The Audio Long Read podcast is a selection of the Guardian’s long reads, giving you the opportunity to get on with your day while listening to some of the finest longform journalism the Guardian has to offer, including in-depth writing from around the world on current affairs, climate change, immigration, crime, business, the arts and much more. The podcast explores a range of subjects and news across business, global politics, money, philosophy, science, internet culture, modern life, war, ...
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The Guardian Long Read - audio versions of our regular long reads published online and in the newspaper Monday through Friday. The long reads are long form articles on a wide variety of topics from global politics to the big cultural debates of our time. For the print version go to - http://www.theguardian.com/news/series/the-long-read
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‘It comes for your very soul’: how Alzheimer’s undid my dazzling, creative wife in her 40s
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By the time my wife got a diagnosis, her long and harrowing deterioration had already begun. By the end, I was in awe of her. By Michael Aylwin. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Best of 2024 … so far: ‘Scars on every street’: the refugee camp where generations of Palestinians have lost their futures
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Every Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2024, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: Ever since the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians in 1948, many have been living in dejection and squalor in camps like Shatila in Be…
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Food, water, wifi: is this the future of humanitarian aid?
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Working in food aid delivery, I have seen the benefits of embracing new technologies. But some problems need to be solved between humans. By Jean-Martin Bauer. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Best of 2024…so far: ‘They were dying, and they’d not had their money’: Britain’s multibillion-pound equal pay scandal
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Every Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2024, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: In 2005, Glasgow council offered to compensate women for historic pay inequality. But it sold them short again – and soon workers all o…
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My father did terrible things during the second world war, and my other relatives were equally unrepentant. But it wasn’t until I was in my late 50s that I started to confront this dark past. By Martin Pollack. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Best of 2024 … so far: Hippy, capitalist, guru, grocer: the forgotten genius who changed British food
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Every Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2024, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from January: Nicholas Saunders was a counterculture pioneer with an endless stream of quixotic schemes and a yearning to spread knowledge – but his t…
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Revolution in the air: how laughing gas changed the world
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Since its discovery in the 18th century, nitrous oxide has gone from vaudeville gimmick to pioneering anaesthetic to modern party drug. By Mark Miodownik. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From Nobel peace prize to civil war: how Ethiopia’s leader beguiled the world
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When Abiy Ahmed took power in Ethiopia, he was feted at home and abroad as a great unifier and reformer. Two years later, terrible violence was raging. How did people get him so wrong? By Tom Gardner. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: From Game of Thrones to The Crown: the woman who turns actors into stars
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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 2018: Nina Gold’s role is invisible, and yet her taste has shaped much of what we watch on film and TV. By Sophie Elmhirst. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod…
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Chortle chortle, scribble scribble: inside the Old Bailey with Britain’s last court reporters
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The cases heard at the Old Bailey offer a vivid, often grim portrait of England and Wales today. What happens when there is no one left to tell these stories? By Sophie Elmhirst. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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‘I’m good, I promise’: the loneliness of the low-ranking tennis player
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I was once Ireland’s No 1 player, and tried for years to climb the global ranks. But life at the bottom of the top can be brutal. By Conor Niland. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: ‘As borders closed, I became trapped in my Americanness’: China, the US and me
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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’ve long nursed vague plans of moving back to China for a few years, to solidify my place there. But with each year that passes in the US, such a move gets harder and harder to make. By Cle…
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‘If there’s nowhere else to go, this is where they come’: how Britain’s libraries provide much more than books
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In 2024, libraries are unofficial creches, homeless shelters, language schools and asylum support providers – filling the gaps left by a state that has reneged on its responsibilities. By Aida Edemariam. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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‘How do I heal?’: the long wait for justice after a black man dies in police custody
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The true number of black people who have died after contact with the police has been hidden, while their families are faced with delays and denials. By Raekha Prasad. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: The elephant vanishes: how a circus family went on the run
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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: Dumba has spent her life performing in circuses around Europe, but in recent years animal rights activists have been campaigning to rescue her. When it looked like they might succeed, Dumba …
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Dirty waters: how the Environment Agency lost its way
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Having created a watchdog for the environment, the government took its teeth out and muzzled it. Can public outrage rouse the Environment Agency to action? By Hettie O’Brien. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Inside Mexico’s anti-avocado militias
