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.

  • 42 minutes 3 seconds
    10 years of the long read: The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship (2021)
    As the Long Read turns 10 we are raiding the archives to bring you a favourite piece from each year since 2014, with new introductions from the authors. This week from 2021: Last year, three cryptocurrency enthusiasts bought a cruise ship. They named it the Satoshi, and dreamed of starting a floating libertarian utopia. It didn’t work out. By Sophie Elmhirst. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    20 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 52 minutes 12 seconds
    The cement company that paid millions to Isis: was Lafarge complicit in crimes against humanity?
    The French cement giant started operating in Syria just before the civil war erupted. When Islamic State took over the region, Lafarge paid them protection money so it could keep trading. The consequences are still playing out. By Samanth Subramanian. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    18 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 48 minutes 12 seconds
    Journalist or Russian spy? The strange case of Pablo González
    As a Spanish reporter, Pablo González charmed his way into Russian opposition circles and covered Putin’s wars. Then, in 2022, he was arrested on suspicion of espionage. Many former associates now believe that he betrayed them. By Shaun Walker. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    15 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 44 minutes 49 seconds
    10 years of the long read: The invisible city: how a homeless man built a life underground (2020)
    As the Long Read turns 10 we are raiding the archives to bring you a favourite piece from each year since 2014, with new introductions from the authors. This week from 2020: After decades among the hidden homeless, Dominic Van Allen dug himself a bunker beneath a public park. But his life would get even more precarious. By Tom Lamont. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    13 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 3 seconds
    Has poppymania gone too far?
    Over the past 20 years, the symbol of remembrance for the war dead has become increasingly ubiquitous – and a culture of poppy policing has grown with it. By Samira Shackle. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    11 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 37 minutes 15 seconds
    Slash and burn: is private equity out of control?
    From football clubs to water companies, music catalogues to care homes, private equity has infiltrated almost every facet of modern life in its endless search to maximise profits. By Alex Blasdel. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    8 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 43 minutes 20 seconds
    10 years of the long read: Hand dryers v paper towels: the surprisingly dirty fight for the right to dry your hands (2019)
    As the Long Read turns 10 we are raiding the archives to bring you a favourite piece from each year since 2014, with new introductions from the authors. This week from 2019: For a century, the humble paper towel has dominated public toilets. But a new generation of hand dryers has sparked a war for loo supremacy. By Samanth Subramanian. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    6 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 40 minutes 5 seconds
    Hidden traces of humanity: what AI images reveal about our world
    As generative AI advances, it is easy to see it as yet another area where machines are taking over – but humans remain at the centre of AI art, just in ways we might not expect. By Rachel Ossip. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    4 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 31 minutes 45 seconds
    The other British invasion: how UK lingo conquered the US
    It used to be that Britons would complain about Americanisms diluting the English language. But in fact it’s a two-way street. By Ben Yagoda. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    1 November 2024, 5:00 am
  • 43 minutes 38 seconds
    10 years of the long read: Why Silicon Valley billionaires are prepping for the apocalypse in New Zealand (2018)
    As the Long Read turns 10 we are raiding the archives to bring you a favourite piece from each year since 2014, with new introductions from the authors. This week from 2018: How an extreme libertarian tract predicting the collapse of liberal democracies – written by Jacob Rees-Mogg’s father – inspired the likes of Peter Thiel to buy up property across the Pacific. By Mark O’Connell. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    30 October 2024, 5:00 am
  • 28 minutes 37 seconds
    ‘Places to heal, not to harm’: why brutal prison design kills off hope
    From razor-wire fences and crumbling cells to no windows and overcrowding, conditions in most jails mean rehabilitation is a nonstarter. Here’s how we can create better spaces for prisoners. By Yvonne Jewkes. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
    28 October 2024, 5:00 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App
© MoonFM 2024. All rights reserved.