The Audio Long Read

I felt a duty to write about the Tang dynasty and its incredible social and cultural sophistication – but also to connect my Chinese past with my child By Xiaolu Guo. Read by Elizabeth Chan. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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: he first became prime minister in 1996 and has been pushing the country further right ever since. Most agree his political days are numbered – but the approach he established will prove very difficult to shift By Joshua Leifer. Read by Andre...

Drug gangs have moved off Britain’s streets and into vulnerable people’s homes. Addicts like my friend are easy targets, but the reality can be more complicated than it seems By Max Daly. Read by Simon Darwen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

For more than three decades, Michael Gove has been a leading figure in British Conservatism. As a journalist, government minister and now editor of the Tory bible the Spectator, he has helped shape the UK right even as it has moved further rightwards. In the latest episode of Radical Thinking, Gove joins Aditya Chakrabortty to discuss the future of the right, his record on Brexit and austerity and...

Every decade, the BBC’s continued existence must be secured through an elaborate multi-year negotiation with the government. But what does charter renewal actually involve – and will it secure the BBC’s long-term future? By Barbara Speed. Read by Carlyss Peer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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: Even those at the top admit the NHS can’t do what is being asked of it today. But it is far from unsalvageable – we just need serious politicians who will commit to funding it By Gavin Francis. Read by Greg Miller Burns. Help support our ind...

Instagrammers have upended the British restaurant scene and amassed followings in the millions. But has their moment already passed? By Stephen Buranyi. Read by Josh Berry. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Are we really living through ‘end times fascism’? Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor think so. In a new series from the Guardian, the pair speak to Radical Thinking with Aditya Chakrabortty in an extended interview. From Trump 2.0 and the rise of the tech billionaire to Gaza and the climate emergency, Klein and Taylor argue we are not just lurching from crisis to crisis but are in a new and dangerous mo...

The new prime minister has declared he wants to end 40 years of neoliberalism. But is he really prepared to be that radical? By Hettie O’Brien. Read by Philip Whitchurch. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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: All my life, my exiled parents had told me about the tragedy of Palestine. Then, when I was in my early 20s, my family moved back – and I saw it with my own eyes By Fida Jiryis. Read by Sarah Agha. Help support our independent journalism at...

Scientists are battling over whether supposedly simple organisms should be considered ‘intelligent’. The outcome could reshape our understanding of the natural world – and our own place within it By Samanth Subramanian. Read by Mikhail Sen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Who is really in charge – the people or the markets? In the first episode of Radical Thinking, a new series from the Guardian, senior economics commentator Aditya Chakrabortty speaks to the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis. What was it like during the Eurozone crisis when Varoufakis went head-to-head with those who wanted to stop his reforms?. Help support our independent journalism...

An unholy alliance is working toward an apocalyptic future from which only a chosen few will emerge unscathed. It’s becoming clear how we stop them By Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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: Our two-year investigation suggests that the tech giant Meta is struggling to prevent criminals from using its platforms to buy and sell children for sex. By Katie McQue and Mei-Ling McNamara. Read by Jeanette Robinson More from this series...

Our buildings are monuments to extraction and extreme emissions. But what if we turned from destructive concrete to timber? By James Crawford. Read by David Carlyle. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Hundreds of millions of pounds of dirty money are being deposited at post offices every year. So why are the police reluctant to investigate the scale of the problem? By Oliver Bullough. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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: For the past two years, Betsy Stanko has been leading an unprecedented investigation into why the police have been failing so badly to tackle sexual violence. But is there any chance of fixing a system that seems so broken? By Melissa Denes...

When exiled Russian opposition campaigner Igor Rogov was accused of working for the Kremlin, his friends were shocked. Could this young activist have really been an undercover agent? By Shaun Walker. Read by Kobna Holdbrook Smith. Additional reporting by Ada Petriczko. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are used to the idea that our fellow humans might intentionally mislead or manipulate us, but the idea that machines can now do the same is deeply unsettling. Researchers are racing to find solutions before it’s too late. By Snigdha Poonam. Read by Maya Saroya. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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: Landfill sites have swallowed many a beauty spot along the Thames estuary in the past 50 years. Now, as those dumps start to disgorge tonnes of mouldering detritus into the river, it truly feels like the Age of Consequences By Tim Burrows....

Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in an egalitarian utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen? By Jill Lepore. Read by Laurel Lefkow. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

A young activist thought her father’s disapproval of her leftwing views was purely political. Then one evening, a kiss goodbye sent her on a remarkable journey that continues today By Meaghan Beatley. Read by Cynthia Farrell. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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 civilians of Sudan have been trying to throw off military rule for decades, but now find themselves caught in the middle of a deadly power struggle between former allies turned bitter opponents Written and read by Nesrine Malik. Help su...

Given the size and age of the universe, it should be full of species with technology far more advanced than our own. So where are they? By Adam Kirsch. Read by James Sobol Kelly. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Across the world, hundreds of people have come to believe they have made extraordinary scientific discoveries with AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Others say their AI has ‘awakened’, or is leading them to a higher spiritual realm. The Guardian journalist Michael Safi begins investigating a phenomenon labelled ‘AI psychosis’, travelling to the US to meet two people who have been on...