The Slow Newscast
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 and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription: Early access, bonus content and ad-free listening to our podcastsA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Feb 20, 2020 • 33min
My mother's murder - episode 3: Truth to power
Daphne Caruana Galizia was Malta's pre-eminent investigative journalist. She exposed corruption at the highest levels of politics and business in the country until, in October 2017, she was murdered by a car bomb. Since her death, her family has fought tirelessly for justice in the face of overwhelming odds. In this four-part series, Daphne's son Paul Caruana Galizia returns to Malta to uncover an assassination plot which extends into the highest reaches of the Maltese government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 13, 2020 • 39min
My mother's murder - episode 2: An assassination foretold
Daphne Caruana Galizia was Malta's pre-eminent investigative journalist. She exposed corruption at the highest levels of politics and business in the country until, in October 2017, she was murdered by a car bomb. Since her death, her family has fought tirelessly for justice in the face of overwhelming odds. In this four-part series, Daphne's son Paul Caruana Galizia returns to Malta to uncover an assassination plot which extends into the highest reaches of the Maltese government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 10, 2020 • 32min
My mother's murder - episode 1
Daphne Caruana Galizia was Malta's pre-eminent investigative journalist. She exposed corruption at the highest levels of politics and business in the country until, in October 2017, she was murdered by a car bomb. Since her death, her family has fought tirelessly for justice in the face of overwhelming odds. In this four-part series, Daphne's son Paul Caruana Galizia returns to Malta to uncover an assassination plot which extends into the highest reaches of the Maltese government. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 6, 2020 • 33min
Trump in Bethlehem
This week we're in Pennsylvania, where Trump won in 2016. Can he win here again? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Feb 1, 2020 • 29min
The world inside
The new frontier of medical science is closer than you think – much closer. It lies within us, in the bacteria and viruses of the gut, and in the mysterious efficacy of faecal transplants.There’s so much hype in health journalism. But the study of the gut microbiome – the universe of bacteria living in our intestine – really is opening up a new age in our understanding of the human body that promises to unlock revolutions in drugs and healthcare, food and nutrition, wellbeing and even happiness.James Harding, editor and co-founder of Tortoise, spoke to James Kinross, a researcher and consultant colorectal surgeon - one of our leading gut scientists Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 30, 2020 • 25min
Coronavirus: is this the one?
One day, the next catastrophic global epidemic will strike. Scientists already know a few things about it: it will probably have crossed the species barrier from animal to human; it’s likely to originate in Asia; it will travel easily from person to person.The coronavirus has all those characteristics but we may be fortunate. The early signs are that it’s not as fatal as some of the viruses responsible for previous pandemics, and the lessons we learned from those outbreaks may help to contain it.In this week’s Tortoise podcast, Basia Cummings looks back at SARS, the last virus which seemed to carry a global threat, and how one doctor’s actions saved countless lives in a country. Her guest is Jeremy Farrar, director of the medical research charity, the Wellcome Trust. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 27, 2020 • 53min
Three women, homeless
We'd like you to meet Toni, Sharon and Nicky. You may have passed them on the street - somebody who listens to this podcast almost certainly will have done. But you won't have met them, any more than most of us really meet women who are homeless and sleeping rough in subways, stations and shop doorways.Audrey Gillan has spent time with all three women, hearing their stories; how they came to be where they are, and what their lives are like. The number of homeless women in the UK has shot up in recent years. The stories that Toni, Sharon and Nicky tell help explain why.You can read more on the Tortoise app, in our multi-part investigation:Three women, homeless InvisibleThe helping handsThe revolving door Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 23, 2020 • 23min
Labour's North Star
The Labour Party in the UK is choosing a new leader. Few people care - after a crushing election defeat, the party has got work to do to make itself interesting again. It's a gloomy picture for Labour, but a surprise candidate is shining through. Could Lisa Nandy be Labour's bright new face? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 16, 2020 • 23min
The man who counts trees
Tom Crowther is a young ecologist who asked a simple question: how many trees are there on planet earth? The answer has changed our understanding of the world, but Crowther's work has provoked a firestorm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 9, 2020 • 26min
The new superpowers: Apple
For months, Tortoise has been investigating big tech companies as if they were countries: holding them to the same standards that we apply to nation states; caring about what they think; understanding what they're planning to do; figuring out who's in charge now, and who might be next.It's been a huge reporting project. In this week's podcast, Basia Cummings talks to two of the Tortoise editors behind it, Alexi Mostrous and James Harding. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
