The Slow Newscast

Unite was once the biggest trade union in Britain, and the largest funder of the Labour Party. In the past its reputation has come under scrutiny. Four years after its first female leader was elected on a promise of restoring trust… it remains mired by in-fighting.

Reporter: Jon Ungoed-Thomas

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Art work: Lola Williams

Editor: Jasper Corbett

To find out more abou...

The week in culture, annotated. Writer and journalist Liv Little and Observer critic Miranda Sawyer get notes from editors all the time - now it’s their turn to hand them out. Every Wednesday morning, Liv and Miranda weigh in on the latest cultural happenings, from reality TV meltdowns and art house films, to gallery openings and TikTok trends. Smart, funny, and full of sharp observations. We Have Notes is culture with commentary.

Insiders tell the story of how the US Health Secretary, Robert F Kennedy Jr, has hollowed out the Center for Disease Control putting the whole world at risk in the event of another pandemic. 

Reporter: Stephen Armstrong

Producer: Ada Barumé

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Art work: Lola Williams

Editor: Jasper Corbett 

To find out more about The Observer:

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What happens when you get new blood and new DNA from a complete stranger? This is the story of a woman whose own features began to change following a stem cell transplant.

Reporter: Eva Wiseman

Producer: Matt Russell

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lola Williams

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Commissioning editor: Matt Russell

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and a...

A city in Honduras is home to a start-up selling experimental gene therapies for $25,000 a dose. Now, those radical ideas are reaching the United States. What happens when biohacking leaves libertarian fringes… and reaches Capitol Hill?

Reporter: Patricia Clarke

Producer: Madeleine Parr

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lola Williams

Executive Producer: Matt Russell

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine Anna Netrebko was the biggest opera star in a generation. Since the war, due to past support for Vladimir Putin, she has effectively been boycotted by theatres around the world. Except, this autumn, she’ll be headlining the Royal Opera House’s new season.

Reporters: Vanessa Thorpe, Nina Kuryata and Lauren Crosby Medlicott

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound design: Dominic ...

For nearly a decade beekeepers around the world have been saying that there’s something very wrong with the honey industry. Prices are down, and so is production, but there’s more honey being sold than ever before. So what exactly is in that jar in your kitchen cupboard? An investigation by The Observer reveals a global honey fraud that begins in China and ends with allegations of adulterated jars on UK supermarkets shelves

The number of teenage boys killed on our streets has more than doubled in a decade. This is the story of a mother trying to stop it, while dealing with grief and anger for her son.

Reporter: Francisco Garcia

Producer: Matt Russell

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Editor: Jasper Corbett

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website obser...

HS2 should have been a symbol of engineering excellence. Instead half of it has been scrapped and it's still running £50 billion over budget. This is the story of how Britain’s largest infrastructure project became its biggest scandal.

Reporter: Stephen Armstrong

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound design: Dominic Delargy 

Editor: Jasper Corbett 

This episode is sponsored by The Life of Chuck. Join us ...

As a tax haven Jersey has a reputation for welcoming the wealthy with open arms, but how does it treat other kinds of immigrants? Jane Kiiti came from Kenya to work in Jersey’s hotels for more than twenty years. Her death raises questions about the conditions migrant workers face and whether the island is doing enough to prevent their exploitation.

You can read Orlando Crowcroft's article 'The never-ending fear that haunts Jerse...

Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. But the truth behind the hit memoir is very different.

Reporter: Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer: Matt Russell

Field Producers: Leonie Thomas and Helen Clifton

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound design: Tom Burchell

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Original article

The News Meeting

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Kathleen Folbigg was known as ‘Australia's worst female serial killer’ - she’d lost all four of her infant children and was convicted for killing them.

Until, after spending decades in jail, a scientist working in a lab uncovered the truth behind the deaths. 

The Lab detective is the story of a shocking miscarriage of justice, and an investigation into why Kathleen’s story might not be the last. To listen to more ep...

This is the story of how and why a small Central European country became the epicenter of global conservatism. It’s the tale of two men…and what happens when we ignore the powerful forces behind a government. 

Reporter: David Aaronovitch

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to ...

This is the story of how a boxing match helped solve a 50-year art world mystery. And how, when a man named Ted wades in to stop a mugging in Soho, it leads to a most unlikely life-altering friendship with an artist who makes him, or his picture, immortal. 

Reporter: Stephen Smith

Producer: Katie Gunning

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorpe

Sound Designer: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

To find out more about The Observe...

We are partnering with the podcast Drilled, to share something extra with you this week so that we can continue to bring our listeners brilliant investigations on The Slow Newscast and across The Observer audio network. You can discover more at https://observer.co.uk/listen.

This season, Drilled follows reporter Alleen Brown through a legal trial that will change the course of activism in the U.S. and beyond. Greenpeac...

Liz Truss was the UK’s shortest serving prime minister, but since leaving office she’s continued to buck the trend. Post premiership, she’s become one of the most vocal among her peers. 

What has driven her into the arms of the populist right? And what does it tell us about the state of the party she has left behind? 

Reporter: Philip Collins

Producer: Ada Barumé

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound Designer: Dominic Delargy

E...

In the UK, a person is reported missing every 90 seconds. But how in a society of internet, phones and social media is it so easy to go missing? This is the story of two men...and how sometimes people don't even realise they've gone missing.

Reporter: Francisco Garcia

Producer: Matt Russell

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lola Williams

Editor: Jasper Corbett

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to TheObserver+...

The police have an increasingly bad reputation when it comes to dealing with violence against women and girls. Forces in England and Wales say they’re trying to fix that, but its track record within its own ranks paints a very different picture. This is the story of three women with one shared experience- being a police officer whose own institution can’t help them escape the abuse of their partners. 

Reporter: Eve Liv...