The Audio Long Read

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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

The Guardian


    • Jun 23, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • weekdays NEW EPISODES
    • 36m AVG DURATION
    • 832 EPISODES

    4.4 from 657 ratings Listeners of The Audio Long Read that love the show mention: readers, articles, journalism, american, fantastic, voice, listened, life, favorite, love, great, thank, time, listening, please have more british, audio long reads.


    Ivy Insights

    The The Audio Long Read podcast is an excellent source of in-depth journalism that provides a refreshing respite from the bloviating and hyperbole often found in public discourse. The narration is calm and quiet, paired with excellent writing, which allows for a more thoughtful exploration of various topics and ongoing issues in the modern world. The podcast covers a wide range of subjects and provides context to many difficult situations and current concerns. It is faultless journalism that consistently informs and entertains.

    One of the best aspects of this podcast is the quality of the writing and speakers. The articles are thoughtfully produced and go beyond entertainment, reaching more toward essays, history, biographies, or non-fiction studies. They are well-researched and provide interesting perspectives on important topics. Additionally, the diverse range of subjects covered ensures that there is always something new to learn from each episode.

    Another positive aspect is the calming voices of the narrators. The British readers especially have a steady, soothing, and consistent sound that adds to the overall experience. This makes it relaxing to listen to the podcast while doing other tasks. The episodes provide informative content that keeps listeners engaged throughout.

    While some reviewers complain about certain topics not being of interest to them, I find that even when a topic initially doesn't appeal to me, it often turns out to be one of the most useful episodes to listen to. These episodes cover subjects that I may know very little about or find challenging to comprehend, but they offer valuable insights that broaden my understanding.

    In terms of negative aspects, some listeners have criticized certain readers for having monotone voices or sounding like computer-generated speech. While these criticisms may be valid in some cases, it's important to remember that this is a free podcast rather than a paid prescription service. Considering this, I believe that overall, the quality of narration remains high.

    In conclusion, The Audio Long Read podcast provides faultless journalism through its calm and quiet narration paired with excellent writing. It offers a much-needed respite from the noisy and hyperbolic public discourse, allowing for a more thoughtful exploration of important topics. The podcast consistently informs and entertains, making it a valuable source of insightful and educational content.



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    Latest episodes from The Audio Long Read

    ‘Outdated and unjust': can we reform global capitalism?

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 23, 2025 34:05


    President Trump's tariffs have plunged the world economy into chaos. But history counsels against despair – and the left should seize on capitalism's crisis of legitimacy By John Cassidy. Read by Chris Reilly. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    Extremely loud and incredibly scouse: how Jamie Carragher conquered football punditry

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 20, 2025 46:06


    Football coverage no longer stops after the final whistle. And in this new era, the former Liverpool defender reigns supreme By Kieran Morris. Read by Felipe Pacheco. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: Burying Leni Riefenstahl: one woman's lifelong crusade against Hitler's favourite film-maker

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 18, 2025 49:37


    Nina Gladitz dedicated her life to proving the Triumph of the Will director's complicity with the horrors of nazism. In the end, she succeeded – but at a cost Written and read by Kate Connolly. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    ‘You can let go now': inside the hospital where staff treat fear of death as well as physical pain

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2025 38:52


    In a Danish palliative care unit, the alternative to assisted dying is not striving to cure – offering relief and comfort to patients and their families By Line Vaaben. Read by Freya Miller. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    An English gentleman, a crooked lawyer: the secrets of Stephen David Jones

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 13, 2025 54:02


    With his brilliant mind and impeccable credentials, it's little wonder that wealthy clients trusted him with their fortunes. Then they started to get suspicious By Hettie O'Brien. Read by Simon Vance. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o: three days with a giant of African literature

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2025 59:05


    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 Kenyan novelist's life and work has intersected with many of the biggest events of the past century. At 85, he reflects on his long, uncompromising life in writing Written and read by Carey Baraka. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    Death, divorce and the magic of kitchen objects: how to find hope in loss

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2025 28:45


    As they pass through different hands, cooking utensils can magically connect us to loved ones who are no longer with us By Bee Wilson. Read by Colleen Prendergast. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    Missing in the Amazon: the disappearance – episode 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 6, 2025 26:51


    Three years ago British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous defender Bruno Pereira vanished while on a reporting trip near Brazil's remote Javari valley. The Guardian's Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips investigates what happened in the first episode of a new six-part investigative podcast series. Find episode 2 – and all future episodes – by searching for “Missing in the Amazon”. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    A deadly mission: how Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira tried to warn the world about the Amazon's destruction

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 5, 2025 30:36


    The Guardian journalist and the Brazilian Indigenous expert were killed while investigating the impact of deforestation. In this extract from the book Phillips was writing at the time of his death, he reflects on his encounters with the rainforest and its people – and why it is so vital to save this precious place By Dom Phillips. Read by Felipe Pacheco. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: Alan Yentob: the last impresario

