Shows / The Slow Newscast
The Slow Newscast
The Slow Newscast from The Observer takes the news slowly. We investigate, and every week we focus on stories that really matter in the UK and around the world. From wars in Ukraine and Gaza through to true crime and injustice and real life mysteries, The Slow Newscast team is devoted to narrative investigations covering some of the biggest topics of the day.
Who are the people biohacking themselves in a quest for immortality? Or the man taking on an entire nation in the high seas to protect…
Episodes
The Slow NewscastChained woman
When a video of a woman chained to a wall went viral in China, it ignited a battle for the truth between the people and the state. Hosted on Acast. See…
- The Slow Newscast
America at the crossroads: abortion in South Bend
The fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse abortion rights is reverberating across America. Arguably nowhere more so than in South Bend, Indiana…
- The Slow Newscast
Left to die: Return to the Amarula
Last summer our three-part podcast Left To Die told the harrowing story of 200 civilians trapped in a hotel in Mozambique under siege by violent extremists…
- The Slow Newscast
Londongrad: The Johnson Affair
A former KGB officer, Britain’s foreign secretary – and a potential national security breach. Listen to Londongrad, Paul Caruana Galizia's 6-part series…
- The Slow Newscast
The Darwin job: the vanishing, reappearing notebooks
One sleuth, two notebooks – and a 20-year mystery. Listen to Life, Changing, a new series from Tortoise and the Nuffield Foundation…
- The Slow Newscast
A coup at Claridge’s: Qatar’s quiet move on London
A tiny Gulf state has bought up some of Britain’s prized assets. But at what cost? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- The Slow Newscast
Hollywood’s cultural revolution
When China opened up to the West, Hollywood saw a massive opportunity. But China had its own dreams. Now the movie studios are beginning to realise what they…
- The Slow Newscast
Visit Rwanda: Britain’s harsh welcome for refugees
Britain’s harsh welcome for refugees – and what happened when the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was tried before Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy…
- The Slow Newscast
The Rules: democracy in Britain
Every day more cracks emerge in the political system that guarantees the freedoms Britons hold dear. How do we stop it shattering? Hosted on Acast. See…
- The Slow Newscast
Introducing: Londongrad
How the Lebedevs partied their way to power is a 6 part series investigating two men - who are at the heart of the story of Britain opening its doors to…
- The Slow Newscast
Stripped. Searched. Traumatised. Children and the police
How many more Child Qs are there? How many children are strip-searched by the police and who are they? Patricia Clarke and Claudia Williams investigate Hosted…
- The Slow Newscast
Odesa
The Ukrainian port normally feeds the world, but the Russian invasion means nothing is getting out. Can we reopen the port – or will millions starve? Hosted on…
- The Slow Newscast
Revealed: Stormy Daniels and her battle for truth
Who is the real Stormy Daniels? Hattie Garlick meets arguably one of America’s most misunderstood and misrepresented women Hosted on Acast. See…
- The Slow Newscast
Downfall: twenty days that did for Rishi Sunak
How did Rishi Sunak go from one of the most popular members of the government to one of the least in a matter of days? Matthew d’Ancona pieces together what…
- The Slow Newscast
The Backstory
Today we are sharing an episode of Tortoise's new podcast series: The Backstory with Andrew Neil. This week Andrew talks to Fiona Hill, former director for…
- The Slow Newscast
Mariupol
Two atrocities in the port city of Mariupol epitomise Russia’s violence in Ukraine. This is the story of those atrocities and of Mariupol’s truth With special…
- The Slow Newscast
The Lost Ark
What happens when a museum possesses a group of objects so sacred that they can never be seen in public or studied in private – and the original owners want…
- The Slow Newscast
Greg Barker: the lord's work
The days of the Russian oligarch in London are numbered. What fate awaits the enablers – those well-connected people who worked for and provided services to…
- The Slow Newscast
Fallen women
Twenty-seven women fell in suspicious circumstances. Seventeen died. Often, in the shadow of their fall, was a man. What if they didn’t fall. What if they were…
- The Slow Newscast
The trials of Alexei Navalny
What does the story of Alexei Navalny and wife Yulia Navalnaya tell us about Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the state of opposition? Tortoise is a news start-up…
- The Slow Newscast
Into the dark: The broken promise of a bionic eye
Imagine being blind but thanks to the wonders of technology being able to see again. How would you then feel if that sight was taken away? Tortoise is a news…
- The Slow Newscast
Shadow whipping: The men who saved Boris
Political wisdom says the Russian invasion of Ukraine saved Boris Johnson’s skin. But the really successful operation to rescue the prime minister started long…
- The Slow Newscast
Russian warship, go f**k yourself
We thought the Russians were masters of the information war; that they’d sweep Ukraine aside. It's not turning out that way. Hosted on Acast. See…
- The Slow Newscast
Lebedev: Lord of Siberia
Door after door in Britain has been opened for Evgeny Lebedev, all the way to a seat in the House of Lords. Who has opened the doors, and why? Hosted on Acast…
- The Slow Newscast
An injection of fear
The ‘epidemic’ of spiking with needles in clubs and at parties in autumn 2021 revealed something important about women’s lives in Britain. But it wasn’t what…
- The Slow Newscast
Modi's warrior pose
The brilliance of populist politicians often lies in creating subtle dividing lines on apparently innocuous issues. What could be more innocuous than yoga? But…
- The Slow Newscast
Inside Branch 251
In a courtroom in west Germany, a man called Anwar Raslan stands accused of torturing Syrian civilians. He faces life in prison. But why does Germany care?…
- The Slow Newscast
The Ministry of Untruths
In March 2020 the prime minister told the country to stay at home. He then did the opposite and travelled to Chequers. This the story of one crucial fortnight…
- The Slow Newscast
China’s missing tennis player
