The Slow Newscast

In the early days of the invasion, Russia took over Europe's biggest nuclear power station. For two years, Zaporizhzhia's nuclear plant has been under Russian control, and while a nuclear crisis has so far been averted, the fighting has repeatedly threatened a catastrophic situation. The employees are overcoming the threat of torture to manage the plant's safety. This is the story of what happens when a nuclear power station become...

At his height Jimmy Lai was a newspaper owner and tycoon who loved to cause trouble. But he’s been behind bars for more than a thousand days with no end in sight. The Hong Kong authorities, assisted by Beijing, seem determined to silence him. Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. This is the story of one man’s efforts to take on the Chinese state.

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Introducing...To Die For

Imagine you were a fly on the wall at a dinner between the mafia, the CIA, and the KGB. That’s where this unprecedented story begins. A journey through the dark world of Russian intelligence where, for the first time, a professed “sex spy” tells her story. All of it.

Host Neil Strauss (Rolling Stone, The New York Times) brings listeners into the dangerous world of sexpionage, where enemies of the Stat...

Shortly before Vladimir Putin was reelected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in an Arctic labour camp. The deaths, often in mysterious circumstances, of dozens of Putin's opponents have been a hallmark of his time in office. Tortoise’s Giles Whittell sets out to find out why so many of Putin’s enemies have met an early end.

To find out...

Shortly before Vladimir Putin was reelected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in an Arctic labour camp. The deaths, often in mysterious circumstances, of dozens of Putin's opponents have been a hallmark of his time in office. Tortoise’s Giles Whittell sets out to find out why so many of Putin’s enemies have met an early end.

To find out...

Shortly before Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in an Arctic labour camp. The deaths, often in mysterious circumstances, of dozens of Putin's opponents have been a hallmark of his time in office. Tortoise’s Giles Whittell sets out to find out why so many of Putin’s enemies have met an early end.

To find ou...

The energy drink company has built a billion-dollar brand promoting extreme sports like BASE jumping. Who’s responsible when it goes wrong?

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If...

Benjamin Netanyahu has arguably shaped his country's image more than anyone else in the world. But his actions have put at risk Israel's relationship with its closest allies and potential partners for peace.

In this, the final episode of the series, Donald Macintyre looks into Benjanmin Netanyahu's leadership from 2023 until the present day. 

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To get the full series now, download the Tortoise app.

Benjamin Netanyahu has arguably shaped his country's image more than anyone else in the world. But his actions have put at risk Israel's relationship with its closest allies and potential partners for peace. This is the second episode in our three-part series, as Donald Macintyre looks into a pivotal period in Netanyahu's leadership, the eleven year period from 2009 right up...

To get the full series now, download the Tortoise app.

Benjamin Netanyahu has arguably shaped his country's image more than anyone else in the world. But his actions have put at risk Israel's relationship with its closest allies and potential partners for peace.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for ...

Modern brokerage firms in the City are an echo of another age. Not just because they still rely on people - rather than technology - to facilitate trade, but also because they have never shaken off the reputation of a culture of excess and bad behaviour. 

The City regulator, the FCA, has been aware for years that there’s an issue with some broking firms. 

This is the story of what happens behind closed doors in one ...

Anna Wintour is one of the most important people in fashion. She is arguably one of the world's most influential and powerful people. A brand in her own right. But aged 74 and tasked with saving a global legacy media company in a digital age, is this a step too far for the last great editor?

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Subscribe to Torto...

To listen to episode two follow the Tortoise Investigates feed. To get the full series now, download the Tortoise app.

What comes to mind when you think of Amber Heard? Liar? Survivor? Narcissist? Millions of us watched the celebrity trial of the century, Depp v Heard, in 2022. 

Amber Heard lost and Johnny Depp was vindicated. But what if Amber was actually the victim of an organised trolling campaign? What if the online...

In a town in Kent, there is a place where vulnerable and volatile boys are locked away for "days on end", where weapons are widespread and living conditions are dire. All on the government's watch. This is the story of the chaos behind locked doors.

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This episode was first published in March 2022.  

In early 2021 Alexei Navalny and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya returned to Russia where a year earlier he had been poisoned with Novichok nerve agent. It was a decision that likely led directly to his death. On arrival in Moscow Alexei and Yulia were separated. He was detained, put on trial and ended up in one of Russia’s toughest penal colonies where he died. This is ...

Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, campaigned successfully to topple Harvard’s first black leader, Claudine Gay, in a row over anti-semitism. But his mission is much grander, he’s spearheading a broader backlash against ‘woke’ politics that is energising the American right, fracturing the left and upending society.

Since the recording of this podcast, Yashcha Mounk has been accused, on X, of sexual assault and suspen...

When a man in Birmingham died unexpectedly last year, a question was asked: was he assassinated? At first, it sounds unbelievable, but as the story unfolds the answer becomes less clear and the world more complicated. This is the story of India's assassins.

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The two most charismatic leaders in a generation took Scotland to the brink of independence. But when Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon's powerful partnership collapsed, with it went their hold on a nation. This is the story of the fallout.

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The two most charismatic leaders in a generation took Scotland to the brink of independence. But when Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon's powerful partnership collapsed, with it went their hold on a nation.

To get early access to the second episode or to find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access an...