The Guardian announces new storytelling podcast Australia Reads

The Guardian has announced the launch of Australia Reads, a new podcast to provide listeners with an immersive way to experience its weekly features.

Hosted by Jane Lee and running three times a week on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, Australia Reads will see an editor from The Guardian’s Australian newsroom select a piece of key journalism published throughout the week, with the article being read aloud by a cast of professional voice actors.

Each episode will last 15 minutes, with each drawing from all of The Guardian’s editorial departments, including politics, culture, sports, current affairs and environment to cover a broad range of topics.

Guardian Australia editor Lenore Taylor explained that while Australia Reads shared similar aspects to its previous podcast series Audio Long Reads, its frequency and national focus would help it appeal to Australian audiences.

“We know that our readers are hungry for quality, independent, high-quality journalism,” Taylor said.

“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 first episode of the new series, which sees Thomas Keneally read his own feature on the complexities of the Australian federation, is available to listen to now via all podcast apps.