Chloe Hadjimatheou

It's Miranda Sawyer here, and we are crashing in to tell you about the latest episode of the Observer's Culture podcast, We Have Notes.

Awards season is in full swing, but all the films are about fatherhood.

So this week we talk about why Hollywood is so obsessed with dads.

And we get into the behind-the-scene drama of the Salt Path scandal investigation with the Observer journalist that started it all, Chloe Hadjimotheo.

To catch up on everything we chatted about this week, search for We Have Notes wherever you get your podcasts.

You've entered the car park for your destination.

2025 was a weird year for me.

Most of it was spent following one tip-off.

I get a lot of these tip-offs working in investigations, and I can tell you they rarely lead to a story.

They hardly ever pan out.

But this one, the one that came to me last spring, was different.

It's taken me from Wales to Cornwall to France, and then a few months ago... On a sunny October afternoon, I found myself parking up a few hours' drive from London...

So we've just pulled in to a service station off the motorway in Gloucester.

It all feels very deep throat and secret squirrel.

I was there to meet a source.

They are extremely nervous about talking to me.

So at the moment, this is all on background and completely off the record.

And I can't even say who they are.

All this secrecy for a story about a book...

The tip-off that started the ball rolling on this whole thing was from a stranger who messaged me on Instagram.