Question: iOS seems to refuse to allow me to email "long" voice memos, and I'm unaware of any way to extract them from iTunes backups of my phone. How can I retrieve entire voice memos that aren't really short?

Answer: 
There is a free third-party utility that I find very useful in situations like this. [Macroplant iExplorer](http://www.macroplant.com/iexplorer/), for Mac and Windows, lets you mount the file system of your iOS device in the Finder or Windows Explorer, so you can copy the voice memo files (and most other iOS document files) directly to your computer without using iTunes. Macroplant also provides other paid apps with additional functionality.
You can extract the voice memos from your iPhone back up by downloading this free application: <http://www.iclarified.com/entry/index.php?enid=4974>
This will allow you to read the files from your back up files. (saved my life)
The site also walks you through how to use it - it's really simple.
Once you have extracted the IOS files, go to the media folder and you will find recordings. That's where your voice memos will be!