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 whales? And what happened when humanity's most distant messenger fell silent? From a newsroom with a different approach to journalism these are the stories we tell. Subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription: Early access, bonus content and ad-free listening to our podcasts A daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a week Puzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crossword Recipes for every occasion Free tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Alexi is joined by the Observer's national news editor, Claudia Williams to discuss the case of Tarryn Baird. Last week, her husband, Christopher Trybus was cleared of driving her to kill herself. Where does a grieving mother who spent 10 years searching for answers go from here?
Host: Alexi Mostrous
Guest: Claudia Williams
Producer: Ada Barumé
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...
In 1988, a painting by Lucian Freud of his one-time friend Francis Bacon was stolen from a Berlin art gallery. It’s now worth £20 million. This week, Steve Smith goes in search of the lost art.
Reporter: Steve Smith
Producer: Ada Barumé
Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for mo...
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
According to United States and Israel, there's 460 kilograms of enriched uranium that Iran are just ten days away from turning into weapons grade nuclear bomb material. The story of Iran's nuclear arms race is less clear than they make it appear though. It's a tale of espionage, assassinations, and a high-stakes game of bluff.
Credits:
Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou
Producer - Matt Russell
Sound Design - Dominic Delargy
Artwork -...
After sixteen years of rule in Hungary, Viktor Orbán has been voted out of office. But in that time, he’s built a deep-rooted network of soft power through think-tanks, universities and media organisations. As the new Prime Minister Péter Magyar seeks to assert his own identity and vision for Hungary, will Orbanism’s influence cause him problems?
Slow Newscast Extra:
Host: Ada Barumé
Producer: Amalie Sortland
Executive Produc...
Ceri Thomas revisits the appalling case of Peter Sullivan, jailed for 38 years for a murder he did not commit and offered no apology when finally released. Why does the court work so slowly? Why is it allowed to mark its own homework, and why is it so resistant to reform?
Reporter: Ceri Thomas
Producer: Katie Gunning
Artwork: Lucy Stevenson
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Editor: Matt Russell
Subscribe to The Observer today: ...
Meta and YouTube were found liable earlier this year in a social media addiction trial and ordered to pay out $6 million in damages. Could this be a blueprint for how to avoid history repeating itself with AI?
Host: Alexi Mostrous
Producer: Amalie Sortland
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Last year, a YouTuber attempted to reach an uncontacted tribe on the remote island of North Sentinel, an area that is out of bounds for everyone else on the planet. His bid for content may have been audacious, and illegal, but it’s just the latest in a long line of misguided foreigners attempting to make contact. But do these individuals represent the greatest threat to the tribe? And what do we as a planet stand to lose if contact...
A businessman from Tunbridge Wells is accused of leading a double life. He’s secretly recorded planning a brutal attack with ice picks on behalf of the Chinese state. His story takes a dramatic turn with a high-stakes escape.
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This series and all our podcasts before anyo...
American citizens are recruited to carry out Beijing’s dirty work on home soil. A Florida correctional officer poses as an art dealer, exposing the murky world of transnational repression and China’s shadow war.
This is part two of a three part series. To listen to all episodes today, and enjoy the Slow Newscast ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.
You’ll get acc...
Alexi goes in search of the “long arm” of the Chinese state following a series of attacks and bounties on British soil. He uncovers a coordinated campaign of fear that has left dissidents feeling unsafe in the UK – and asks what British authorities are doing to protect them.
This is Part One of a three part series. To listen to all episodes today, and enjoy the Slow Newscast ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the c...
Every year babies are abandoned by their parents. Following a long reporting project exploring the story of one foundling on a search for her biological parents, Alexi Mostrous asks, 'why do mothers abandon babies?'. To try and make sense of these complicated, often hidden stories, he's joined by the series reporter Lucy Greenwell and the series' producer Katie Gunning.
Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to bin...
Foundling is a six-part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer. This is episode 1 - On the verge
Journalist Lucy Greenwell goes in search of Jess following rumours and unanswered questions about where she was born and who gave birth to her.
To listen to the rest of the series, just search for Tortoise Investigates wherever you get your podcasts.
Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to bin...
America's war against Iran has revealed plenty of gunslinging, provocative rhetoric from the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth. But is there much to learn about America's aims in Iran from Trump's self-described 'secretary of war'?
Reporter/Producer: Alexi Mostrous and Ada Barumé
Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Hosted on Acast. See aca...
Genetic testing start ups are a booming industry in America. Behind the headlines of 'designer babies' are companies tapping into disputed science, facing accusations that this is a pathway to eugenics. So what does the story of one company in particular tell us about this new field of fertility and science?
Reporters: Madeleine Parr and Matt Russell
Producers: Madeleine Parr and Matt Russell
Additional production: Gary Marshall
Ar...
Alexi sits down with the reporter of this week’s Slow Newscast, Francisco Garcia, to talk about one stop in particular on the road to Putin’s frontline, the Orthodox Church. How did a young man from Dunblane end up converting to this ancient form of Christianity? And why are so many young men converting to the Orthodox Church?
Producer: Ada Barumé
Executive Producer: Matt Russell
Jay Fraser was born and raised in Dunblane. Then, after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, he signed up to fight...for Russia, not Ukraine. Now he and others who have followed similar paths tell their story of how they ended up on the frontline for Putin.
Reporter: Francisco Garcia
Producers: Gary Marshall and Matt Russell
Artwork: Lucy Stevenson
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Stephen Miller is the United States Homeland Security Advisor. But the vague sounding title belies his immense influence with Donald Trump behind the scenes. He’s better understood as the architect of some of the US’s most audacious recent policies - the capturing of Venezuelan President Maduro, the rollout of ICE enforcement through communities, and a threat to capture Greenland. So what can he tell us about what America will do n...
The Epstein Files are wreaking havoc across British institutions; first the Royal family and now, the government. Peter Mandelson was sacked as US Ambassador in September over his links to the billionaire paedophile, but the latest tranche of documents show the pair were closer than anyone previously knew. What did their relationship look like? And did it give Jeffrey Epstein access to the heart of the British government?
Repor...
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