AJ Longreads
AJ Longreads brings you the best of Al Jazeera's long-form journalism to listen to in your own time.
- Update frequency
- every 7 days
- Average duration
- 19 minutes
- Episodes
- 100
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2023
Mohammed Salim: The 'bare-footed Indian' who wowed Celtic
India's first footballer to play for a European club made history without ever wearing a pair of football boots. As Qatar makes history for being the first country in the Middle East to stage a World…
As climate clock ticks, war in Ukraine upends Arctic research
A team of Russian and Norwegian scientists stumbled upon the fastest-warming hotspot known on earth. Then the war in Ukraine began and research collaboration stalled.
Written by Delaney Nolan.
Read b…
Reckoning with genocide in Namibia
German abuses against the Herero and Nama in Namibia were the 20th century’s first genocide and a brutal harbinger of the Nazi's WWII Holocaust.
Written by Hamilton Wende.
Read by Kokui Selormey.
How Holocaust historians are unearthing Ukraine’s present
Years investigating Holocaust atrocities and ISIL war crimes are helping researchers uncover possible Russian abuses in Ukraine. The aim is to collect testimonies that can be used as evidence in pros…
The battle over space emissions in Cornwall
As the UK's first rocket launch nears, space enthusiasts, climate activists, scientists and local residents are divided over whether the project is a help or hindrance to the climate crisis.
Written …
Cost of living: A couple's move from tent to apartment
As rents and homelessness rise in New Orleans in the US, we meet Jessica and Terry who have finally been able to find a home. However, they now face new living challenges.
A warning - this story cont…
Women in war: A psychologist helps Ukrainian soldiers' families
Maryna, whose son died in 2014, counsels soldiers' mothers and partners as she worries about her army-bound foster son.
Women in war: A psychologist helps Ukrainian soldiers' families - part of a ser…
What the war means for Ukrainians with disabilities
Rights activists and carers are filling the gap as the war creates huge challenges in accessing disability support. Medical supplies, food and financial aid have become increasingly more difficult.
W…
Love, determination and risking all to cross the Mediterranean
Journalist Lexie Harrison-Cripps highlights the plight of women making the journey to Europe by sea. She shares how a mother with young children managed to survive this incredibly dangerous Mediterra…
The teeth makers of Kandahar
In Afghanistan, a new generation continues a family tradition of crafting handmade dentures - a special business the sons are determined to ensure never dies.
Written by Lynzy Billing.
Read by Richa…
The tiny murder scenes of forensic scientist Frances Glessner Lee
Frances Glessner Lee was a diorama-maker, criminal investigation educator and the first female police captain in the US. She revolutionised the study of crime scenes and highlighted its importance in…
Treating wounded and sick civilians in western Ukraine
Chronically ill and injured patients evacuated from the embattled east find treatment in the west's safer hospitals.
Written by Amandas Ong .
Read by Pete Ferrand.
When 'Z' meant joy, freedom and humour to Russians and Ukrainians
For much of the post-Soviet era, 'Z' was the symbol of a music festival in Crimea that united people across borders.
Written by Clément Girardot.
Read by Serhij Zulkarnieiev.
The deadly virus Nigerians fear more than COVID-19: Lassa fever
On this week’s AJ Longreads, we go inside a Nigerian hospital ward treating Lassa, a virus that infects up to 300,000 people in West Africa each year.
Written by Femke van Zeijl.
Read by Mapendo Munt…
'I'll be sacrificed': The lost and sold daughters of Afghanistan
A year on from the takeover of the Taliban in Afghanistan, issues of child marriage, access to education and financial hardship are leaving women and girls to wonder what the future holds for them.
W…
Murdered women: Sabina Nessa, ‘a kind and generous soul’
As part of Al Jazeera's series on murdered women, we explore the life and death of Sabina Nessa. Her family say she was ‘a kind and generous soul’. But they question why there was not wider media att…
'Ready for rescue': Saving refugee lives in the Mediterranean Sea
Journalist Lexie Harrison-Cripps recently boarded a Doctors Without Borders search and rescue ship along one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.
The remote location makes it virtually impossi…
The Kyiv museum staff who stayed to protect cherished artefacts
In times of war, safeguarding valuable artefacts including those signifying Ukrainian statehood has become a priority for cultural heritage workers.
Written and read by Nils Adler.
'You’ll get it in your veins': Australia's black-opal miners
For black opal miners in Lightning Ridge, Australia, the search for one of the world’s most sought-after gems is just as alluring as the stone itself.
Written by Zoe Osborne and Alex Kitanov.
Read by…
Psychotherapists help Yazidis heal layers of trauma in Iraq
New mental health options are being made available in northern Iraq, but psychotherapists are worried that without continued support, progress will halt.
Written by Lynzy Billing.
Read by Loveday Smi…