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The Observer

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 today and get access to:

 • Our podcasts before anyone else
 • 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

Click here to subscribe today for just £1 for your first month.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Slow Newscast

The chancellor’s budget was supposed to be a gamechanger, but turned out to be an exercise in political survival. This is the story of how Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves took on a radical budget.

Reporter: Rachel Sylvester

Producers: Jonathan Lewis and Matt Russell

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lola Williams

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 observer.co.uk 

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

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Inside the Treasury

When Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announced a new political party this summer, it had all the ingredients to be a big success. But a summer of disarray has seen them overtaken by a rival on the left. What happened?

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What's Left?

Three years ago, travel writer Lydia Gard discovered freediving. An extreme and beautiful sport defined by one objective: to dive as deep as you can on one single breath. It soon became a calling. Then, she stumbled on a darker side of the sport. Rumours that a group of top divers were doping to go deeper. So she decided to investigate.

Reporter - Lydia Gard 

Producer - Gary Marshall. 

Music supervision and sound design - Karla Patella

Sound design - Rowan Bishop

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams 

Fact checking - Poppy Bullard, Katie Gunning, Amalie Sortland, Madeleine Parr & Jess Swinburne 

Executive producer - Basia Cummings 

To find out more about The Observer:

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

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

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Deep Water

With Prince Harry in effective exile and Andrew disgraced, the Royal family is smaller than ever before and at a potential crisis point. Prince William has already signalled his intention to be a different kind of monarch to King Charles. But can the monarchy survive, and what is its purpose?

Reporter: Rachel Sylvester

Producer: Madeleine Parr

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

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 observer.co.uk 

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

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

William: The reluctant prince

Over the summer, Epping, a small town on the outskirts of London became the scene of mass protests. featuring hundreds of people. Noisy and occasionally violent, the demonstrations attracted crowds from around the country and plenty of media attention.

But what really happened in Epping and what does it tell us about where the right in Britain is heading? 

To find out more about The Observer:

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

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

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Epping: A very English uprising

Just outside Gaza is a small settlement of Israelis hoping to enter and settle inside Gaza. They may be a fringe movement, but their voice holds a powerful sway within Israel's cabinet. Could they influence the terms of a future peace plan for Gaza?

Reporter: Oliver Marsden

Producer: Poppy Bullard and Matt Russell

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

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 observer.co.uk 

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

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Among the settlers on Gaza's border

The French President and the First Lady of France are taking American right wing commentator Candace Owens to court in Delaware over bizarre claims the First Lady is transgender and the President is part of a CIA-backed mind-control programme, among many other conspiracy theories. But how much are the French President and the First Lady risking in doing so?

Reporter: Stephen Armstrong

Producer: Ada Barumé

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Executive Producer: Matt Russell

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 observer.co.uk 

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

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Trolled: Brigitte Macron

Donald Trump has launched four lawsuits against major media organisations for up to $15 billion over the past year. This is the story of Trump's war on the media and the people driving it.

Reporter: Giles Whittell

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Matt Russell

To find out more about The Observer:

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

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

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The shakedown: Donald Trump vs the media

Since May, almost 900 Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the vicinity of aid checkpoints. So what exactly has happened at these aid sites?

Reporter: Ruth Michaelson

Producer: Madeleine Parr

Artwork: Jon Jones & Lola Williams

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editors: Jasper Corbett & Matt Russell

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gaza's Deadly Aid

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.

In our podcast called “An uncivil war inside Unite”, which was released on 30 September 2025, we failed to convey Unite’s position that it is in good financial health and that the submission of its accounts has been delayed by a re-audit of the 2021 filing involving the Birmingham project which was overseen by the previous leadership regime. We apologise for this omission

Reporter: Jon Ungoed-Thomas

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Art work: Lola Williams

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 observer.co.uk

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

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An uncivil war inside Unite

By the end of this year, countries making up half the world’s population will have held elections. But not all of them will have been free and fair. In ‘What’s Wrong with Democracy?’ Professor Ben Ansell of Oxford University will, with the help of academics, journalists, activists and writers, figure out whether democracy is working and how best to preserve democratic freedoms, equality and rights. 

What’s Wrong with Democracy? is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by Open Society Foundations. 

 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing... What's wrong with democracy?

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