Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchFrom the archive: ‘A deranged pyroscape’: how fires across the world have grown weirder
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, …
1 year, 1 month ago
The inspiring scientists who saved the world’s first seed bank
During the siege of Leningrad, botanists in charge of an irreplaceable seed collection had to protect it from fire, rodents – and hunger. By Simon Pa…
1 year, 1 month ago
The ‘mad egghead’ who built a mouse utopia
John Calhoun designed an apartment complex for mice to examine the effects of overcrowding. It was hailed as a groundbreaking study of social breakdo…
1 year, 2 months ago
From the archive: Cold comfort: how cold water swimming cured my broken heart
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, …
1 year, 2 months ago
Teeth as time capsules: Soviet secrets and my dentist grandmother
In postwar Warsaw, my grandmother Zosia fixed the teeth of prisoners and spies. In doing so, she came into contact with the hidden history of her tim…
1 year, 2 months ago
The brain collector: the scientist unravelling the mysteries of grey matter
Using cutting-edge methods, Alexandra Morton-Hayward is cracking the secrets of ancient brains – even as hers betrays her. By Kermit Pattison. Help s…
1 year, 2 months ago
From the archive: The invisible addiction: is it time to give up caffeine?
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, …
1 year, 2 months ago
The rollercoaster king: the man behind the UK’s fastest thrill-ride
John Burton was just 27 when he was put in charge of creating Thorpe Park’s biggest-ever project. Once too scared to go on rides himself, how did he …
1 year, 2 months ago
Best of 2024: ‘If there’s nowhere else to go, this is where they come’: how Britain’s libraries provide much more than books
Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2023, in case you missed them, with an int…
1 year, 2 months ago
Best of 2024: As a teenager, John was jailed for assaulting someone and stealing their bike. That was 17 years ago – will he ever be released?
Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2023, in case you missed them, with an int…
1 year, 2 months ago