The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Three times a week, The Audio Long Read podcast brings you the Guardian’s exceptional longform journalism in audio form. Covering topics from politics and culture to philosophy and sport, as well as investigations and current affairs.

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42 episodes
a few times a week
Avg 40 min
English

Episodes 42

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Yesterday · 51 min
A bungled bomb plot in Poland exposed a spy – but whose spy was he?
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
Friday · 28 min
‘If you build something vastly smarter than you, it better be on your side’: can we stop AI from deceiving us?
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
Wednesday · 28 min
From the archive: The rubbishscapes of Essex: why our buried trash is back to haunt us
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. Read by Sam Swainsbury
September 14 · 46 min
Democracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignored
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
September 11 · 43 min
The long shadow of Argentina’s dictatorship: she wasn’t who she thought she was. Neither was her father
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
September 9 · 42 min
From the archive: Sudan’s outsider: how a paramilitary leader fell out with the army and plunged the country into war
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
September 7 · 38 min
The great silence: why haven’t we found any aliens yet?
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
September 6 · 39 min
Introducing Black Box: The Chatbots
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 weird journeys with their chatbots
September 4 · 36 min
The body snatchers: how a young Nigerian man was lured to London in an organ-trafficking plot
Daniel was working at a market in Lagos when he was given the chance to start anew in the UK. He had no idea what was expected of him in return By Alexis Okeowo. Read by Nneka Okoye
September 2 · 37 min
From the archive: ‘Drought is on the verge of becoming the next pandemic’
This week, from 2023: While the world becomes drier, profit and pollution are draining our resources. We have to change our approach By Tim Smedley. Read by Sid Sagar
August 31 · 35 min
‘I can sense Sinatra enter my body and exit my lungs’: aboard the celebrity impersonators’ cruise
I joined Marilyn Monroe, Walter White, Ozzy Osbourne and other tribute artists on a cruise where imitation is its own art form By Mina Tavakoli. Read by Norma Butikofer
August 28 · 51 min
Best of 2026…so far: ‘Any other child would have died’: the miraculous survival of Nada Itrab
This week, from February: After a nine-year-old girl was kidnapped and taken from Spain to Bolivia, authorities feared the worst. They found her in the rainforest nine months later – but that wasn’t the end of her ordeal By Giles Tremlett. Read by Norah Lopez Holden
August 26 · 39 min
Best of 2026…so far: Apocalypse no: how almost everything we thought we knew about the Maya is wrong
This week, from February: For many years the prevailing debate about the Maya centred upon why their civilisation collapsed. Now, many scholars are asking: how did the Maya survive? By Marcus Haraldsson. Read by Diana Bermudez
August 24 · 40 min
‘The war leaked into every lesson’: learning Ukrainian in a country under siege
Soon after my first visit to Ukraine four years ago, I began language lessons. It taught me more than I ever expected Written and read by Charlotte Higgins
August 21 · 50 min
Best of 2026 … so far: Where Duolingo falls down: how I learned to speak Welsh with my mother
This week, from March: Once violently defended from extinction, Welsh is still a part of daily life. By learning my family’s language, I hoped to join their conversation By Dan Fox. Read by Matt Addis
August 19 · 34 min
Best of 2026 … so far: Asian mothers, bad feelings: notes on an all-conquering stereotype
This week, from April: A certain image of the tiger mom – strict, cold and demanding – is ubiquitous in popular culture. Why? By Rebecca Liu. Read by Ginnia Cheng
August 17 · 25 min
Iraq’s impossible predicament: why the country is trapped between Iran and the US
With the outbreak of this year’s war, Iraq’s balancing act between the two antagonists has collapsed, exposing a perilously fragile state By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. Read by Mo Ayoub
August 14 · 46 min
Best of 2026…so far: Endo dreams of sushi: a trip around Japan with one of the world’s greatest chefs
This week, from April: Endo Kazutoshi spent decades climbing to the top of the culinary world, only for a devastating fire to threaten it all. I joined him in the aftermath as he travelled around his homeland, visiting the people that helped make him Written and read by Kieran Morris
August 12 · 42 min
Best of 2026…so far: 35,000 pints of stolen Guinness, 950 wheels of pilfered cheese: can the UK’s cargo theft crisis be stopped?
This week, from March: It costs the UK economy £700m a year, and criminal gangs are operating with near impunity. Every time a lorry gets robbed, raided or hijacked, it’s Mike Dawber who investigates By Stuart McGurk. Read by Nicholas Camm
August 10 · 46 min
The Dacre dynasty: how Britain’s rightwing press was radicalised
At the Daily Mail, Paul Dacre broke new ground in selling readers an angry rightwing perspective. Today, most of Fleet Street is run by his disciples By Andy Beckett. Read by Simon Vance

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