The Slow Newscast

The Greatest: Simone Biles

23 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

She is arguably the best gymnast the world has ever seen. But history shows us that she’s human too. Will Simone Biles fly at the Paris Olympics or ...

The end of Brexit

16 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Labour have pledged to make the UK the fastest growing economy in the G7. So is this the end of Brexit?To find out more about Tortoise:Download the To...

Dangerous Memories

09 Jul 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To listen to Dangerous Memories, search for Tortoise Investigates wherever you get your podcasts.When Sarah watched her 23 year old daughter cycle awa...

Taking the stand: Emma's story

27 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two reports of rape. Two criminal trials. Two not guilty verdicts. Two men, cleared. Two women – torn apart. A Tortoise investigation has heard how ...

Taking the stand: Grace's story

25 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Two reports of rape. Two criminal trials. Two not guilty verdicts. Two men, cleared. Two women – torn apart. A Tortoise investigation has heard how ...

Frank Hester: Tory Northern diamond

18 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Frank Hester has given the largest donations to the Conservative party in history. Even with the party's popularity at rock bottom with the public, on...

Crushed! Apple's Big Brother moment

11 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Apple’s latest advert was a disaster. What does it tell us about the company’s future under Tim Cook – and about the relationship between the pe...

Sunak's summer shower

04 Jun 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Rishi Sunak and the Conservative party are far behind in the polls. There are no good options for Rishi Sunak to call an early election, so why now? T...

Word for word: Trump on trial - episode 5

31 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is the first former US president to be convicted of a crime.In a special one-off, we will be sharing our new series Word for Word: Trump ...

Word for word: Trump on trial - episode 4

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is the first former US president to face a criminal trial. He is accused of falsifying his business records by saying a hush money paymen...

Word for word: Trump on trial – episode 3

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is the first former US president to face a criminal trial. He is accused of falsifying his business records by saying a hush money paymen...

Word for word: Trump on trial – episode 2

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is the first former US president to face a criminal trial. He is accused of falsifying his business records by saying a hush money paymen...

Word for word: Trump on trial - episode 1

30 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is the first former US president to face a criminal trial. He is accused of falsifying his business records by saying a hush money paymen...

The Gas Man

28 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To listen to the Gas Man, search for Tortoise Investigates wherever you get your podcasts. It starts with a tip-off. It’s the late 1980s and US...

Introducing... What's wrong with democracy?

22 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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....

The Good Soldier: Killings and cover-up in Afghanistan

21 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The British army has never faced more serious allegations of wrongdoing; that the SAS committed multiple war crimes in Afghanistan. A public inquiry i...

The Sacklers: Getting away with it

14 May 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Sackler family made billions from the opioid painkiller OxyContin, which played a significant part in the opioid epidemic. The Sacklers have been ...

Panic in the Boardroom

30 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 d...

Brace, brace: Boeing's hard landing

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 i...

Zaporizhzhia: Ukraine's nuclear front

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Hong Kong's billionaire rebel

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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...

Putin's murders: The full Stalin - episode 3

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shortly before Vladimir Putin was reelected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, ...

Putin's murders: Follow the money - episode 2

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Shortly before Vladimir Putin was reelected for a fifth term as Russia’s president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, ...

Putin's murders: A culture of political murder - episode 1

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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,...

Dangerous games: Red Bull's killer PR

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The energy drink company has built a billion-dollar brand promoting extreme sports like BASE jumping. Who’s responsible when it goes wrong?To find o...

The State of Netanyahu: The Failure - episode 3

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 ...

The State of Netanyahu: The Magician - episode 2

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. B...

The State of Netanyahu: Mr Right - episode 1

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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. B...

Broking Bad

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 tra...

Anna Wintour: The last Editor

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 o...

Who Trolled Amber?

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

To listen to episode two follow the Tortoise Investigates feed. To get the full series now, download the Tortoise app.What comes to mind when you thin...

A hidden hell: the prison for children

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 cond...

