Episodes

  • From the archive: Brazilian butt lift: behind the world’s most dangerous cosmetic surgery

    From the archive: Brazilian butt lift: behind the world’s most dangerous cosmetic surgery
    Jun 26 2024
    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. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    42 mins
  • Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison

    Two poems, four years in detention: the Chinese dissident who smuggled his writing out of prison
    Jun 24 2024
    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/longreadpod
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    33 mins
  • As a teenager, John was jailed for assaulting someone and stealing their bike. That was 17 years ago – will he ever be released?

    As a teenager, John was jailed for assaulting someone and stealing their bike. That was 17 years ago – will he ever be released?
    Jun 21 2024
    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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    41 mins
  • From the archive: Can computers ever replace the classroom?

    From the archive: Can computers ever replace the classroom?
    Jun 19 2024
    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. By Alex Beard. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    38 mins
  • The man who turned his home into a homeless shelter

    The man who turned his home into a homeless shelter
    Jun 17 2024
    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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    32 mins
  • From low-level drug dealer to human trafficker: are modern slavery laws catching the wrong people?

    From low-level drug dealer to human trafficker: are modern slavery laws catching the wrong people?
    Jun 14 2024
    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/longreadpod
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    38 mins
  • From the archive: How globalisation has transformed the fight for LGBTQ+ rights

    From the archive: How globalisation has transformed the fight for LGBTQ+ rights
    Jun 12 2024
    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 support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod
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    40 mins
  • ‘Ryan Reynolds never had to deal with this’: the slow death and (possible) rebirth of Southend United

    ‘Ryan Reynolds never had to deal with this’: the slow death and (possible) rebirth of Southend United
    Jun 10 2024
    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/longreadpod
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    45 mins