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 4, 2025 47:39


    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 2016: For decades, Alan Yentob was the dominant creative force at the BBC – behind everything from Adam Curtis to Strictly Come Dancing. He was a towering figure in British culture – so why did many applaud his very public slide from power? Written and read by Sam Knight. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    ‘We know what is happening, we cannot walk away': how the Guardian bore witness to horror in former Yugoslavia

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2025 31:34


    During the decade-long conflicts, the major powers dithered as Serb militias carried out their brutal campaigns of ethnic cleansing. Guardian reporters became more passionate and more outspoken in their condemnation, attracting praise and criticism By Ian Mayes. Read by Owen McDonnell. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    The ancient psychedelics myth: ‘People tell tourists the stories they think are interesting for them'

    Play Episode Listen Later May 30, 2025 33:19


    The narrative of ancient tribes around the world regularly using ayahuasca and magic mushrooms in healing practices is a popular one. Is it true? By Manvir Singh. Read by Sebastián Capitán Viveros. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: The lost Jews of Nigeria

    Play Episode Listen Later May 28, 2025 49:14


    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: Until the 1990s, there were almost no Jews in Nigeria. Now thousands have enthusiastically taken up the faith. Why? By Samanth Subramanian. Read by Raj Ghatak. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    ‘We thought we could change the world': how an idealistic fight against miscarriages of justice turned sour

    Play Episode Listen Later May 26, 2025 42:06


    When a no-nonsense lecturer set up a radical solution to help free the wrongfully convicted in the UK, he was hopeful he could change the justice system. But what started as a revolution ended in acrimony By Francisco Garcia. Read by Nicholas Camm. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    ‘All other avenues have been exhausted': Is legal action the only way to save the planet?

    Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2025 32:29


    Monica Feria-Tinta is one of a growing number of lawyers using the courts to make governments around the world take action By Samira Shackle. Read by Díana Bermudez. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: Super-prime mover: Britain's most successful estate agent

    Play Episode Listen Later May 21, 2025 42:26


    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: Gary Hersham has been selling houses to the very rich for decades. At first, £1m was a big deal. Now he sells for £50m, £100m, even £200m. What does it take to stay on top in this cut-throat business? By Sophie Elmhirst. Read by Andrew McGregor. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    A year of hate: what I learned when I went undercover with the far right

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2025 34:58


    Working for Hope Not Hate, I infiltrated an extremist organisation, befriended its members and got to work investigating their political connections Written and read by Harry Shukman. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    ‘I am not who you think I am': how a deep-cover KGB spy recruited his own son

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2025 49:36


    For the first time, the man the KGB codenamed ‘the Inheritor' tells his story By Shaun Walker. Read by James Faulkner. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: What lies beneath: the secrets of France's top serial killer expert

    Play Episode Listen Later May 14, 2025 58:12


    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: An intrepid expert with dozens of books to his name, Stéphane Bourgoin was a bestselling author, famous in France for having interviewed more than 70 notorious murderers. Then an anonymous collective began to investigate his past By Scott Sayare. Read by Simon Vance. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    ‘Why would he take such a risk?' How a famous Chinese author befriended his censor

    Play Episode Listen Later May 12, 2025 39:25


    Online dissent is a serious crime in China. So why did a Weibo censor help me publish posts critical of the Communist party? By Murong Xuecun. Read by Zhang Wang Li. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    The mystery of the nameless girl found dead in a Spanish border town

    Play Episode Listen Later May 9, 2025 38:52


    On a summer morning in 1990, the body of a young woman appeared in a small town close to the frontier. For those who saw her, finding her identity became an obsession that would last 30 years By Giles Tremlett. Read by Luis Soto. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: Food fraud and counterfeit cotton: the detectives untangling the global supply chain

    Play Episode Listen Later May 7, 2025 45:32


    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: Amid the complex web of international trade, proving the authenticity of a product can be near-impossible. But one company is taking the search to the atomic level By Samanth Subramanian. Read by Raj Ghatak. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From acid house to ancient rites: Jeremy Deller's enormous, collaborative, unsellable art

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2025 38:24


    The artist Jeremy Deller can't really draw or paint. Instead of making things, he makes things happen. And later this year, he is planning to unleash a bacchanalian festival that will be his most daring public artwork yet By Charlotte Higgins. Read by Richard Coyle. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    What happens when the US declares war on your parents? The Black Panther Cubs know

    Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2025 51:32


    The Black Panthers shook America awake before the party was eviscerated by the US government. Their children paid a steep price, but also emerged with unassailable pride and burning lessons for today By Ed Pilkington. Read by Chiké Okonkwo. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: The last phone boxes: broken glass, cider cans and – amazingly – a dial tone

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 30, 2025 32:20


    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: Five million payphone calls are still made each year in the UK. Who is making them – and why? By Sophie Elmhirst. Read by Emma Powell. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    Many life-saving drugs fail for lack of funding. But there's a solution: desperate rich people