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The spread of the avocado is a story of greed, ambition, corruption, water shortages, cartel battles and, in a number of towns and villages, a fierce fightback. By Alexander Sammon. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: ‘Colonialism had never really ended’: my life in the shadow of Cecil Rhodes
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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: After growing up in a Zimbabwe convulsed by the legacy of colonialism, when I got to Oxford I realised how many British people still failed to see how empire had shaped lives like mine – as …
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Where the wild things are: the untapped potential of our gardens, parks and balconies
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28:04
Gardens could be part of the solution to the climate and biodiversity crisis. But what are we doing? Disappearing them beneath plastic and paving. By Kate Bradbury. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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How the Tories pushed universities to the brink of disaster
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29:22
Over the past 14 years, the Conservative dream of a free market in higher education has collided with the harsh reality of austerity and the cultural resentment of the radical right – driving some institutions close to bankruptcy. By William Davies. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod…
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From the archive: Ten ways to confront the climate crisis without losing hope
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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: It’s easy to despair at the climate crisis, or to decide it’s already too late – but it’s not. Here’s how to keep the fight alive. By Rebecca Solnit. Help support our independent journalism …
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‘Natty or not?’: how steroids got big
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38:06
Once upon a time, it was only hardcore bodybuilders who pumped themselves up with testosterone. Today it is no longer niche. But how dangerous is it? By Stephen Buranyi. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Nairobi to New York and back: the loneliness of the internationally educated elite
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33:33
Every year, hundreds of Kenyans head off to study at elite universities in the US and UK. On graduating, many find themselves in a strange position: unable to fit in abroad, but no longer feeling like they belong back home. By Carey Baraka. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod…
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From the archive: Brazilian butt lift: behind the world’s most dangerous cosmetic surgery
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42:08
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: The BBL is the fastest growing cosmetic surgery in the world, despite the mounting number of deaths resulting from the procedure. What is driving its astonishing rise? By Sophie Elmhirst. He…
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Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison
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32:49
My poems were written in anger after Tiananmen Square. But what motivates most prison writing is a fear of forgetting. Today I am free, but the regime has never stopped its war on words. By Liao Yiwu. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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As a teenager, John was jailed for assaulting someone and stealing their bike. That was 17 years ago – will he ever be released?
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40:59
Indeterminate sentences are devastating to mental health, but prisoners with mental illness are less likely to be released. The result is a vicious cycle whereby the most vulnerable inmates often have the least chance of getting out – as John’s case shows. By Sophie Atkinson. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod…
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From the archive: Can computers ever replace the classroom?
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38:10
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: With 850 million children worldwide shut out of schools, tech evangelists claim now is the time for AI education. But as the technology’s power grows, so too do the dangers that come with it…
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The man who turned his home into a homeless shelter
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32:02
Stuart Potts is an unlikely do-gooder – a former crack addict who has hit rock bottom more than once. But since 2020, he has offered hundreds of homeless people a bed in his small flat – and for many of them, it has been life-changing. By Samira Shackle. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod…
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From low-level drug dealer to human trafficker: are modern slavery laws catching the wrong people?
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38:22
When I heard that a boy from my primary school had been convicted of trafficking, I had to find out what had happened to make him fall so far. By Francisco Garcia. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: How globalisation has transformed the fight for LGBTQ+ rights
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39:38
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: Much progress has been made in attitudes towards sexual equality and gender identity – but in many places a dramatic backlash by conservative forces has followed. By Mark Gevisser. Help supp…
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‘Ryan Reynolds never had to deal with this’: the slow death and (possible) rebirth of Southend United
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45:23
In 20 years, this Essex club has tumbled down the leagues and seen its ground fall apart. Is a revival finally coming – or will hopes be dashed again? By Tim Burrows. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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César Aira’s unreal magic: how the eccentric author took over Latin American literature
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35:05
He has published more than 100 novels, gives his work away, and his surrealist books have a massive cult following. Now Argentina’s favourite rule-breaker is tipped for the Nobel prize. By Alejandro Chacoff. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: ‘The Silicon Valley of turf’: how the UK’s pursuit of the perfect pitch changed football
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35:17
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: They used to look like quagmires, ice rinks or dustbowls, depending on the time of year. But as big money entered football, pristine pitches became crucial to the sport’s image – and grounds…
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Mother trees and socialist forests: is the ‘wood-wide web’ a fantasy?
