Guardian Australia has today launched Australia Reads, a new podcast that provides a compelling way for audiences to experience some of Australia’s finest feature writing.
Three times a week - on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday - an editor from Guardian Australia’s newsroom selects and introduces a piece of Guardian journalism that they have found particularly captivating. The article is then read aloud by a diverse pool of professional voice actors, with each episode lasting around 15 minutes.
Episodes will draw on the Guardian Australia’s vast stable of journalism, from the narrative to the investigative, from politics to culture, from the environment to Indigenous affairs. Episode one, featuring acclaimed author Thomas Keneally reading his own piece on the fractured state of Australia’s federation, is available to listen to now.
Hosted by Jane Lee, the show recognises the increasing popularity of podcasting as a storytelling medium, and reflects increased demand for text-to-speech content. It follows in the footsteps of The Guardian’s highly successful Audio Long Reads podcast, but differs in several key respects, being shorter and more frequent, and produced specifically for an Australian audience.
“We know that our readers are hungry for quality, independent, high-quality journalism,” said Guardian Australia editor, Lenore Taylor. “But many are also time-poor - busy working, exercising, raising children, running errands. Others may simply want to limit their screen time.
“With Australia Reads, we read the story to you, so you can listen while doing those other things in your day.”
The new podcast is the first launch in Guardian Australia’s expanding podcast network.
It builds on the considerable success of Katharine Murphy’s Australian Politics podcast, and the award-winning daily news podcast, Full Story, launched in October 2019.
“Full Story addressed a significant gap in the Australian podcasting space for a quality, narrative style news podcast with high production values, providing listeners a deeper understanding of the biggest story of the day,” said Miles Martignoni, Guardian Australia’s head of audio.
“Australia Reads provides a natural complement, giving listeners the opportunity to step away from the day’s headlines and lose themselves in beautifully written, engrossing pieces of journalism.”
Australia Reads is available today on Apple, Spotify, Google Podcasts, the Guardian website, and all other podcast apps.
About Guardian Australia
Launched in May 2013, Guardian Australia is a free premium digital news site in Australia. Guardian Australia is a trusted source of quality Australian news, with a particular focus on politics, the environment and social inequality. Guardian Australia offers national news coverage and has four bureaus, located in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra. Guardian Australia is also part of the Guardian’s 24-hour global news operation, helping to cover breaking international stories in all parts of the world.