The Slow Newscast

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 Galizia started looking into a different aspect of the story. One that wasn't getting much attention: Prince Harry’s legal battles with the press. Then in April a new story emerged from that fight. It attracted a brief flurry of interest before seeming to drop out of sight. It was just a line in Prince Harry's court filings, but an extraordinary one: in a sworn statement Prince Harry said that his brother, Prince William, had privately settled his own phone hacking claim with Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers for "a large sum of money". The Palace didn't deny it; nor did News Group. And it suddenly felt like the real story was only just emerging. A story not about Prince Harry but about Prince William, about the wider Royal family, and above all, about secrecy. But once again it’s a story that no-one seems to be going after. 

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If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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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 elevation might be hard to explain, but it tells us volumes about the way British democracy works. 

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If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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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 masters? Killer whales have been attacking - and sometimes sinking - sailboats off the coast of Spain and Portugal. This is the story of the changing relationship between humanity and the world’s biggest predator.

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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 really happened on the road to Moscow.

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If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise attortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

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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 hall in Sheffield, but ends on a journey through a several hundred billion dollar a year black market in south-east Asia. This is how snooker uncovered the biggest British match fixing scandal in over a decade.

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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 nature within it. What can the story of one dying river, plagued by sewage and indifference, and the campaign to save it, teach us about how to reconnect with and value nature?

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In 2017 the MeToo movement swept through Hollywood. Some men, such as Harvey Weinstein, went to prison. Others who were accused of sexual misconduct and assault were ostracised and struggled to find parts in big movies. But six years on some of these same people are back on the red carpets. Is Hollywood trying to rewrite history? 

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 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 life was actually killed? 

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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 small band of genocide hunters caught him in a world riddled with secrets, espionage and a $5 million bounty.

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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 find Boyd and get a conviction? This is the story of Nikki’s mother, Sharon Henderson, who has spent thirty years searching for her daughter’s murderer to have him put on trial.

Today we're publishing this new series so that listeners of the Slow Newscast can listen early but if you like what you hear and you want to listen to episode two straight away just search for 'Three doors down' and head straight to the feed.

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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 one story they think matters most and the editor decides which one should lead the news. In it, we open up the conversations we have all the time in our newsroom about what’s important and why, and what should lead the news. The very kinds of conversations that ultimately decide what stories we tell on the Slow Newscast.

In this episode Basia is joined by Cat Neilan, Claudia Williams and Stephen Armstrong who pitch rising mortgage rates, migrant boats missing in the Atlantic and catastrophic weather in the US.

Follow The News Meeting here so you don't miss future episodes.

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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 deceased son. Her story takes us to the new frontiers of fertility, where technology challenges our ideas of family, motherhood and the law.

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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 was accused of assaulting more than a dozen women over many decades. Why did so many institutions apparently turn a blind eye and do nothing for so long - even though these allegations had trailed him for years? 

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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 him. He was offered a job in the shadowy world of corporate intelligence - he became a spy.

Tasked with working undercover to extract information from an environmental campaign group, Rob Moore says he eventually became sympathetic to the campaigners’ aims. He decided to turn on his employers and support the group he was meant to be infiltrating. Only it wasn’t that straightforward. He never told the campaigners who he really was and he never told his spymasters what he was really doing. Neither side knew the whole truth. 

That was until 2016, when after years of being in control of these two disparate worlds he was unexpectedly outed. Now, the campaigners see him as a traitor who betrayed their trust. He sees himself as a misunderstood whistleblower.

From the team that brought you Sweet Bobby, and over three years in the making, Into The Dirt is a story about truth, spies and the stories we tell ourselves. Today we're publishing this new series so that listeners of the Slow Newscast can listen early but if you like what you hear and you want to listen to episode two straight away just search for Into The Dirt and head to the feed.

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

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Last year journalist Polly Curtis spent months trying to understand what went wrong at the Tavistock’s Gender Identity Development Service for young people. You can hear her Tortoise podcast series: Inside the Tavistock here. In the reporting of that series one thing kept coming up: some young people who couldn’t - for whatever reason - access the Tavistock - the only NHS service in England for young people with gender dysphoria, were going down the private healthcare route. So what happens if a young person follows that path? This is the story of Gender GP and its founder, Helen Webberley, an entrepreneurial doctor from south Wales. 

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Leon Black was the aggressive private equity billionaire at the top of New York society - he also bankrolled Epstein

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After Epstein was dropped by JP Morgan, another bank stepped in to help his sex trafficking empire keep rolling

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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 enabled Jeffrey Epstein to fund and conceal his sex trafficking empire. Tortoise journalist David Taylor investigates what was happening inside the banks as they profited from their relationships with Epstein.