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37:06
In the past 10 years the idea that trees communicate with and look after each other has gained widespread currency. But have these claims outstripped the evidence? By Daniel Immerwahr. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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‘I’ll stay an MP for as long as I can’: Diane Abbott’s tumultuous political journey
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31:52
Britain’s first black female MP faced hostility from the media and political establishment from the start. Nearly 40 years on, she is still not giving up. By Andy Beckett. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: The secret deportations: how Britain betrayed the Chinese men who served the country in the war
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49:24
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: During the second world war, Chinese merchant seamen helped keep Britain fed, fuelled and safe – and many gave their lives doing so. But from late 1945, hundreds of them who had settled in L…
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‘He likes scaring people’: how Modi’s right-hand man, Amit Shah, runs India
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49:37
For 40 years, Amit Shah has been at Narendra Modi’s side – his confidant, consigliere and enforcer. Today he is India’s second-most powerful man, and he is reshaping the country in radical ways. By Atul Dev. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Guatemala’s baby brokers: how thousands of children were stolen for adoption
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From the 1960s, baby brokers persuaded often Indigenous Mayan women to give up newborns while kidnappers ‘disappeared’ babies. Now, international adoption is being called out as a way of covering up war crimes. By Rachel Nolan. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: Trump’s useful thugs: how the Republican party offered a home to the Proud Boys
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34:02
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: Early in Trump’s presidency, emboldened neo-Nazi and fascist groups came out into the open but were met with widespread revulsion. So the tactics of the far right changed, becoming more insi…
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After I was assaulted, I posted a photo of my injuries. The reaction I craved was not pity, but anger
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28:18
Going public after I was attacked was hard, but it helped me overcome the shame that so many victims feel. By Rena Effendi. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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‘Super cute please like’: the unstoppable rise of Shein
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It is taking fast fashion to ever faster and ever cheaper extremes, and making billions from it. Why is the whole world shopping at Shein? By Nicole Lipman. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: The evolution of Steve Albini: ‘If the dumbest person is on your side, you’re on the wrong side’
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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 2023: Steve Albini was long synonymous with the indie underground, playing in revered bands and recording albums by the Pixies, PJ Harvey and Nirvana. He also often seemed determined to offend as …
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‘A new abyss’: Gaza and the hundred years’ war on Palestine
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35:41
While much has changed since 7 October, the horrific events of the past six months are not unique, and do not stand outside history. By Rashid Khalidi. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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The true cost of El Salvador’s new gold rush
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29:42
Seven years ago, El Salvador banned all mining for metals to protect its water supply. But now the government seems to be making moves to reverse the ban – and environmental activists are in the firing line. By Danielle Mackey. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: The age of perpetual crisis – how the 2010s disrupted everything but resolved nothing
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39:10
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: In an era of bewildering upheaval, how will the past decade be remembered? By Andy Beckett. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod…
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How child labour in India makes the paving stones beneath our feet
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29:40
Despite promises of reform, exploitation remains endemic in India’s sandstone industry, with children doing dangerous work for low pay – often to decorate driveways and gardens thousands of miles away. By Romita Saluja. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Solar storms, ice cores and nuns’ teeth: the new science of history
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36:59
Advances in fields such as spectrometry and gene sequencing are unleashing torrents of new data about the ancient world – and could offer answers to questions we never even knew to ask. By Jacob Mikanowski. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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From the archive: The battle over dyslexia
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45:48
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: It was once a widely accepted way of explaining why some children struggled to read and write. But in recent years, some experts have begun to question the existence of dyslexia itself. By S…
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The new science of death: ‘There’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense’
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34:18
New research into the dying brain suggests the line between life and death may be less distinct than previously thought. By Alex Blasdel. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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Solidarity and strategy: the forgotten lessons of truly effective protest
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33:05
Organising is a kind of alchemy: it turns alienation into connection, despair into dedication, and oppression into strength. By Astra Taylor and Leah Hunt-Hendrix. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpodAf The Guardian
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