The Audio Long Read

Latest Episodes:

From the archive: A day in the life of (almost) every vending machine in the world Dec 03, 2025

Show notes

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: what’s behind the indestructible appeal of the robotic snack? By Tom Lamont. Read by Andrew McGregor. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

‘They take the money and go’: why not everyone is mourning the end of USAID Dec 01, 2025

Show notes

When Donald Trump set about dismantling USAID, many around the world were shocked. But on the ground in Sierra Leone, the latest betrayal was not unexpected By Mara Kardas-Nelson. Read by Lanna Joffrey. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

‘I knew in my head we were dying’: the last voyage of the Scandies Rose Nov 28, 2025

Show notes

When a fishing boat left port in Alaska in December 2019 with an experienced crew, an icy storm was brewing. What happened to them shows why deep sea fishing is one of the most dangerous professions in the world By Rose George. Read by Rosalie Craig. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

From the archive: ‘If you decide to cut staff, people die’: how Nottingham prison descended into chaos Nov 26, 2025

Show notes

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: as violence, drug use and suicide at HMP Nottingham reached shocking new levels, the prison became a symbol of a system crumbling into crisis By Isobel Thompson. Read by Simon Darwen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

‘Scamming became the new farming’: inside India’s cybercrime villages Nov 24, 2025

Show notes

How did an obscure district in a neglected state become India’s byword for digital deceit? By Snigdha Poonam. Read by Mikhail Sen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

From the archive: how we lost our sensory connection with food – and how to restore it Nov 19, 2025

Show notes

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: to eat in the modern world is often to eat in a state of profound sensory disengagement. It shouldn’t have to be this way By Bee Wilson. Read by Lucy Scott. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

The Pushkin job: unmasking the thieves behind an international rare books heist Nov 17, 2025

Show notes

Between 2022 and 2023, as many as 170 rare and valuable editions of Russian classics were stolen from libraries across Europe. Were the thieves merely low-level opportunists, or were bigger forces at work? By Philip Oltermann. Read by Daniela Denby Ashe. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

‘The jobless should lead the attack’: a radical Jamaican journalist in 1920s London Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

Economic insecurity, race riots, incendiary media … Claude McKay was one of the few Black journalists covering a turbulent period that sounds all too familiar to us today By Yvonne Singh. Read by Karl Queensborough. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

From the archive: ‘We are so divided now’: how China controls thought and speech beyond its borders Nov 12, 2025

Show notes

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 arrest of a Tibetan New York city cop on spying charges plays into the community’s long-held suspicions that the People’s Republic is watching them By Lauren Hilgers. Read by Emily Woo Zeller. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Special Edition: Behind the scenes at the Long Read Nov 11, 2025

Show notes

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 Charlotte Higgins and Hettie O’Brien. The Guardian long read magazine is available to order at theguardian.com/longreadmag In this issue, you’ll find pieces on how MrBeast became the world’s biggest YouTube star, how Emmanuel Macron deals with Donald Trump, and shocking revelations at the British Museum. Plus: what’s behind our rampant steroid use?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected