it all. I joined him in the aftermath as he travelled around his homeland, visiting the people that helped make him Written and read by Kieran Morris. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod24 April 2026, 4:00 am
- 38 minutes 38 secondsFrom the archive: The high cost of living in a disabling worldWe 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: For all the advances that have been made in recent decades, disabled people cannot yet participate in society ‘on an equal basis’ with others – and the pandemic has led to many protections being cruelly eroded By Jan Grue. Read by Giles Abbott. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod22 April 2026, 4:00 am
- 39 minutes 10 secondsTeacher v chatbot: my journey into the classroom in the age of AII was a newcomer, negotiating all of the usual classroom difficulties for the first time. Throwing AI into the mix felt like downing a coffee in the middle of a panic attack By Peter C Baker. Read by Adam Sims. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod20 April 2026, 4:00 am
- 40 minutes 45 seconds35,000 pints of stolen Guinness, 950 wheels of pilfered cheese: can the UK’s cargo theft crisis be stopped?It costs the UK economy £700m a year, and criminal gangs are operating with near impunity. Every time a lorry gets robbed, raided or hijacked, it’s Mike Dawber who investigates By Stuart McGurk. Read by Nicholas Camm. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod17 April 2026, 4:00 am
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