The Audio Long Read

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. By Simon Petherick. 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. By Naomi Klein. 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. By Timothy Shenk. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Forty years ago, Dr Ray Osheroff sued a US hospital for failing to give him antidepressants. The case would change the course of medical history – even if it couldn’t help the patient himself. By Rachel Aviv. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Ben Roberts-Smith v the media is a five-part series available via Guardian Australia’s Full Story podcast feed. All episodes streaming now. In the defamation trial of the century, Australia’s most-decorated living soldier is seeking to defend his reputation against reports in three newspapers that he says falsely accuse him of being a war criminal. His lawyers argue Roberts-Smith has been unfairly targeted by envious comrades and assisted by credulous journalists. The newspapers’ lawyers say their reporting is true, and that Roberts-Smith broke the ‘moral and legal rules of military engagement’, something he denies outright. But who is Ben Roberts-Smith, and how did he earn the military’s highest honour, the Victoria Cross?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

For one of our many adolescent pranks, my friend and I planted tips about an obscure young footballer. Then he suddenly started going places. What had we done? By Kieran Morris. 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 traditional right is clinging on to power – but its ideas are dead in the water. By Andy Beckett. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

In a country known for its liberal drugs policies, organised crime operated for years under the public’s nose – until a series of shocking killings revealed how deep the problem went. By Jessica Loudis. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

All my life, my exiled parents had told me about the tragedy of Palestine. Then, when I was in my early 20s, my family moved back – and I saw it with my own eyes. By Fida Jiryis. 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 2017: A bitter battle is raging within the mole-catching community over the kindest way to carry out their deadly work. By Brendan Borrell. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod