Podcasts · Society & Culture · News

The Slow Newscast

The Observer

300 episodes

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.

More about the show

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.

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Episodes page 3 of 6

  1. The diva and the dictator: opera at war

    · 29 min · S1 E351

    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.…

  2. The great British honey scandal

    · 36 min · S1 E350

    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…

  3. The mother and the gangs

    · 40 min · S1 E349

    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…

  4. Signal failure: Who killed HS2?

    · 37 min · S1 E348

    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…

  5. A lonely death on Jersey

    · 31 min · S1 E347

    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…

  6. The real Salt Path

    · 40 min · S1 E346

    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…

  7. The Lab Detective

    · 41 min · S1 E345

    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…

  8. Illiberal land: Hungary’s empire of ideas

    · 33 min · S1 E344

    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.…

  9. The mystery of Francis Bacon's minder

    · 40 min · S1 E343

    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…

  10. Introducing...Drilled

    · 44 min · Bonus

    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…

  11. Liz UnTrussed

    · 35 min · S1 E342

    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…

  12. How to disappear

    · 40 min · S1 E341

    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…

  13. Brute force: domestic abuse in the ranks

    · 35 min · S1 E340

    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…

  14. The Wargame

    · 59 min · S1 E339

    A bunker. A scenario. A group of former senior ministers, military chiefs and other experts. Russia knows our weaknesses – but do you? Sky News' security and defence editor Deborah Haynes presents The Wargame. From…

  15. Jeff and Donald

    · 52 min · S1 E338

    What happens when the business interests and private passions of one of the world’s richest men collide with the world’s most powerful man? This is the story of Jeff Bezos...and Donald Trump. Reporter: Stephen…

  16. Jamie Vardy: The last underdog

    · 24 min · S1 E337

    After thirteen years, Jamie Vardy is leaving Leicester City. His time at the club is an example of not one, but two underdogs succeeding against the odds. Could anything like this happen again in the Premier League?…

  17. Car crash: Musk and Tesla

    · 30 min · S1 E336

    Tesla saw their stock price soar with President Trump's election. But since January, it has come plummeting back down. Has Musk crashed Tesla? Reporter: Giles Whittell Producer: Matt Russell Sound design: Dominic…

  18. Just Stop TurmOil

    · 43 min · S1 E335

    The radical climate protest group Just Stop Oil delighted supporters and infuriated opponents in equal measure. But then the government began to crack down on them. So where are they now? Reporter: David Taylor…

  19. Sara Sharif: one judge, three court cases and a murder

    · 49 min · S1 E334

    The brutal circumstances of Sara Sharif’s death were described by the judge that sent her killers to prison as torture. But when it emerged that the two adults who murdered her were granted parental responsibility by a…

  20. Broken ranks: civil war in the police fed

    · 40 min · S1 E333

    Police officers aren’t allowed to strike or join a trade union. They rely instead on an organisation called the Police Federation to represent their interests. It’s a surprisingly powerful body that ultimately affects…

  21. North Korea's war in Europe

    · 39 min · S1 E332

    North Korean troops are in combat, likely for the first time since the Korean war in the 1950s. Not in Korea, but in Europe. Because last summer Ukraine launched a surprise offensive in Kursk, Russia. Since then,…

  22. How to ruin a football club

    · 42 min · S1 E331

    Manchester United is a club used to success. But it is languishing in the league and saddled with debt. This is the story of how one of the world's most successful football clubs fell apart. Reporter: Xavier Greenwood…

  23. Nimby Nation

    · 45 min · S1 E330

    Earlier this year the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, wrote about a group of people he called zealots. And he identified one man in particular who the Prime Minister claimed was costing the country its future. But maybe…

  24. Die, die, DEI

    · 41 min · S1 E329

    Donald Trump has ordered the federal government to scrap its diversity, equity and inclusion policies, and corporate America has supposedly followed suit. But this has someone else's fingerprints all over it. This is…

  25. The $Trumpcon

    · 45 min · S1 E328

    Memecoins started as a fad. A niche but fun way to bet on the longevity of internet trends. But then, days before his second inauguration, Donald Trump launched his own, $TRUMP… and changed the game. The value soared…

  26. The hunt for the 100ft wave

    · 43 min · S1 E327

    Surfing’s ultimate barrier is the 100 foot wave. In Dec 23-year-old Alo Slebir is rumoured to have surfed a 108 foot wave. The problem is no one can agree how big the wave actually was. Reporter: Claudia Williams…

  27. Are we alone?

    · 35 min · S1 E326

    Donald Trump promised to release classified files about extraterrestrials. But even if they disappoint the millions of people hoping to find proof of existence of aliens, there is a growing belief in the scientific…

  28. Trump's Dealmaker: Steve Witkoff and Gaza

    · 48 min · S1 E325

    A week before Donald Trump's inauguration, a real estate mogul flew to Jerusalem to meet Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Within days, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was agreed. What happened that…

  29. Lucky Boy

    · 38 min · S1 E324

    Gareth spent years believing he was a lucky boy. He was the 14-year-old who got the attention of the attractive young science teacher. Now, decades later, he wants the truth to come out about the damage it’s caused…

  30. Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman | The lawsuit

    · 28 min · S1 E323

    Last year we published a podcast series called Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman. Five women accused the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman of sexually assaulting them. Neil Gaiman denied the…

  31. The Rwanda plan: How to waste £700m

    · 32 min · S1 E322

    The flagship policy for several Prime Ministers became the Rwanda plan. But three years, four Prime Ministers and £715 million later, the policy is dead and never really got off the ground. This is how so much money…

  32. F**k it, release ‘em all: Trump and the Jan 6ers

    · 42 min · S1 E321

    For more than two years, Special Counsel Jack Smith investigated allegations of President Trump’s election fraud. His investigation ended last month – not with a trial, but a dense report. Why has nobody paid…

  33. Goodbye mum: the ruthless fight for child custody

    · 48 min · S1 E320

    One of the most difficult questions facing a judge in the family court is which parent should have custody of a child. To help them answer that, judges rely on independent experts to provide an impartial voice in the…

  34. Rogue Russia: Nuclear poker

    · 39 min · S1 E319

    In October 2022 the course of the Russia's war in Ukraine shifted. Intelligence from the USA and UK indicated that Russia could turn to a nuclear bomb to get on top of the war. This is the story of those six days in…

  35. Rogue Russia: Agents of mayhem

    · 43 min · S1 E318

    Last October, the head of MI5 said Russia was on a mission to cause "sustained mayhem" on European streets. It might be hard to spot at first, but it is there in plain sight. This is the unpredictable, violent world of…

  36. Jordan Peterson and the making of man

    · 41 min · S1 E317

    Jordan Peterson is a controversial figure, but he is also a man with a long-standing appeal to a particular demographic. What does his popularity tell us about a possible crisis in young men today? Reporter: Stephen…

  37. Finding my voice

    · 19 min · S1 E316

    Xavier Greenwood’s childhood memories are dominated by a speech impediment and a thick accent. But was it all in his head? Reporter: Xavier Greenwood Sound design: Dominic Delargy Artwork: Lola Williams Executive…

  38. The final bow: David Bowie's last act

    · 21 min · S1 E315

    David Bowie's last months were spent fulfilling one final ambition: staging a musical based around his songs. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Zelda Perkins not only met hers, she produced the musical he staged…

  39. The immortality bros: The business of living forever

    · 44 min · S1 E314

    The tech millionaire Bryan Johnson once went viral for infusing himself with a litre of his 17-year-old son’s blood plasma. That experiment failed, but it hasn’t distracted him from his life’s mission: reversing…

  40. Killing hope: Iran's mind wars

    · 34 min · S1 E313

    The fall of Assad in Syria is a disaster for Iran, so much so that people are beginning to ask if this might finally be the moment when Iran’s pro-democracy movement breaks through. This is the story of one activist’s…

  41. Stuck in space

    · 31 min · S1 E312

    In June 2024, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore went into space. It was expected to last just over a week. Instead, by the time they'll return, it'll have been more than eight months. This is the story of how two…

  42. My AI girlfriend: a cure for loneliness

    · 42 min · S1 E311

    Eugenia Kuyda thinks she can solve an “epidemic” of loneliness. Her app, Replika, is “the AI companion who cares”, a chatbot that can text you, flirt with you, and promises to love you unconditionally. But Replika is…

  43. Operation Asshole: Paul Watson's whale war

    · 44 min · S1 E310

    Out on the high seas, Paul Watson became a hero and pariah of the environmental movement. Now he sits in a remote prison. How should we treat the radicals willing to go to extremes to protect the planet? Reported by:…

  44. Elon: A star is born

    · 30 min · S1 E309

    When Donald Trump declared victory in the US presidential election, he told an adoring crowd that "a star is born". He was referring to Elon Musk. After months of reporting on the billionaire's use of private…

  45. Sick parade: A crisis at Catterick Garrison

    · 38 min · S1 E308

    This is a story of stigma, uncomfortable truths and allegations of an attempted cover up at Britain's biggest army base. As the UK army rapidly modernises its approach towards mental health, an old cultural problem…

  46. The Furys: An empire of fists

    · 47 min · S1 E307

    The Fury family bridge the gladiatorial old world of boxing and the very new world of influencer culture. This is the story of how one family built a multi-million pound empire with their fists. Reporter: Claudia…

  47. The cases against Sean Combs

    · 34 min · S1 E306 · Explicit

    For thirty years, Sean "Diddy" Combs was hailed as the kingmaker of hip-hop. But now he's in jail, facing three federal charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and interstate transportation for…

  48. Beyond Trump: JD Vance and the New Right

    · 42 min · S1 E305

    Whether Trump wins or loses the US election, he has a political heir: his 40-year-old running mate JD Vance. Beyond the made-up stories about Haitian immigrants eating pets, Vance is deadly serious and he has a plan.…

  49. Elon's Spies

    · 40 min · S1 E304

    This is episode one of three. You can binge the entire series today by subscribing to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or by downloading the Tortoise app. Elon Musk is one of the most powerful men in the world.…

  50. The hunt for Iran's next Supreme Leader

    · 37 min · S1 E303

    Iran is at an inflection point both on the international stage and at home. Uncertainty, unrest and war have shaken it, and there are questions over how long their 85 year old leader will be able to carry on. So who…

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