The trials of Alexei Navalny

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This episode was first published in March 2022.  In early 2021 Alexei Navalny and his wife, Yulia Navalnaya returned to Russia where a year ...

Ackman: A billionaire’s war on woke

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Ackman, a billionaire hedge fund manager, campaigned successfully to topple Harvard’s first black leader, Claudine Gay, in a row over anti-semi...

Marked men

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

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 un...

Betrayal: Alex and Nicola - episode 2

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The two most charismatic leaders in a generation took Scotland to the brink of independence. But when Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon's powerful part...

Betrayal: Alex and Nicola

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The two most charismatic leaders in a generation took Scotland to the brink of independence. But when Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon's powerful part...

Murdoch: The other hacking story

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Caruana Galizia investigates a new dimension to the phone hacking story; allegations that Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group hacked phones not fo...

From Lizzo to Beckham: My life according to… Me

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

From Harry and Meghan to David Beckham and Lizzo, our TV screens are awash with celebrity documentaries like never before. But what story are they tel...

The Biden Operation

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It may be a re-fight of the 2020 elections, but in this year's US presidential elections, the stakes feel much higher. And that's got a lot of Democra...

Eight years hard Labour: episode 6 - Do you really want to go out on a knight like this?

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Corbyn’s time as Labour leader is up. The party faces an uphill battle to mount a credible challenge to the Conservative majority at the next...

Eight years hard Labour: episode 5 - The Revolution Defeated

05 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Parliament can’t find a way through the Brexit labyrinth. Jeremy Corbyn’s position is as muddy as ever. Keir Starmer, now Shadow Brexit Secretary,...

Eight years hard Labour: episode 4 - Jeremy and the Jews

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

An old Facebook comment from Jeremy Corbyn resurfaces. The Labour leader is forced to to explain why he publicly supported a graffiti artist accu...

Eight years hard Labour: episode 3 - Oh Jeremy Corbyn

04 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Jeremy Corbyn faces an unexpected general election, called by Theresa May. Against the odds Labour does better than expected, although it’s still no...

Eight years hard Labour: episode 2 - The chicken coup

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Murmurings of discontent grow among some Labour MPs. The blame the Brexit referendum result on Jeremy Corbyn’s half hearted campaigning efforts. The...

Eight years hard Labour: episode 1 - Jez we can

03 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In 2015 Labour is back in opposition after another election defeat. The party needs a new leader. It chooses Jeremy Corbyn, a long serving left-wing M...

Motherland

02 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The story of motherhood is strangely absent from a lot of literature. After her own experience of childbirth, Catherine Nixey takes on millennia of ca...

The poet's window

26 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Arifa Akbar lost her sister far too young. She died from a 19th century illness in a 21st century hospital. Arifa’s journey through grief takes her ...

Helen versus Sam: The battle for OpenAI

19 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner calls herself an “effective altruist”. That philosophical movement fuelled the firing and rehiring of Sam A...

Assad: The rubble king

12 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

President Assad has won the war in Syria and to consolidate his power he’s demolishing opposition neighbourhoods in order to create a shiny new Syri...

Unforgivable: Boris Johnson and Covid’s second wave

04 Dec 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From the middle of Sep 2020 to the end of October, Boris Johnson’s government dithered and delayed the decision over a second national lockdown. Thi...

Eight years' hard Labour

28 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is the inside story of two revolutions in the Labour party in eight short years. From the takeover by the far left under Jeremy Corbyn to the ele...

Walter's War: An English gentleman

21 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

To listen to the full series subscribe to the Tortoise Investigates feed.It’s London, 2012. Oliver is a dashing diplomat. Charlie is a young graduat...

Sneakered: Adidas, Yeezy & Kanye

14 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The deal between Kanye West and Adidas was no ordinary celebrity endorsement. Now under renewed scrutiny after West’s outrageous behaviour, how can ...

The lottery winner

07 Nov 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Paul Caruana Galizia investigates how a lucrative contract to run the UK’s National Lottery was awarded to a company whose Czech billionaire owner r...

