The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

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.

  • 41 minutes 24 seconds
    From the archive: The King of Kowloon: my search for the cult graffiti prophet of Hong Kong
    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 2022: For years Tsang Tsou-choi daubed his eccentric demands around Hong Kong, and the authorities raced to cover them up. But as the city’s protest movements bloomed, his words mysteriously reappeared Written and read by Louisa Lim. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    28 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 29 minutes 35 seconds
    We published explosive stories about the president of El Salvador. Now we can’t go home
    Days before we ran interviews with gang leaders describing their alleged ties to Nayib Bukele’s government, we left the country to avoid arrest. We fear our exile will never end This story, republished with permission, was originally run by El Faro English By Óscar Martínez and Carlos Martínez. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    26 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 38 minutes 19 seconds
    ‘We were forced to burn bodies’: will survivors of the Tadamon massacres see justice?
    During the conflict, the Damascus suburb became a killing field. But some of Assad’s henchmen are still around – and even working with the new government By Melvyn Ingleby. Read by Selva Rasalingam. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    23 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 57 minutes 2 seconds
    From the archive: The last humanist: how Paul Gilroy became the most vital guide to our age of crisis
    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: one of Britain’s most influential scholars has spent a lifetime trying to convince people to take race and racism seriously. Are we finally ready to listen? By Yohann Koshy. Read by Dermot Daly. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    21 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 27 seconds
    ‘The English person with a Chinese stomach’: how Fuchsia Dunlop became a Sichuan food hero
    The author has been explaining Sichuan cuisine to westerners for decades. But ‘Fu Xia’, as she’s known, has had a profound effect on food lovers in China, too By Leslie T Chang. Read by Ginnia Cheng. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    19 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 39 minutes
    The dangerous rise of Buddhist extremism: ‘Attaining nirvana can wait’
    Still largely viewed as a peaceful philosophy, across much of south-east Asia, the religion has been weaponised to serve nationalist goals By Sonia Faleiro. Read by Dinita Gohil. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    16 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 32 minutes 13 seconds
    From the archive: Kudos, leaderboards, QOMs: how fitness app Strava became a religion
    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 Strava app offers community, training data and motivation to millions of athletes. Even runners who dislike tech can’t bear to be without it By Rose George. Read by Rhiannon Edwards. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    14 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 38 minutes 4 seconds
    Hard to digest: we still live in Fast Food Nation
    Twenty-five years after I revealed the practices of the industrial food giants, the profits – and dangers – of mass producing meat and milk have only grown Written and read by Eric Schlosser. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    12 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 28 minutes 47 seconds
    ‘I wish I could say I kept my cool’: my maddening experience with the NHS wheelchair service
    After I was paralysed in a climbing accident, I discovered how inconsiderate, illogical and incompetent many wheelchair providers can be By Paul Sagar. Read by Felipe Pacheco. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    9 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 57 minutes 35 seconds
    From the archive: The cartel, the journalist and the gangland killings that rocked the Netherlands
    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 2022: In a country known for its liberal drugs policies, organised crime operated for years under the public’s nose – until a series of shocking killings revealed how deep the problem went By Jessica Loudis. Read by Alice Arnold. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    7 January 2026, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 39 seconds
    Inside the rise and fall of Podemos: ‘We believed we had a stake in the future’
    The leftist party exploded out of Spain’s anti-austerity protests in 2011 and upended Spain’s entrenched two-party system. I was instantly captivated – and for the next decade, I worked for the party. But I ended up quitting politics in disappointment. What happened? By Lilith Verstrynge. Read by Norah Lopez Holden. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    5 January 2026, 5:00 am
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