In November, athlete Peng Shuai accused a senior Chinese politician of sexual assault. Then, she vanished. In this episode, we investigate her disappearance –…
- The Slow Newscast
Virginia
Who is Virginia Roberts Giuffre? She was only 17 years old when she appeared in a now-famous photo, taken in Ghislaine Maxwell’s London mews house. Maxwell is…
- The Slow Newscast
A finding of rape
How a former government minister used the secrecy of the family courts in an attempt to hide the truth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more…
- The Slow Newscast
The promise of CoolSculpting
Linda Evangelista’s beauty made her a super-brand in the 1990s. But then, she disappeared. Until September 2021, when she revealed on Instagram details of a…
- The Slow Newscast
A year in stories
For our final episode of the year, we look back on our best stories of 2021. Basia is joined by Tortoise editor-in-chief James Harding, and colleague Ceri…
- The Slow Newscast
School 49
China’s transformation into an economic powerhouse has come at a cost to its children, under enormous pressure to succeed. Now the country is wondering if the…
- The Slow Newscast
The super divorce
London's courts play host to some of the world's most high-profile divorces. In the sorry case of Akhmedov vs Akhmedova, a family feud turned into a costly…
- The Slow Newscast
A place for Elliott
This is a story about a boy called Elliott – trapped in time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- The Slow Newscast
Retreat from Kabul – Part 1
Over a handful of chaotic days this summer, Western forces withdrew from Afghanistan. The legacy of the decision to leave after 20 years has been wretched for…
- The Slow Newscast
Retreat from Kabul – Part 2
In Kabul, the Taliban’s takeover was assured. In London, an ignominious retreat, and the betrayal of former comrades in the Afghan army, was more than a group…
- The Slow Newscast
Who is REvil?
Who are the people behind a spate of multi-million dollar ransomware attacks on financial institutions, schools and hospitals? When Nicky Woolf began to…
- The Slow Newscast
Nazanin: trapped in Whitehall
Since 2016, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held hostage in Iran. Ceri Thomas investigates how a long-forgotten debt could be the real reason behind her…
- The Slow Newscast
Shamsa, the forgotten princess
The reputation of Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai has been tarnished beyond repair by the way he treated his wife Haya and daughter Latifa. At least we know about…
- The Slow Newscast
Introducing: Sweet Bobby
Sweet Bobby is a new series by Tortoise. Kirat is a successful local radio presenter. Online she’s contacted by a man she vaguely knows called Bobby, and they…
- The Slow Newscast
True crime: the tragedy of Gabby Petito
When a young woman travelling across the US disappeared, an army of digital detectives and citizen journalists jumped on the case. When she was found murdered…
- The Slow Newscast
Havana Syndrome: the mystery illness spreading through America's embassies
It started with a high-pitched noise. Then, American diplomats started getting sick. Nausea, dizziness, confusion. Across the world, this strange syndrome is…
- The Slow Newscast
From Russia with diamonds: part 2
More than 20 years after emptying the Russian state treasure of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds and gold, Andrei Kozlenok breaks his silence…
- The Slow Newscast
From Russia with diamonds: part 1
When Communism collapsed, a young man was tasked with selling Russia’s diamonds to the highest bidder. Then, he went on the run with $600m. He was missing for…
- The Slow Newscast
Pfizer's war
It’s been said often enough: the pandemic has been like a war. Economically, on civil liberties and the deaths it has caused, it’s hard to find a better…
- The Slow Newscast
Wrong turn: murder and miscarriage of justice
Plenty of people take wrong turns in their lives. But so too can justice systems. John Crilly and hundreds more have been the victims of the legal doctrine of…
- The Slow Newscast
Beau and Biden: Constant companions
Joe Biden’s life has been marked by grief, most recently at the death of his beloved son, Beau. And Beau Biden’s legacy isn’t only personal, it’s political…
- The Slow Newscast
Orphaned by America
In Donald Trump's America, thousands of children who crossed the border from Mexico were separated from their parents. It's now clear that some of those…
- The Slow Newscast
Smear: cartels and conspiracies in Oldham
A year ago, journalist Joshi Herrmann got an anonymous tip. It sent him to a website claiming to have evidence of serious corruption, grooming gangs and…
- The Slow Newscast
Son of Afghanistan
The remarkable story of Rohullah Yakobi, a daring escape, and a 20-year war. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
- The Slow Newscast
Popbitch: the power of gossip
Over 20 years, a simple email newsletter has reshaped celebrity culture. In a special edition of the Slow Newscast, Claudia Williams tells the story of…
- The Slow Newscast
Boycott! The lost Olympics
With human rights groups demanding a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, we look back to Moscow 1980, and ask what’s the lesson of…
- The Slow Newscast
The porn headmaster
In the internet age, anyone with a camera can make and sell porn. But what happens when a shoot goes wrong? In the second episode in our Porn Planet series…
- The Slow Newscast
Genesis: The mystery of where Covid began
The truth of an origin story has never mattered more: did Covid cross to humans from an animal, or did it escape from a laboratory? The arguments have only…
- The Slow Newscast
The arms race
How the richest nations on the planet promised to vaccinate every adult, everywhere, against Covid. They failed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for…
- The Slow Newscast
DIY justice
This is a story about one student, one case, and a serious sexual assault. It takes place at Cambridge University, but the case – of a botched process that…
The Slow NewscastLeft to die - episode 3
In the final episode of Left to die: Nick Alexander tells the story of his torturous escape from the convoy – and the question left lying in the dust of the…
The Slow NewscastLeft to die - episode 2
Episode 2 of our series investigating what happened at the Amarula Hotel: the story of Wesley and his brother Adrian, who escape in a car and are ambushed by…