The shadow: Hamas's hidden commander

31 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Mohammed Deif – thought to be the mastermind behind Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7th - hasn’t been seen for 20 years and no one’s even s...

Dr Anti-Vax: The fall

24 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A British doctor sparks a global health panic about the safety of vaccines. But even though his work is discredited, he lights a fire that becomes the...

Mr Right: Paul Marshall and the battle for The Telegraph

17 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The Telegraph is for sale for the first time in a generation. The new owner will become one of the most influential people on the right in Britain. Wh...

Killer mountain: Abandoned on K2

10 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

It’s been a dangerous year in the world of extreme mountaineering. Has the focus on record-breaking gone too far?For the premium Tortoise listening ...

Trump and Rudy: A bare-knuckle romance - episode 3

06 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was “America’s mayor”. Now he’s been indicted, along with Donald Trump, for allegedly attempting to overturn t...

Trump and Rudy: A bare-knuckle romance - episode 2

05 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was “America’s mayor”. Now he’s been indicted, along with Donald Trump, for allegedly attempting to overturn t...

Trump and Rudy: A bare-knuckle romance - episode 1

02 Oct 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was “America’s mayor”. Now he’s been indicted, along with Donald Trump, for allegedly attempting to overturn t...

Blue light: one woman's story of policing on the frontline

26 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For years, Claire McEnery was the most senior woman in the Lancashire police force. With that seniority came exposure to the best – and worst – of...

Introducing... Trendy

21 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Welcome to Trendy, the new weekly show from Tortoise.Britain’s top pollster, Sir John Curtice, and former Downing Street advisor, Rachel Wolf, explo...

William and Murdoch: the prince and the press baron

19 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this year, when the media went into a frenzy about the rift between the royal brothers and the publication of Harry's book Spare Paul Caruana ...

Boris’s Baroness: The mysterious rise of Charlotte Owen

12 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

From intern to baroness in seven years, Charlotte Owen’s entry to the House of Lords has left even friends scratching their heads in wonder. Her ele...

Attack of the Killer Whales

05 Sep 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Humans think of themselves as the world’s apex predator. But what happens when another powerful carnivore threatens us in a place where they are the...

Putin v Prigozhin: A story of mutiny and death

29 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In late June, Yevgeny Prigozhin marched on Moscow with a small army of mercenaries. Exactly two months later, he was dead. This is the story of what r...

Spotted: snooker’s fight against match fixing

22 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In June a scandal erupted that threatened the future of snooker after ten elite players were banned for match fixing. It all starts in a small snooker...

Sick river: saving the Brent

15 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Cities are where the battle to save planet earth will be won and lost. But it is not the urban environment that matters, but our relationship with nat...

Johnny Depp: the great uncancelling

08 Aug 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2017 the MeToo movement swept through Hollywood. Some men, such as Harvey Weinstein, went to prison. Others who were accused of sexual misconduct a...

The death of Kellie Sutton

31 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

 A family's six-year fight for a pioneering legal decision. Will an inquest jury conclude, for the first time, that a woman who took her own...

Genocide hunters: on the trail of a mass murderer

25 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For almost three decades, one of the world's most wanted men had stayed at large. Earlier this year, he was finally caught. This is the story of how a...

Three doors down

18 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In May this year David Boyd was found guilty of the brutal murder of seven year-old Nikki Allan in 1992. Why did it take the police thirty years to fi...

The News Meeting with Basia

14 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Slow Newscast host Basia Cummings is in the editor's chair for this episode of The News Meeting. The podcast where three journalists each pitch the on...

Modern family: I had my dead son’s baby at 68

11 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Spanish celebrity Ana Obregón shocked the world when she announced that she had a child via surrogate, using a donor egg and the sperm of her decease...

Crispin Odey: The Octopus’s world

04 Jul 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Crispin Odey was one of the most powerful hedge funders in London.  He’s been dismissed from his own company which is being wound up after he w...

Into The Dirt

27 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Rob Moore had a successful career in television until one day he ran out of ideas. After a stint as a gardener, a more enticing door was opened for hi...