In episode one, we investigate Jes Staley, one of the most powerful men in banking and Jeffrey Epstein’s protector.

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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 future of the House of Lords?

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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 ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

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In February this year, the Telegraph newspaper revealed that Roald Dahl's publisher had “updated” some of his stories for young readers and modern audiences. The news went viral – to some it was the moment the world went mad; to others an exaggerated fuss over nothing. 

But it put the publishing industry in the spotlight, and soon questions were being raised about another, more contemporary author – and known provocateur. David Walliams. In this episode we're asking the question facing publishers around the world: how do you keep a lucrative cultural asset from getting cancelled? 

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism. For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.  

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

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism.

For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

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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 country – and how criminal gangs and flawed political leadership are holding back the world’s efforts to deal with climate change.

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism.

For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

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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 kill UK-based enemies of the regime in Iran. That number is now even higher. Paul Caruana Galizia investigates why Iran wants to silence its critics on the streets of London. 

To listen to episode 2 of the series clickthis link.

Or for early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

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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 and threatened. And the man he blames for this is a British lawyer. This is the story of the UK lawyer facing some of the most serious allegations ever levelled against a member of his profession.

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism.

For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.  

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The European Research Group was once the most consequential faction in the Conservative party, playing a central role in bringing down former prime minister Theresa May and installing Boris Johnson in Number 10. And yet, in a recent test of strength, the Brexit hardliners stumbled. This is the story of what happened to the ERG.

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism.

For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.  

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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 fusion scientists had been seeking for more than half a century. They call it ignition, and it could solve the an energy crisis that’s becoming existential for humanity. This is the story of those precious seconds and the decades leading up to it.

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism.

For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.  

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John Williams Ntwali, one of the last critical journalists in Rwanda, died in suspicious circumstances just before Suella Braverman, the British home secretary, flew in to Kigali to sell the country as a “safe” place to send asylum seekers and migrants.

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism.

For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.  

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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 is funding the ex PM? This is the brand of Boris Johnson.

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism.

For early access and ad-free listening subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.  

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Eight months after his daughter’s wedding to Brooklyn Beckham, billionaire Nelson Peltz filed a lawsuit against two wedding planners demanding a refund. So what happens when you treat a wedding like a billion-dollar business deal? 

Become a Tortoise member for just £60 a year to receive early and ad-free access to all our award-winning audio journalism, as well as our Sensemaker newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown today.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.”

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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 is funding the ex PM? And how does he get to all his exotic holidays?

This is the third episode of a four-part series investigating Boris' finances.

To listen to episodes early, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts where you will also get ad-free listening and exclusive access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows. 

Tortoise is a newsroom devoted to slow journalism. You can join Tortoise as a member for £60 a year.

As a member you’ll also get our newsletters and tickets to live events. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/slowdown.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

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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 stand up for him

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today.

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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’s the story of how that dependence on others sullied him and them. All of which leads to one simple question: just who is funding Boris Johnson? Episode 2 is the story of the enablers.

This is the second episode of a three part series investigating Boris' finances. To listen to episodes three early, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts where you will also get ad-free listening and exclusive access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows. Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. Join our newsroom as a member, for access to all of our audio and written journalism and invitations to exclusive events. Clickhereto join for just £5 a month.

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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 journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today.

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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’s the story of how that dependence on others sullied him and them. All of which leads to one simple question: just who is funding Boris Johnson?

This is the first episode of a four part series investigating Boris' finances. To listen to episodes two and three early, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts where you will also get ad-free listening and exclusive access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows. Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. Join our newsroom as a member, for access to all of our audio and written journalism and invitations to exclusive events. Clickhereto join for just £5 a month.

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Warning: This episode describes domestic abuse and a death by falling.

When a woman falls out of a window, on an estate that’s been abandoned by the council, how do you find out what really happened? And who do you believe? 

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today.

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First they were known as the “little green men”, an anonymous private Russian force appearing first in Crimea, then Syria, then in central Africa. Now, they are on the frontline of Putin’s war in Ukraine. Just how powerful is the Wagner Group and their increasingly vocal founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin?

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.

Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today. 

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The Harry show – the bestselling memoir, the Netflix documentary, the rounds of television interviews – isn’t over. In fact, it’s only just begun: the prince’s legal claims against Britain’s biggest media groups are headed to court this summer

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.

Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today. 

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Following a brutal killing in north London in 2016, two innocent men, Patryk and Grzegorz, who had just arrived from Poland, were handed a life sentence for a murder they didn’t commit. This is the story of a remarkable miscarriage of justice, and a feeble effort by the law to correct itself.

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.

Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today. 

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What do you do when your children are taken away by your ex-partner? Who do you call for help? And how do you get them back?

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.

Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today. 

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The Christian Legal Centre is behind some of the most tragic cases in the British courts helping parents fight against hospitals in life support cases. Who are they – and what do they want?

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. To access more of our journalism and get invites to exclusive events you can join Tortoise as a member.

Visit www.tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow60 for a special offer today. 

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Introducing: 'Real Money: The hunt for Tether's billions'. To listen to episode two of the series, click this link.

The dream of cryptocurrencies is in danger of imploding along with their value. If the crypto coin that supports the whole market goes under it could drag the entire system down with it. That coin is called Tether. 

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Introducing...The News Meeting from Podimo and Tortoise.

In every newsroom around the world there’s a daily meeting to decide what leads the news, what follows and in what order. As editor of The Times newspaper, director of BBC News and now editor-in-chief of Tortoise, James Harding has been in countless news meetings behind closed doors. But in this podcast, we’re flinging the doors open so you can hear the argument for yourself. Three journalists pitch the story they think mattered most this week and James decides the running order.

New episodes are released every Friday.

Follow The News Meetingwherever you get your podcasts

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Over £183 million of outside funds has flowed into this parliament alone, with no way of fully understanding who’s getting what, from whom, and why. Until now. This is the story of the money flowing into our politics, hidden in plain sight.

To explore The Westminster Accounts tool click on this link.

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Nasa wants to put people back on the moon, half a century after Apollo 11. Its Artemis moon mission is over-budget, overhyped and underpowered – it might even be the end of Nasa as we know it.

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One sleuth, two notebooks – and a 20-year puzzle

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Door after door in Britain has been opened for Evgeny Lebedev, all the way to the House of Lords. Who has opened them, and why?

To listen to the 'Londongrad' series follow this link.

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The inside story of a troubled company that was bought by the world’s richest man.

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One of Britain’s richest and most powerful men was cleared of sexual assault last year. Four more women have now come forward with similar allegations that Crispin Odey, a major donor to the Conservative party, sexually assaulted them. Other women allege that he sexually harassed them at the offices of his Mayfair hedge fund company.

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Introducing – The Tavistock: inside the gender clinic.

In a few months, the Tavistock – the only NHS clinic in England and Wales which treats children suffering from gender dysphoria – will close. This is the story of what happened.

This is episode 1 of our new investigative series. To listen to episode 2 today, search The Tavistock: inside the gender clinic or click here: https://podfollow.com/the-tavistock-inside-the-gender-clinic and follow the feed for future episodes 

You can listen to the first three episodes now ad-free and get access to exclusive bonus content coming soon by subscribing to Tortoise+ on Apple podcasts or joining Tortoise as a member. Just visit the Tortoise website and use the code BASIA50 for half price membership.

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One of Britain’s biggest trade unions has built a hotel in Birmingham at vast cost. Following the threads which explain why it became so wildly expensive leads inevitably to a surprising place: to Liverpool. And to questions which could hurt the Labour party.

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Big money and bad science: what happens when science and medical research meet Wall Street?

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The story of one man, fighting to his last breath, to reveal the darkness that lies behind this year’s UN Climate Change Conference.

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The inside story of how the shortest premiership in British history came to an end

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More than 60 years after the development of the contraceptive pill for women, we still don’t have an equivalent for men. Why?

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Introducing Pig Iron: five years after his death on a distant frontline in South Sudan, the truth about what happened to Christopher Allen is still a mystery. Was he a reckless freelancer? A mercenary? Or a young and ambitious reporter, caught in the crossfire? Approached by a family member looking for answers, Basia Cummings begins investigating.

This is the first episode in the six part series 'Pig Iron'. To listen to the remaining episodes as they drop weekly, click on this link: https://torto.se/3CObDng

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What happened in the 17 days between Kwasi Kwarteng becoming chancellor, sacking the Treasury’s top civil servant, and his fiscal event which crashed the British economy?

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What happened when social media platforms banned Andrew Tate, whose misogyny netted him a fortune and millions of online followers?

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When the premier of the British Virgin Islands was arrested in a drugs sting in Miami, what did British government officials know about the operation?

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No war crime is ever inevitable, but it’s possible to make one likely. Russia did exactly that before 53 prisoners of war burned to death at Olenivka.

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Richard Lambert talks to one of the UK’s foremost constitutional experts about the state of the monarchy.

If you'd like to read and listen to more of Tortoise's reporting on the Queen, including photo galleries, an obituary by Matthew d’Ancona and daily reporting on a country turning on a hinge of history, visit tortoisemedia.com/thesecondelizabethanage

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Richard Lambert examines how the Queen navigated the world of international politics as head of state and head of the Commonwealth.

If you'd like to read and listen to more of Tortoise's reporting on the Queen, including photo galleries, an obituary by Matthew d’Ancona and daily reporting on a country turning on a hinge of history, visit tortoisemedia.com/thesecondelizabethanage 

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Richard Lambert charts the evolving relationship between the Queen, politicians and her Prime Ministers during her reign.

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When the Queen came to the throne the media was deferential to the 27-year-old monarch and her family. But in the 1960s that began to change. Richard Lambert maps the sometimes fractious relationship between the Queen and the press.

If you'd like to read and listen to more of Tortoise's reporting on the Queen, including photo galleries, an obituary by Matthew d’Ancona and daily reporting on a country turning on a hinge of history, visit tortoisemedia.com/thesecondelizabethanage 

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Richard Lambert assesses the Queen's strengths and weaknesses as a monarch. 

If you'd like to read and listen to more of Tortoise's reporting on the Queen, including photo galleries, an obituary by Matthew d’Ancona and daily reporting on a country turning on a hinge of history, visit tortoisemedia.com

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Richard Lambert recalls the excitement at the start of the second Elizabethan age. In 1953 Britain was a deferential society and adulation of the Queen was the order of the day.  

Listen here: https://podfollow.com/the-second-elizabethan-age

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Desiree Fixler was a high-flyer in the world of finance until she raised questions about whether sustainable investing is living up to its promise. Her decision to speak out had huge consequences.

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Peter Cruddas is a self-made billionaire, a Conservative party donor and now, a Lord. His rise reveals a lot about Boris Johnson’s battle with parliament.

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More than a year after Myanmar fell to a military coup, Ali Fowle investigates the growing resistance movement. Is there hope of a different future?

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The making of the modern Home Office

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Last year, as women accused Pornhub of profiting from their abuse, we tracked down its intensely secretive owner. This week, we’re looking back to find out: what happened next?

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When a video of a woman chained to a wall went viral in China, it ignited a battle for the truth between the people and the state.

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The fallout from the Supreme Court’s decision to reverse abortion rights is reverberating across America. Arguably nowhere more so than in South Bend, Indiana, a small city in the heart of the Midwest.

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Last summer our three-part podcast Left To Die told the harrowing story of 200 civilians trapped in a hotel in Mozambique under siege by violent extremists. This week, we’re looking back to find out: what happened next?

To listen to the full series, click here: https://podfollow.com/1575743851

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A former KGB officer, Britain’s foreign secretary – and a potential national security breach.

Listen to Londongrad, Paul Caruana Galizia's 6-part series investigating the influence of Russian oligarchs at the heart of UK government, business and media: https://podfollow.com/1625862285

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One sleuth, two notebooks – and a 20-year mystery.

Listen to Life, Changing, a new series from Tortoise and the Nuffield Foundation: https://podfollow.com/1631138421

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A tiny Gulf state has bought up some of Britain’s prized assets. But at what cost?

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When China opened up to the West, Hollywood saw a massive opportunity. But China had its own dreams. Now the movie studios are beginning to realise what they gave away

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Britain’s harsh welcome for refugees – and what happened when the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was tried before

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Every day more cracks emerge in the political system that guarantees the freedoms Britons hold dear. How do we stop it shattering?

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How the Lebedevs partied their way to power is a 6 part series investigating two men - who are at the heart of the story of Britain opening its doors to Russian oligarchs. Alexander Lebedev is a former KGB officer. He’s the man with the money and - as we’ll see - with the plan. Alexander’s son, Evgeny, rose from a fixture on the social scene to a seat in the House of Lords. He did it with Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s help and against the advice of the security services. There’s never been a story quite like it.

To access the first 3 episodes now subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise as a member. Visit tortoisemedia.com/londongrad and use the code Paul50 for half price membership for £50 per year.

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How many more Child Qs are there? How many children are strip-searched by the police and who are they? Patricia Clarke and Claudia Williams investigate

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The Ukrainian port normally feeds the world, but the Russian invasion means nothing is getting out. Can we reopen the port – or will millions starve?

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Who is the real Stormy Daniels? Hattie Garlick meets arguably one of America’s most misunderstood and misrepresented women

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How did Rishi Sunak go from one of the most popular members of the government to one of the least in a matter of days? Matthew d’Ancona pieces together what happened.

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. We take news slowly. We tell stories that really matter, and take time to see the full picture.

If you want more slow and considered journalism, you can become a member of Tortoise and get access to more of our stories, contribute to our journalism and join us at events in our newsroom, in person and online. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow50 for membership for just £50 per year. 

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Today we are sharing an episode of Tortoise's new podcast series: The Backstory with Andrew Neil. This week Andrew talks to Fiona Hill, former director for Europe and Russia at the US National Security Council, about Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump, and her journey from the North East of England to the White House.

Click here https://podfollow.com/the-backstory-with-andrew-neil to follow The Backstory wherever you get your podcasts for a new episode every Tuesday.

For access every Friday to a bonus episode: Inside the Interview, where Andrew reflects on the conversations he has with his guests, subscribe to Tortoise on Apple Podcasts, or join Tortoise as a member to get this, plus access to more of our journalism and invites to exclusive events. For a year's half price digital membership for £50 go to tortoisemedia.com/andrew and enter the code AndrewNeil50.

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Two atrocities in the port city of Mariupol epitomise Russia’s violence in Ukraine. This is the story of those atrocities and of Mariupol’s truth

With special thanks to Konstantin Korobov and Nina Kuryata for their help in reporting this story.

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. We take news slowly. We tell stories that really matter, and take time to see the full picture.

If you want more slow and considered journalism, you can become a member of Tortoise and get access to more of our stories, contribute to our journalism and join us at events in our newsroom, in person and online. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow50 for membership for just £50 per year. 

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What happens when a museum possesses a group of objects so sacred that they can never be seen in public or studied in private – and the original owners want them back?

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The days of the Russian oligarch in London are numbered. What fate awaits the enablers – those well-connected people who worked for and provided services to wealthy Russians? This is the story of one of them

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. We take news slowly. We tell stories that really matter, and take time to see the full picture.

If you want more slow and considered journalism, you can become a member of Tortoise and get access to more of our stories, contribute to our journalism and join us at events in our newsroom, in person and online. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow50 for membership for just £50 per year. 

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Twenty-seven women fell in suspicious circumstances. Seventeen died. Often, in the shadow of their fall, was a man. What if they didn’t fall. What if they were pushed?

Warning: This episode contains some upsetting content around the issues of domestic violence, sexual violence and homicide.

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. We take news slowly. We tell stories that really matter, and take time to see the full picture.

If you want more slow and considered journalism, you can become a member of Tortoise and get access to more of our stories, contribute to our journalism and join us at events in our newsroom, in person and online. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow50 for membership for just £50 per year. 

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What does the story of Alexei Navalny and wife Yulia Navalnaya tell us about Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the state of opposition?

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. We take news slowly. We tell stories that really matter, and take time to see the full picture.

If you want more slow and considered journalism, you can become a member of Tortoise and get access to more of our stories, contribute to our journalism and join us at events in our newsroom, in person and online. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow50 for membership for just £50 per year. 

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Imagine being blind but thanks to the wonders of technology being able to see again. How would you then feel if that sight was taken away?

Tortoise is a news start-up devoted to slow journalism. We take news slowly. We tell stories that really matter, and take time to see the full picture.

If you want more slow and considered journalism, you can become a member of Tortoise and get access to more of our stories, contribute to our journalism and join us at events in our newsroom, in person and online. Just go to tortoisemedia.com/friend and use the code Slow50 for membership for just £50 per year. 

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Political wisdom says the Russian invasion of Ukraine saved Boris Johnson’s skin. But the really successful operation to rescue the prime minister started long before and involved three men who you've probably never heard of.

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We thought the Russians were masters of the information war; that they’d sweep Ukraine aside. It's not turning out that way.

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Door after door in Britain has been opened for Evgeny Lebedev, all the way to a seat in the House of Lords. Who has opened the doors, and why?

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The ‘epidemic’ of spiking with needles in clubs and at parties in autumn 2021 revealed something important about women’s lives in Britain. But it wasn’t what we thought.

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The brilliance of populist politicians often lies in creating subtle dividing lines on apparently innocuous issues. What could be more innocuous than yoga? But India’s prime minister Narendra Modi – arguably the world’s most successful populist – has seized hold of yoga and weaponised it. In this week’s Slow Newscast, Warrior Pose, Claudia Williams reports on how a harmless pursuit has been transformed into a political wedge.  

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In a courtroom in west Germany, a man called Anwar Raslan stands accused of torturing Syrian civilians. He faces life in prison. But why does Germany care? These were far-away crimes. The answer lies in a remarkable story about the idea of justice.

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