Episodes

  • 10 years of the long read: Is this the end of Britishness? (2014)

    10 years of the long read: Is this the end of Britishness? (2014)
    Oct 2 2024
    As the Long Read turns 10 we are raiding the archives to bring you a favourite piece from each year since 2014, with new introductions from the authors. This week from 2014: A shared history of 300 years could be washed away if Scotland votes for independence. What was the complex identity the United Kingdom created – and should we mourn its loss? by Ian Jack. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    43 mins
  • Special Edition: 10 years of the Guardian Long Read

    Special Edition: 10 years of the Guardian Long Read
    Oct 1 2024
    To celebrate 10 years of The Long Read we gathered together the team who launched it to take you behind the scenes. Helen Pidd is joined by editor David Wolf, deputy editor Clare Longrigg, and former editor and founder of the Long Read Jonathan Shainin.. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    30 mins
  • Strange and wondrous creatures: plankton and the origins of life on Earth

    Strange and wondrous creatures: plankton and the origins of life on Earth
    Sep 30 2024
    Without plankton, the modern ocean ecosystem – the very idea of the ocean as we understand it – would collapse. Earth would have no complex life of any kind. By Ferris Jabr. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    27 mins
  • No god in the machine: the pitfalls of AI worship

    No god in the machine: the pitfalls of AI worship
    Sep 27 2024
    The rise of artificial intelligence has sparked a panic about computers gaining power over humankind. But the real threat comes from falling for the hype. By Navneet Alang. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    33 mins
  • From the archive: The unravelling of a conspiracy: were the 16 charged with plotting to kill India’s prime minister framed?

    From the archive: The unravelling of a conspiracy: were the 16 charged with plotting to kill India’s prime minister framed?
    Sep 25 2024
    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: In 2018, Indian police claimed to have uncovered a shocking plan to bring down the government. But there is mounting evidence that the initial conspiracy was a fiction – and the accused are victims of an elaborate plot. By Siddhartha Deb. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    39 mins
  • On board the Creed cruise: the unfathomable return of the ‘worst band of the 90s’

    On board the Creed cruise: the unfathomable return of the ‘worst band of the 90s’
    Sep 23 2024
    I took a cruise with thousands of fellow lunatics to find out how this much-mocked rock band became so beloved. By Luke Winkie. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    33 mins
  • A Chinese-born writer’s quest to understand the Vikings, Normans and life on the English coast

    A Chinese-born writer’s quest to understand the Vikings, Normans and life on the English coast
    Sep 20 2024
    Perhaps a foreigner knows more about their adopted land than the locals, because a foreigner feels more acutely the particularities of a new environment. By Xiaolu Guo. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    32 mins
  • From the archive: The invention of whiteness: the long history of a dangerous idea

    From the archive: The invention of whiteness: the long history of a dangerous idea
    Sep 18 2024
    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: Before the 17th century, people did not think of themselves as belonging to something called the white race. But once the idea was invented, it quickly began to reshape the modern world. By Robert P Baird. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    54 mins