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2025 29:52


    Each year, hundreds of potentially world-changing treatments are discarded because scientists run out of cash. But where big pharma or altruists fear to tread, my friend and I have a solution. It's repugnant, but it will work By Alexander Masters. Read by Tom Andrews. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    In search of the South Pacific fugitive who crowned himself king

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2025 47:44


    Noah Musingku made a fortune with a Ponzi scheme and then retreated to a remote armed compound in the jungle, where he still commands the loyalty of his Bougainville subjects By Sean Williams. Read by Simon Darwen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: ‘I pleaded for help. No one wrote back': the pain of watching my country fall to the Taliban

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2025 30:06


    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: As the fighters advanced on Kabul, it was civilians who mobilised to help with the evacuation. In the absence of a plan, the hardest decisions fell on inexperienced volunteers, and the stress began to tell By Zarlasht Halaimzai. Read by Serena Manteghi. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    The real Scandi noir: how a filmmaker and a crooked lawyer shattered Denmark's self-image

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2025 47:41


    The Black Swan follows a repentant master criminal as she sets up corrupt clients in front of hidden cameras. But is she really reformed – and is the director up to his own tricks? By Samanth Subramanian. Read by David Bateson. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    Kahane's ghost: how a long-dead extremist rabbi continues to haunt Israel's politics

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 18, 2025 46:37


    A violent fanatic and pioneer in bigotry, Meir Kahane died a political outcast 35 years ago. Today, his ideas influence the very highest levels of government By Joshua Leifer. Read by Kerry Shale. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: The great betrayal: how the Hillsborough families were failed by the justice system

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 15, 2025 49:04


    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: After 32 years of establishment lies, media smears, inquests, trials and retrials, the families of the Hillsborough dead have yet to see anyone held accountable By David Conn. Read by Gavin Skelhorn. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    My mother, the racist

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2025 32:03


    She spent her life in northern France doing exhausting, back-breaking work – and yet she turned her anger against people who had done no wrongs to her. But as much as I couldn't stand her rants, I was forced to accept her as she was By Didier Eribon. Read by Mark Noble. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    The reluctant collaborator: surviving Syria's brutal civil war – and its aftermath

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2025 50:15


    At 18, Mustafa was told his only way out of prison was to join the regime forces. After 14 years, his past as one of Assad's fighters could get him killed By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. Read by Mo Ayoub. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: Votes for children! Why we should lower the voting age to six

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 9, 2025 33:49


    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: The generational divide is deforming democracy. But there is a solution By David Runciman. Read by Andrew McGregor. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    The Rainham volcano: a waste dump is constantly on fire in east London. Why will no one stop it?

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2025 38:55


    Under Arnolds Field, tonnes of illegally dumped waste have been burning for years, spewing pollution over the area. Locals fear for their health – and despair that no one seems willing to help By William Ralston. Read by Sam Swainsbury. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    It came from outer space: the meteorite that landed in a Cotswolds cul-de-sac

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2025 29:30


    Meteorite falls are extremely rare and offer a glimpse of the processes that formed our world billions of years ago. When a space rock came to an English market town in 2021, scientists raced to find as much out as they could By Helen Gordon. Read by Sasha Frost. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: ‘The treeline is out of control': how the climate crisis is turning the Arctic green

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2025 36:32


    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 northern Norway, trees are rapidly taking over the tundra and threatening an ancient way of life that depends on snow and ice By Ben Rawlence. Read by Christien Anholt. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    Holidays in hell: summer camp with Russia's forgotten children

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2025 24:48


    At the rural orphanage where I volunteered, the place resembled a Dickensian workhouse. The staff's main tools were antipsychotics and violence. The experience gave me a window into Putin's Russia By Howard Amos. Read by Harry Lloyd. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    The savage suburbia of Helen Garner: ‘I wanted to dong Martin Amis with a bat'

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2025 38:39


    Over 50 years, she has become one of the most revered writers in Australia. Is she finally going to get worldwide recognition? By Sophie Elmhirst. Read by Nicolette Chin. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    From the archive: Is society coming apart?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 26, 2025 42:36


    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: Despite Thatcher and Reagan's best efforts, there is and has always been such a thing as society. The question is not whether it exists, but what shape it must take in a post-pandemic world By Jill Lepore. Read by Kelly Burke. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    The Coventry experiment: why were Indian women in Britain given radioactive food without their consent?

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2025 38:13


    When details about a scientific study in the 1960s became public, there was shock, outrage and anxiety. But exactly what happened? By Samira Shackle. Read by Dinita Gohil. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

    My life as a prison officer: ‘It wasn't just the smell that hit you. It was the noise'

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 21, 2025 27:16


    I saw first hand how prisons are having to use segregation units for acutely mentally ill inmates who should not be in prison at all Written and read by Alex South. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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