Nicola Alexandrou

An audio feature follows chef Endo Kazutoshi around Japan as he visits people who helped shape his culinary career. The programme reflects on his rise to the top of the culinary world and the devastating fire that threatened his achievements.

The audio investigation examines the UK’s cargo theft crisis, including the theft of 35,000 pints of Guinness and 950 wheels of cheese. Cargo theft is estimated to cost the UK economy £700 million annually, while criminal gangs are described as operating with near impunity. Mike Dawber investigates robberies, raids and hijackings involving lorries, highlighting the challenges facing the delivery and retail industries and law enforcement.

Hermione Hoby recounts suffering from a mysterious illness for decades before receiving a chronic fatigue syndrome diagnosis. The audio feature explores her severe symptoms, including experiences she describes as almost demonic on her worst days, and considers whether retraining the brain could help manage or improve her condition.

Ekrem İmamoğlu, elected mayor of Istanbul in 2019 and a declared candidate for Turkey’s 2028 presidential election, is being held in prison while facing charges including fraud and organized crime. His trial could last as long as 12 years, prompting criticism that the process has become a form of torture.

A pioneering rewilding project on a farm in Lincolnshire aims to demonstrate that protecting nature can be financially viable. The project responds to the damage intensive farming has caused to England’s ancient woodlands and freshwater wetlands.

Maya Goodfellow’s 2019 examination of the UK immigration system describes an increasingly complex, costly maze of administrative barriers that makes entry into Britain more difficult. The podcast presents government hostility as shaping interactions throughout the system and revisits the piece with a new introduction from the author.

Erin Maglaque examines how attitudes toward abortion have changed across history, focusing on the language of life, choice and rights and on the ways abortion debates can disconnect women’s experiences and pain from the past. The audio piece is read by Lanna Joffrey and adapted from Maglaque’s book Presence: A Hidden History of the Female Body.

William Davies reflects on training his unruly boxer, Dusty, and considers how questions of morality, power and control apply to dogs and human beings.

An episode of The Guardian’s Audio Long Read examines how Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker became one of the world’s most contentious thinkers, focusing on his prominence at the centre of contemporary culture-war debates.

Saint Levant, a pop star from Gaza, faces criticism from detractors who believe he should not make pop music amid war and destruction. His millions of fans, by contrast, view his music as an affirmation of Palestinian culture and a way to celebrate their identity and cause.

Philosopher and ethicist Iason Gabriel has worked at Google DeepMind since 2017, examining the societal and ethical consequences of artificial intelligence. The podcast considers whether ethicists can meaningfully influence AI development as commercial and geopolitical pressures intensify.

An archived 2023 long-read examines a horticultural dispute on the Isle of Wight after a US businessman introduced a radical sustainability-focused approach to a beloved garden. Critics argue that the changes amount to neglect, while the project is presented as rewilding and conservation.

Lauren Oyler examines her deep skepticism toward artificial intelligence and considers whether an interaction with a chatbot could nevertheless become emotionally seductive or resemble a romantic relationship. The piece is read by Kate Handford and previously appeared in the Yale Review.

Tobias Jones recounts a year spent examining the gap between fantasy and reality through his relationship with Alessandro Casolari, a veteran of Italy’s football ultras. Casolari is portrayed as a hardcore and violent fan involved in hostage negotiation, cocaine smuggling and Marxist-Leninist politics, with a reputation for making people afraid of him.

The podcast revisits a 2021 account of Edwin Robbe, a troubled teenager who found community, excitement and purpose among hackers. His online activities eventually collided with the real world, with the story examining the personal consequences of cybercrime and digital identity.

A podcast examines Claudia Sheinbaum’s path from activist to president of Mexico and considers whether she has remained faithful to her left-wing ideals while becoming one of the world’s most popular leaders.

Abraham Jiménez Enoa recounts launching an independent magazine with friends to document Cuban life without official interference. He describes how the project led to his isolation, monitoring and interrogation, highlighting the risks faced by independent journalists in Cuba. The audio is an edited excerpt from his Spanish-language book Aterrizar en el mundo and was previously published in The Dial.

An archived Guardian audio feature from 2019 examines breadmakers working to improve the quality of British loaves and challenge mass-produced supermarket bread. The episode explores breadmaking, food science, farming and sourdough, with a new introduction from author Wendell Steavenson and narration by Lucy Scott.

The audio feature explores the largely uncharted deep ocean, highlighting unusual marine life and geological phenomena such as ping-pong sponges and hydrothermal vents known as “black smokers.” It also warns that growing interest in deep-sea mining could damage one of Earth’s last major wildernesses.

A Guardian Audio Long Read revisits the story of Gary Hunt, describing how his intense training, fierce competitiveness and relaxed personality helped make him one of the greatest cliff divers of all time. The episode is adapted from a 2023 feature by Xan Rice and read by Ben Norris.

An audio investigation examines Lesley Groff, Jeffrey Epstein’s longtime assistant, whose name appears frequently in the Epstein files. The reporting considers what she may have known about Epstein’s activities by reviewing thousands of emails.