Best of 2023: The strange survival of Guinness World Records

The Audio Long Read

The Guardian

Society & Culture

4.3 • 2.4K Ratings

🗓️ 22 December 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Every Monday and Friday for the rest of December we will publish some of our favourite audio long reads of 2023, in case you missed them, with an introduction from the editorial team to explain why we’ve chosen it. From June: For more than half a century, one organisation has been cataloguing all of life’s superlatives. But has it gone from being about the pursuit of knowledge to simply another big business?. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/longreadpod

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the Guardian. Try royal opera house stream this Christmas for just one pound and watch enchanting productions including the Nutcracker.
0:18.0	Enjoy unlimited access to over 80 extraordinary ballets, operas and exclusive behind-the-scenes features.
0:25.0	Sign up for Royal Opera House Stream now with your first month for just one pound.
0:29.2	For details, visit R.O.orgorg. UK forward slash offer.
0:33.2	One pound for the first month after 14 free days,
0:36.4	and 999 a month thereafter.
0:38.3	Cancel any time, T's and sees apply.
0:40.2	At age 30, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is at a crossroads in his life.
0:45.0	The aristocracy of Snobbe Salzburg have turned their noses up at the composer,
0:50.0	and the Archbishop dismisses Mozart from his position with a kick in the butt.
0:55.4	He escapes to Prague.
0:56.9	The second his carriage drives through the city gates, Mozart overhears a young boy
1:01.8	whistle the melody of his very own Figaro.
1:05.0	This Mozart mania opens all his creative valves.
1:08.6	The scores flow out like beer from the taps of the city taverns.
1:12.4	Practice made Mozart a virtuoso. Vitality made him the creator of Don Giovanni, the opera of all operas.
1:20.0	The poet Lorenzo da Ponté composed its lyrics from the hotel opposite,
1:24.8	sending them to Mozart's desk via paper airplane.
1:29.2	Well, workation has always been a good idea.
1:34.0	How about a trip to Prague?
1:36.0	Book a workation now with the airlines of the Luftanza Group. of the Guardian Long Reed. At the end of each year we like to highlight a few of our favorite episodes,
1:55.0	which you can listen to over the holiday season.
	...

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