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.
Best of 2025 … so far: ‘The ghosts are everywhere’: can the British Museum survive its omni-crisis?
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2025, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from March: beset by colonial controversy, difficult finances and the discovery of a thief on the inside, Britain’s No 1 museum is in deep trouble. Can it restore its reputation? By Charlotte Higgins. Read by Diveen Henry. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Expires in 46 hours
Published Friday
Confirmed 2
Best of 2025 … so far: the great abandonment: what happens to the natural world when people disappear?
Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2025, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: across the globe, vast swathes of land are being left to be reclaimed by nature. To see what could be coming, look to Bulgaria. By Tess McClure. Read by Sara Lynam The Oath documentary: www.theguardian.com/world/video/2025/jul/30/the-oath-to-be-a-palestinian-doctor-in-israels-healthcare-system. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Expires in 17 hours
Published Wednesday
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The Shining: my trip to the G7 horror show with Emmanuel Macron
Deeply unpopular in France, President Macron relishes the international stage, where he projects himself as the leader best placed to handle Trump. Seven years after our last encounter, I joined him as he prepared for battle By Emmanuel Carrère. Read by David Sibley. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published Monday
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Poison in the water: the town with the world’s worst case of forever chemicals contamination
When a small Swedish town discovered their drinking water contained extremely high levels of Pfas, they had no idea what it would mean for their health and their children’s future. By Marta Zaraska. Read by Myanna Buring. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/28
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‘A relentless, destructive energy’: inside the trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
How did the daughter of an aristocrat end up at the Old Bailey with her partner, charged with killing their two-week-old baby? By Sophie Elmhirst. Read by Serena Manteghi. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/25
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From the archive: how two BBC journalists risked their jobs to reveal the truth about Jimmy Savile
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: listening to the women who alleged abuse, and fighting to get their stories heard, helped change the treatment of victims by the media and the justice system By Poppy Sebag-Montefiore. Read by Caroline Wildi. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/23
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The curse of Toumaï: an ancient skull, a disputed femur and a bitter feud over humanity’s origins
When fossilised remains were discovered in the Djurab desert in 2001, they were hailed as radically rewriting the history of our species. But not everyone was convinced – and the bitter argument that followed has consumed the lives of scholars ever since By Scott Sayare. Read by Bert Seymour. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/21
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Horse racing and erotica: how I survived the fickle world of freelance writing
Gabrielle Drolet had always dreamed of being a writer. But when disability closed down most of her opportunities, a strange career began By Gabrielle Drolet. Read by Kate Handford. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/18
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From the archive: The sludge king: how one man turned an industrial wasteland into his own El Dorado
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: when a Romanian businessman returned to his hometown and found a city blighted by mining waste, he hatched a plan to restore it to its former glory. He became a local hero, but now prosecutors accuse of him a running a multimillion dollar fraud By Alexander Clapp. Read by Simon Darwen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/16
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Sold to the Trump family: one of the last undeveloped islands in the Mediterranean
Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner have spent more than $1bn on an Albanian island that will be a luxury resort – once the unexploded ordnance has been removed By Marzio Mian. Read by Mo Ayoub For more on US politics and the Trump family check out Politics Weekly America. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/14
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From the archive: The death of the department store
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: the closure of John Lewis’s store in Sheffield after almost 60 years was a bitter blow. As debate rages over what to do with the huge empty site, the city is becoming a test case for where Britain’s urban centres may be heading Written and read by John Harris. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
Published 07/09
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‘Do you have a family?’: midlife with no kids, ageing parents – and no crisis
In my 40s, I found myself with a life that didn’t look like it was ‘supposed’ to. What was I doing? On trips to South Korea with my mother, an answer began to emerge By E Tammy Kim. Read by Jennifer J Kim. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
