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.
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- Update frequency
- every 5 days
- Average duration
- 38 minutes
- Episodes
- 353
- Years Active
- 2019 - 2025
The Good Soldier: Killings and cover-up in Afghanistan
The British army has never faced more serious allegations of wrongdoing; that the SAS committed multiple war crimes in Afghanistan. A public inquiry is beginning to reveal a troubling picture of UK s…
The Sacklers: Getting away with it
The Sackler family made billions from the opioid painkiller OxyContin, which played a significant part in the opioid epidemic. The Sacklers have been blamed for fuelling the crisis, but have they rea…
Panic in the Boardroom
A year ago the Confederation of British Industry was at the centre of a media storm and a crisis at the organisation quickly ensued. Members left in droves, dozens of staff lost their jobs, board mem…
Brace, brace: Boeing's hard landing
Boeing once ruled the skies. Now they find themselves in the middle of a scandal, without public trust and their reputation in free-fall. This is the story of where it all went wrong.
To find out mor…
Zaporizhzhia: Ukraine's nuclear front
In the early days of the invasion, Russia took over Europe's biggest nuclear power station. For two years, Zaporizhzhia's nuclear plant has been under Russian control, and while a nuclear crisis has …
Hong Kong's billionaire rebel
At his height Jimmy Lai was a newspaper owner and tycoon who loved to cause trouble. But he’s been behind bars for more than a thousand days with no end in sight. The Hong Kong authorities, assisted …
Putin's murders: The full Stalin - episode 3
Shortly before Vladimir Putin was reelected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in an Arctic labour camp. The de…
Putin's murders: Follow the money - episode 2
Shortly before Vladimir Putin was reelected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in an Arctic labour camp. The de…
Putin's murders: A culture of political murder - episode 1
Shortly before Vladimir Putin was re-elected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in an Arctic labour camp. The d…
Dangerous games: Red Bull's killer PR
The energy drink company has built a billion-dollar brand promoting extreme sports like BASE jumping. Who’s responsible when it goes wrong?
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The State of Netanyahu: The Failure - episode 3
Benjamin Netanyahu has arguably shaped his country's image more than anyone else in the world. But his actions have put at risk Israel's relationship with its closest allies and potential partners fo…
The State of Netanyahu: The Magician - episode 2
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Benjamin Netanyahu has arguably shaped his country's image more than anyone else in the world. But his actions have put at risk Israel's relation…
The State of Netanyahu: Mr Right - episode 1
To get the full series now, download the Tortoise app.
Benjamin Netanyahu has arguably shaped his country's image more than anyone else in the world. But his actions have put at risk Israel's relation…
Broking Bad
Modern brokerage firms in the City are an echo of another age. Not just because they still rely on people - rather than technology - to facilitate trade, but also because they have never shaken off t…
Anna Wintour: The last Editor
Anna Wintour is one of the most important people in fashion. She is arguably one of the world's most influential and powerful people. A brand in her own right. But aged 74 and tasked with saving a gl…
Who Trolled Amber?
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What comes to mind when you think of Amber Heard? Liar? Survivor? Narcissist? Mil…
A hidden hell: the prison for children
In a town in Kent, there is a place where vulnerable and volatile boys are locked away for "days on end", where weapons are widespread and living conditions are dire. All on the government's watch. T…
The trials of Alexei Navalny
This episode was first published in March 2022.
In early 2021 Alexei Navalny and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya returned to Russia where a year earlier he had been poisoned with Novichok nerve agent. It …
Ackman: A billionaire’s war on woke
Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, campaigned successfully to topple Harvard’s first black leader, Claudine Gay, in a row over anti-semitism. But his mission is much grander, he’s spearhe…
Marked men
When a man in Birmingham died unexpectedly last year, a question was asked: was he assassinated? At first, it sounds unbelievable, but as the story unfolds the answer becomes less clear and the world…