The Audio Long Read

We are raiding the Audio Long Reads archives and bringing you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2016: How did a substance that falls from the air, springs from the earth and comes out of your tap become a hyperactive multibillion-dollar business? By Sophie Elmhirst

The troubled times we live in, and the rise of social media, have created an age of endless conflict. Rather than fearing or avoiding disagreement, we need to learn to do it well. By Ian Leslie

Consent has been portrayed as the cure for all the ills of our sexual culture. But what if the injunction to ‘know what you want’ is another form of coercion? By Katherine Angel

We are raiding the Audio Long Reads archives and bringing you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2018: How an extreme libertarian tract predicting the collapse of liberal democracies – written by Jacob Rees-Mogg’s father – inspired the likes of Peter Thiel to buy up property across the Pacific. By Mark O’Connell

Josiah Elleston-Burrell had done everything to make his dream of studying architecture a reality. But, suddenly, in the summer of 2020, he found his fate was no longer in his hand. By Tom Lamont

The most insidious kinds of violence are those that cannot be seen, because those with the power to inflict harm are blind to the consequences of their actions. By Jacqueline Rose

We are raiding the Audio Long Reads archives and bringing you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week: In a special tribute to Martin Woollacott, the Guardian’s former foreign correspondent and foreign editor, who has died at the age of 81, Alan Rusbridger reflects on his fondest memories of Martin and how this ‘giant of journalism’ should be remembered. From 2015: North Vietnamese troops who marched into the capital on 30 April 1975...

Avril Henry lived a fulfilling life, but as age took hold and her body failed, it was one she no longer believed was worth living. Why did the law stand in her way? By Katie Engelhart

Although femicide is a recognised crime in Mexico, when a woman disappears, the authorities are notoriously slow to act. But there is someone who will take on their case. By Meaghan Beatley

We are raiding the Audio Long Reads archives and bringing you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors. This week, from 2017: In 2014, documents alleging a conspiracy to Islamise Birmingham schools were leaked to the media, sparking a national scandal. The papers were debunked – but the story remains as divisive as ever. What really happened? By Samira Shackle