The Audio Long Read

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Best of 2026…so far: My maddening battle with chronic fatigue syndrome: ‘On my worst days, it feels almost demonic’

Every Wednesday and Friday in August we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2026, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. This week, from February: I suffered with my mystery illness for decades before gaining a diagnosis. Could retraining my brain be the answer? By Hermione Hoby. Read by Alby Baldwin. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

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  Best of 2026…so far: ‘I see it as trafficking’: the brutal reality of life…

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  ‘This process has turned into a form of torture’: inside the trial of Erdo…

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  ‘It makes your heart sing’: can a pioneering project show that rewilding r…

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  From the archive: ‘A dizzying maze’: how the UK immigration system is gear…

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  ‘It is comforting to be haunted’: how attitudes to abortion have changed t…

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  What training my chaotic dog taught me about power, control – and human be…

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  Pinker’s progress: the celebrity scientist at the centre of the culture wa…

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  Saint Levant: the pop star from Gaza caught between passionate fandom and …

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  ‘There’s this deep mystery of what, actually, is this thing?’: the philoso…

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  From the archive: Battle of the botanic garden: the horticulture war roili…

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  ‘Navigating the unknown together’: me and my idiot AI boyfriend

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  ‘He liked that people were scared of him’: my year unpicking fantasy and r…

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  From the archive: Leave no trace: how a teenage hacker lost himself online

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  How did Mexico’s president become the world’s most popular leftwing leader?

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  I launched Cuba’s first independent magazine. And that’s when my troubles …