The Guardian's Audio Long Reads

Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2022, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. From September: 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. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2022, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. From February: Despite the rise of headline-grabbing megafires, fewer fires are burning worldwide now than at any time since antiquity. But this isn’t good news – in banishing fire from sight, we have made its dangers stranger and less predictable. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2022, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. From July: In October 2020, an emergency call was received from a ship in British waters. After a full-scale commando raid, seven Nigerians were taken off in handcuffs – but no one was ever charged. What really happened on board?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Moss is ancient, and grows at a glacial pace, but it lives alongside us everywhere, country and city, a witness to the human world and its catastrophic speed. What can we learn by tuning in to ‘moss time’?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2018: After they were locked out of their own stadium, an unlikely band of supporters came together to save a beloved south London club. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

One Thursday afternoon, I stepped out to cross a city street – and woke up in hospital with broken bones and a brain injury. After I recovered, I started looking into why so many drivers just don’t stop. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

In Fiji, the climate crisis means dozens of villages could soon be underwater. Relocating so many communities is an epic undertaking. But now there is a plan – and the rest of the world is watching. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2019: Smartphones and the internet gave the Uighurs a sense of their own identity – but now the Chinese state is using technology to strip them of it. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Idealising the past is nothing new, but there is something peculiarly revealing about the way a certain generation of Facebook users look back fondly on tougher times. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

A wave of bestselling authors claim that global affairs are still ultimately governed by the immutable facts of geography – mountains, oceans, rivers, resources. But the world has changed more than they realise. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors This week, from 2018: Five years after his last taste of alcohol, William Leith tries to understand its powerful magic. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Despite all the warning signs, as I sat down for dinner with friends in Kyiv on 23 February, war seemed unreal. Surely, Putin was bluffing?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

By the end of the century, Africa will be home to 40% of the world’s population – and nowhere is this breakneck-pace development happening faster than this 600-mile stretch between Abidjan and Lagos. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2019: The Gürtel case began with one Madrid mogul. Over the next decade, it grew into the biggest corruption investigation in Spain’s recent history, sweeping up hundreds of corrupt politicians and businessmen – and shattering its political system. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

As the world faces the worst debt crisis in decades, the need for a global lender of last resort is clearer than ever. But many nations view the IMF as overbearing, or even neocolonial – and are now looking elsewhere for help. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Across the country, fact-finding teams are tirelessly gathering evidence and testimony about Russian atrocities, often within hours of troops retreating. Turning this into convictions will not be easy, or quick, but the task has begun. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2019: Human activity has transformed the Earth – but scientists are divided about whether this is really a turning point in geological history. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

As a civil servant in the 1980s, I had a front row seat as the British government began to lose touch with reality. Since then, things have only got worse. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Sisi’s Egypt is making a big show of solar panels and biodegradable straws ahead of next week’s climate summit – but in reality the regime imprisons activists and bans research. The climate movement should not play along. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

We are raiding the Audio Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2016: The Republican intellectual establishment is united against Trump – but his message of cultural and racial resentment has deep roots in the American right. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod