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The Slow Newscast — News
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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Recipes for every occasion

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Copyright: © 2019-2020 Tortoise Media

Latest Episodes:

Lively vs Baldoni: Inside Hollywood’s PR machine May 12, 2026

Show notes

Blake Lively’s legal action against Justin Baldoni was settled just two weeks before it was due to go to trial. But the legal documents filed by both sides reveal something darker than a celebrity feud; a new troubling PR playbook.

Reporting: Stephen Armstrong and Casey Magloire.

Producers: Casey Magloire and Katie Gunning.

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Clips credits;

ITV news

Vogue

New York Times

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How could the elections define the UK? May 07, 2026

Show notes

The elections look set to create ominous headlines for Labour. In the locals they could see massive losses across the country. But in Wales and Scotland voters go to the polls to determine who will run the Senedd and Holyrood. It means the results might not just determine Keir Starmer’s future, but the future of the United Kingdom.

Observer editor-in-chief James Harding sits down with political editor Rachel Sylvester to unpack what the elections could mean for Keir Starmer, Labour and the United Kingdom.

Producer: Amalie Sortland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Djokovic in exile May 05, 2026

Show notes

Novak Djokovic has long been Serbia’s most successful athlete, and perhaps most famous citizen. But as political conflicts such as youth protests have fractured the country, the tennis superstar has found himself on the outside of a regime and a country who once heralded him.

Reporters: Francisco Garcia and Camilla Bell - Davies

Producer: Madeleine Parr

Artwork: Harmony Closs

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Clip Credits: Tennis Channel, The Telegraph

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A mother's loss: The case of Tarryn Baird Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

Alexi is joined by the Observer's national news editor, Claudia Williams to discuss the case of Tarryn Baird. Last week, her husband, Christopher Trybus was cleared of driving her to kill herself. Where does a grieving mother who spent 10 years searching for answers go from here?

Host: Alexi Mostrous

Guest: Claudia Williams

Producer: Ada Barumé

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Freud’s missing Bacon Apr 28, 2026

Show notes

In 1988, a painting by Lucian Freud of his one-time friend Francis Bacon was stolen from a Berlin art gallery. It’s now worth £20 million. This week, Steve Smith goes in search of the lost art.

Reporter: Steve Smith

Producer: Ada Barumé

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can Starmer survive the Mandelson fallout? Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

This week, there’s one story dominating the headlines: the Peter Mandelson scandal and whether it spells the end for Keir Starmer’s troubled premiership. What does this episode tell us about Starmer himself and why has the Epstein scandal had so much political impact in the UK?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten to midnight: Iran's nuclear arms race Apr 21, 2026

Show notes

According to United States and Israel, there's 460 kilograms of enriched uranium that Iran are just ten days away from turning into weapons grade nuclear bomb material. The story of Iran's nuclear arms race is less clear than they make it appear though. It's a tale of espionage, assassinations, and a high-stakes game of bluff.

Credits:

Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Matt Russell

Sound Design - Dominic Delargy

Artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Editor - Jasper Corbett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is this the end of Orban's influence? Apr 16, 2026

Show notes

After sixteen years of rule in Hungary, Viktor Orbán has been voted out of office. But in that time, he’s built a deep-rooted network of soft power through think-tanks, universities and media organisations. As the new Prime Minister Péter Magyar seeks to assert his own identity and vision for Hungary, will Orbanism’s influence cause him problems?

Slow Newscast Extra:

Host: Ada Barumé

Producer: Amalie Sortland

Executive Producer: Matt Russell

Illiberal land: Hungary’s empire of ideas

Reporter: David Aaronovitch

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Executive Producer: Jasper Corbett

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Unjust: How the Court of Appeal failed an innocent man Apr 14, 2026

Show notes

Ceri Thomas revisits the appalling case of Peter Sullivan, jailed for 38 years for a murder he did not commit and offered no apology when finally released. Why does the court work so slowly? Why is it allowed to mark its own homework, and why is it so resistant to reform?

Reporter: Ceri Thomas

Producer: Katie Gunning

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Matt Russell

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Can we be saved from AI? Apr 09, 2026

Show notes

Meta and YouTube were found liable earlier this year in a social media addiction trial and ordered to pay out $6 million in damages. Could this be a blueprint for how to avoid history repeating itself with AI?

Host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer: Amalie Sortland

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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