Gender GP: inside the world of private trans healthcare

20 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Last year journalist Polly Curtis spent months trying to understand what went wrong at the Tavistock’s Gender Identity Development Service for young...

Epstein's moneymen episode 4: the prey

19 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Bill Gates was the golden philanthropist at the top of the billionaire's league - he was also Epstein's way back into societyFor the premium Tort...

Epstein's moneymen episode 3: master of the universe

16 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Leon Black was the aggressive private equity billionaire at the top of New York society - he also bankrolled EpsteinFor the premium Tortoise list...

Epstein's moneymen episode 2: eyes wide open

15 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

After Epstein was dropped by JP Morgan, another bank stepped in to help his sex trafficking empire keep rollingFor the premium Tortoise listening...

Epstein's moneymen episode 1: the man in the hot tub

13 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Introducing our new four part series: Epstein's moneymen. A new wave of lawsuits is building against the banks and bankers who are alleged to have ena...

Boris Johnson: The Dishonours List

06 Jun 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson is not a man who has much care for institutions or conventions. So what does his forthcoming resignations honours list mean for the futu...

The 31: Ukraine’s stolen children

30 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Why is the Kremlin forcibly deporting tens of thousands of children to Russia?Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism. For early access and ...

Beastly: The stories of David Walliams

23 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In February this year, the Telegraph newspaper revealed that Roald Dahl's publisher had “updated” some of his stories for young readers and modern...

Children locked away: Britain's modern bedlam

16 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

A new Tortoise investigation into how the country’s most distressed and vulnerable children are being abandoned by the state.Tortoise is a newsroom ...

Blackout: Coal, corruption and cyanide

09 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

South Africa was once a symbol of hope. Now the country experiences regular blackouts. This is the story of how the lights went out in Mandela’s cou...

Londongrad: Iran’s Hit Squads

02 May 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Towards the end of last year the Director General of MI5, Ken McCallum, warned that the security services knew of at least ten attempts to kidnap or k...

Rogue Lawyer: Power, money and a scandal at a London law firm

25 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In 2014, a Jordanian man was imprisoned in a prison in Ras Al Khaimah, the northernmost Emirate in the UAE. He alleges he has been illegally detained ...

Yesterday's Men: The Brexit hardliners' last stand

18 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

The European Research Group was once the most consequential faction in the Conservative party, playing a central role in bringing down former prime mi...

Ignition: The quest for nuclear fusion

11 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

In the early hours of the morning of the 5 December 2022, a shot – a pulse – was fired that could save the world. It was a shot that achieved what...

Safe country: A death, and a deal, in Rwanda

04 Apr 2023

Contributed by Lukas

John Williams Ntwali, one of the last critical journalists in Rwanda, died in suspicious circumstances just before Suella Braverman, the British home ...

Boris Johnson: The six million pound man episode 4

30 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson seems incapable of living within his means – but talented beyond measure at finding people to help him live beyond them. So just who i...

Boris Johnson: The six million pound man episode 3

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Boris Johnson seems incapable of living within his means – but talented beyond measure at finding people to help him live beyond them. So just who i...

Boris Johnson: The six million pound man episode 2

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of a politician incapable of living within his means but talented beyond measure at finding people to help him live beyond them. It’...

Boris Johnson: The six million pound man episode 1

29 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of a politician incapable of living within his means but talented beyond measure at finding people to help him live beyond them. It’...

Peltz-Beckham: A super-wedding gone wrong

28 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

Eight months after his daughter’s wedding to Brooklyn Beckham, billionaire Nelson Peltz filed a lawsuit against two wedding planners demanding a ref...

Detained in Modi’s India: A British citizen’s story

21 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

For five years a British citizen has been locked up in an Indian prison, and the British state hasn’t been willing – or not strong enough – to s...

Rupert Murdoch: News vs the truth

14 Mar 2023

Contributed by Lukas

What happened inside Fox News in those critical weeks following Donald Trump’s election defeat in 2020?Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow j...