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.
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Top 10 The Audio Long Read Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Audio Long Read episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Audio Long Read for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Audio Long Read episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
Out of our minds: opium’s part in imperial history
The Audio Long Read
06/16/23 • 28 min
How a mind-altering, addictive substance was used as a weapon by one empire to subdue another. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
4 Listeners
‘Why I might have done what I did’: conversations with Ireland’s most notorious murderer
The Audio Long Read
07/14/23 • 44 min
Malcolm Macarthur was the wealthy, bookish socialite who shocked Ireland with a brutal double killing in 1982, and caused a major political scandal. I tracked him down and heard, for the first time, the tale he told about himself. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
2 Listeners
From the archive: Inside the bizarre, bungled raid on North Korea’s Madrid embassy
The Audio Long Read
01/17/24 • 44 min
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: In February, a gang of armed men took a North Korean official hostage and demanded that he defect. When he refused, their plan fell apart, and they fled. Who were they, and why did they risk everything on this wild plot? By Giles Tremlett. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
2 Listeners
From the archive: The invention of whiteness: the long history of a dangerous idea
The Audio Long Read
09/18/24 • 54 min
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: Before the 17th century, people did not think of themselves as belonging to something called the white race. But once the idea was invented, it quickly began to reshape the modern world. By Robert P Baird. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
2 Listeners
01/07/22 • 29 min
From ultra-processed junk to failing supply chains and rocketing food poverty, there are serious problems with the way the UK eats. Will the government ever act? By Bee Wilson. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
1 Listener
1 Comment
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Safe space: the cosmic importance of planetary quarantine – podcast
The Audio Long Read
08/23/21 • 32 min
As the pace and ambition of space exploration accelerates, preventing Earth-born organisms from hitching a ride has become more urgent than ever. By Geoff Manaugh and Nicola Twilley. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
1 Listener
How oligarchs took on the UK fraud squad – and won
The Audio Long Read
10/18/24 • 69 min
It began as a routine investigation into a multinational called ENRC. It became a decade-long saga that has rocked the UK’s financial crime agency. Now new documents illuminate a case that has rewritten UK law and is set to end with a huge bill handed to taxpayers. By Tom Burgis. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
1 Listener
‘They were dying, and they’d not had their money’: Britain’s multibillion-pound equal pay scandal
The Audio Long Read
02/16/24 • 40 min
In 2005, Glasgow council offered to compensate women for historic pay inequality. But it sold them short again – and soon workers all over the UK started fighting for what they were owed. By Samira Shackle. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
1 Listener
Special Edition: Behind the scenes at the Long Read
The Audio Long Read
11/15/23 • 25 min
To celebrate the launch of the new Guardian Long Read magazine this week, join the Long Read editor David Wolf in discussion with regular contributors Sophie Elmhirst and Samanth Subramanian • The Guardian Long Read magazine is available to order now. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
1 Listener
The mass protest decade: why did the street movements of the 2010s fail?
The Audio Long Read
11/13/23 • 34 min
From Brazil to Egypt, Turkey to Hong Kong, the 2010s saw a series of huge public uprisings. Yet many of them led to the opposite of what they asked for. I spoke to 200 participants across 12 countries to find out why. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
1 Listener
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FAQ
How many episodes does The Audio Long Read have?
The Audio Long Read currently has 866 episodes available.
What topics does The Audio Long Read cover?
The podcast is about Society & Culture and Podcasts.
What is the most popular episode on The Audio Long Read?
The episode title 'Out of our minds: opium’s part in imperial history' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on The Audio Long Read?
The average episode length on The Audio Long Read is 37 minutes.
How often are episodes of The Audio Long Read released?
Episodes of The Audio Long Read are typically released every 2 days, 5 hours.
When was the first episode of The Audio Long Read?
The first episode of The Audio Long Read was released on Aug 13, 2018.
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