The Audio Long Read

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 2020: Travel bloggers have flocked to Pakistan in recent years – but have some of them become too close to the authorities? By Samira Shackle. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

To see how easy it is for the wealthy to buy political access and influence, consider the story of the Tory donor Mohamed Amersi. By Tom Burgis. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

For many Black gay men in 1980s and 90s Britain, nightlife was community, family and lifeline – but its history is in danger of disappearing. By Jason Okundaye. 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 2020: The unmasking of the Salisbury poisoning suspects by a new digital journalism outfit was an embarrassment for Putin – and evidence that Russian spies are not what they once were. By Luke Harding. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

A year and a half ago, Hindus and Muslims clashed in the streets of one of Britain’s most diverse cities. What lay behind the violence? By Yohann Koshy. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We wanted to bring you this episode from our new series, Black Box. In it, Michael Safi explores seven stories and the thread that ties them together: artificial intelligence. In this prologue, Hannah (not her real name) has met Noah and he has changed her life for the better. So why does she have concerns about him? If you like what you hear, make sure to search and subscribe to Black Box, with new episodes every Monday and Thursday.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Jérémie Heitz has pushed freeriding to breathtaking, beautiful new extremes. But as the risks get bigger, the questions do, too. By Simon Akam. 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 2020: A handful of radical nature lovers are secretly breeding endangered species and releasing them into the wild. Many are prepared to break the law and risk the fury of the scientific establishment to save the animals they love. By Patrick Barkham. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

In a moment of crisis for the industry, Heather Wildman tours the country helping farmers face up to the toughest of questions – not just about the future of their business, but about their family, their identity and even their mortality. By Bella Bathurst. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Everyone likes to support an underdog, especially if it’s winning. But it’s one thing to win a battle, it’s quite another to win the war. And Ukraine cannot win without international support. By Olesya Khromeychuk. 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 2021: Few places have seen such turbocharged luxury development as Nine Elms in London. So why are prices tumbling, investors melting away and promises turning to dust? By Oliver Wainwright. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Ever since the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, many have been living in dejection and squalor in camps like Shatila in Beirut. Is this the grim future the people of Gaza could now be facing? By Ghaith Abdul-Ahad. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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

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: The warmer it gets, the more we use air conditioning. The more we use air conditioning, the warmer it gets. Is there any way out of this trap? By Stephen Buranyi. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Nicholas Saunders was a counterculture pioneer with an endless stream of quixotic schemes and a yearning to spread knowledge – but his true legacy is a total remaking of the way Britain eats. By Jonathan Nunn. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Before I fled south, I spent years as an aspiring fiction writer in the hermit kingdom. I worked hard – but literary glory kept eluding me. By Kim Ju-sŏng. 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 2021: I first encountered TB Joshua as a teenager, when his preaching captivated my evangelical Christian community in Hampshire. Many of my friends became his ardent disciples and followed him to Lagos. How did he have such a hold over people? By Matthew McNaught. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Just like the war on drugs and the war on terror, efforts at stopping population movement by force often just fuel the problem. But for many claiming to confront the perceived threat, that suits all too well. By Ruben Andersson and David Keen. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

The cost of growing up in a low-level police state. By Darran Anderson. 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 2021: Whitechapel Bell Foundry dates back to 1570, and was the factory in which Big Ben and the Liberty Bell were made. But it shut in 2017, and a fight for its future has been raging ever since. By Hettie O’Brien. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod