Super cubes: inside the (surprisingly) big business of packaged ice – podcast

Britain’s leading ice company makes five billion cubes a year, filling everything from cocktail glasses to ice baths. Now it faces its toughest challenge – for what is ice without a party season? By George Reynolds Continue reading...

1d

Trump's useful thugs: how the Republican party offered a home to the Proud Boys

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 insidious – and much more successful In March 2018, on a cold, grey Monday afternoon in East Lansing, Michigan, about 500 militant antifascists gathered in a car park...

3d

From the archive: Killer, kleptocrat, genius, spy: the many myths of Vladimir Putin – podcast

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: Russia’s role in Trump’s election has led to a boom in Putinology. But do all these theories say more about us than Putin? Continue reading...

3d

The day my voice broke: what an injury taught me about the power of speech

When I damaged my vocal cords, I was forced to change the way I spoke – and discovered how much our voices reveal who we areSome years ago, I was invited by my then boss, Jann Wenner, the owner of Rolling Stone, to be the lead singer in a band he was putting together from the magazine’s staff. I had just turned 41, and I jumped at the opportunity to...

4d

Trump's defeat and the death throes of the Civil War – podcast

How Republicans applied old school racism to new demographics, and lost. By Gary Younge Continue reading...

5d

'Singing and dancing to their deaths': football’s forgotten tragedy – podcast

In 1971, an Old Firm derby at Ibrox ended with the death of 66 fans as they celebrated a late goal. John Hodgman survived the terrifying crush and, 50 years on, asks how Rangers avoided taking responsibility. By John Hodgman Continue reading...

2w

'Colonialism had never really ended': my life in the shadow of Cecil Rhodes

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 well as their own There was no single moment when I began to sense the long shadow that Cecil John Rhodes has cast over my life, or over the university where I am...

2w

From the archives: Total recall: the people who never forget – podcast

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: An extremely rare condition may transform our understanding of memory. By Linda Rodriguez McRobbie Continue reading...

2w

How I survived a Chinese 're-education' camp for Uighurs

After 10 years living in France, I returned to China to sign some papers and I was locked up. For the next two years, I was systematically dehumanised, humiliated and brainwashedThe man on the phone said he worked for the oil company, “In accounting, actually”. His voice was unfamiliar to me. At first, I couldn’t make sense of what he was calling about....

2w

The curse of 'white oil': electric vehicles' dirty secret – podcast

The race is on to find a steady source of lithium, a key component in rechargeable electric car batteries. But while the EU focuses on emissions, the lithium gold rush threatens environmental damage on an industrial scale. By Oliver Balch. Continue reading...

2w