Brace, brace: Boeing’s hard landing
Boeing once ruled the skies. Now it’s mired in scandal, losing public trust and the reputation it spent decades building.
This is the story of where it all went wrong.
Podcast
The Slow Newscast
The Slow Newscast takes news slowly. We investigate, we report, and every week we try to focus on the stories that really matter in the UK and around the world. Your host is Basia Cummings, once of the Guardian and Huffington Post, who takes stock with the help of colleagues from Tortoise and invited guests.
Episodes
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 so far been averted, the fighting has repeatedly threatened a catastrophic situation. The employees are overcoming the threat of torture to manage the plant’s safety. This is the story of what happens when a nuclear power station becomes a pawn in a war.
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 by Beijing, seem determined to silence him. Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. This is the story of one man’s efforts to take on the Chinese state
Putin’s Murders: Part 1 – A culture of murder
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 deaths, often in mysterious circumstances, of dozens of Putin’s opponents have been a hallmark of his time in office. Tortoise’s Giles Whittell sets out to find out why so many of Putin’s enemies have met an early end.
Putin’s Murders: Part 2 – Follow the money
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 deaths, often in mysterious circumstances, of dozens of Putin’s opponents have been a hallmark of his time in office. Tortoise’s Giles Whittell sets out to find out why so many of Putin’s enemies have met an early end.
Putin’s Murders: Part 3 – The full Stalin
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 deaths, often in mysterious circumstances, of dozens of Putin’s opponents have been a hallmark of his time in office. Tortoise’s Giles Whittell sets out to find out why so many of Putin’s enemies have met an early end.
Red Bull’s killer PR
The energy drink company has built a billion-dollar brand promoting extreme sports like Base jumping. What happens when it goes wrong?
The State of Netanyahu: Part 3 – The Failure
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 for peace.
In this episode Donald Macintyre looks into Benjamin Netanyahu’s leadership from 2023 until the present day.
This is episode 3.
The State of Netanyahu: Part 2 – The Magician
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 for peace.
This is the second episode in our three-part series, as Donald Macintyre looks into a pivotal period in Netanyahu’s leadership, the eleven year period from 2009 right up until the pandemic, 2020
The State of Netanyahu: Part 1 – Mr Right
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 for peace.
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 the reputation of a culture of excess and bad behaviour.
Anna Wintour: The last editor
Anna Wintour is one of the most important people in fashion. She is arguably one of Britain’s most influential and powerful people. A brand in her own right. But aged 74 and tasked with saving a global legacy media company in a digital age, is this a step too far for the last great editor?
Who Trolled Amber?
Depp v Heard was the celebrity trial of the century. He won, she lost. But was Amber Heard the target of an organised trolling campaign?
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. This is the story of the chaos behind locked doors.
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 spearheading a broader backlash against ‘woke’ politics that is energising the American right, fracturing the left and upending society.
Marked Men
When a Sikh activist in Birmingham died unexpectedly last year, a question was asked: was he assassinated? At first, this theory sounds improbable, even unbelievable. But as the story unfolds the answer becomes less clear and the world more complicated. This is the story of India’s assassins.
Betrayal: Alex and Nicola
The two most charismatic leaders in a generation took Scotland to the brink of independence. But when Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon’s powerful partnership collapsed, with it went their hold on a nation.
The other hacking story
Paul Caruana Galizia investigates a new dimension to the phone hacking story; allegations that Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group hacked phones not for tabloid headlines but for corporate reasons.
From Lizzo to Beckham: My life according to… Me
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 telling – and who’s behind them?
The Biden Operation
It may be a re-fight of the 2020 election, but in this year’s US presidential election, the stakes feel much higher. And that’s got a lot of Democrats worrying. This is the story of the backroom discussions going on trying to work out the answer to one question: is Joe Biden the right man to lead the Dems and take on Donald Trump?
Helen versus Sam: The battle for OpenAI 
Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner calls herself an “effective altruist”. That philosophical movement fuelled the firing and rehiring of Sam Altman last month – and has tried to steer the future of AI to the tune of half a billion dollars.
Assad: the rubble king
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 Syria – one in which dissent never existed.
Unforgivable: Boris Johnson and Covid’s second wave
From the middle of September 2020 to the end of October, Boris Johnson’s government dithered and delayed the decision over a second national lockdown. This is the story of those 43 days, laid bare at the Covid Inquiry: a story of chaos
Jez we can
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 election of Keir Starmer who set about erasing all traces of his predecessor.
Sneakered: Adidas, Yeezy & Kanye
The deal between Kanye West and Adidas was no ordinary celebrity endorsement. Now under renewed scrutiny after West’s outrageous behaviour, how can one rapper’s departure cause such chaos at a multinational sportswear brand?
The lottery winner
Paul Caruana Galizia investigates how a lucrative contract to run the UK’s National Lottery was awarded to a company whose Czech billionaire owner retains links with Russia.
The Shadow: Hamas’s hidden commander
Mohammed Deif – thought to be the mastermind behind Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 – hasn’t been seen in public for 20 years and no one’s even sure if he’s still alive. When the enemy is more of an idea than a person, who do you end up fighting?
Dr Anti-vax: The making of a modern panic
How did the anti-vax movement get so big? Alexi Mostrous tells the story of the fall and rise of the man who started it all
Mr Right: Paul Marshall and the battle for the Telegraph
The Telegraph is up 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. Who will win the race?
Killer mountain: Abandoned on K2
It’s been a dangerous year in the world of extreme mountaineering. Has the focus on record-breaking gone too far?
The co-conspirator
In November 2020 Rudy Giuliani was the one person pushing the “stolen election” conspiracy theory more than Donald Trump. Now he’s been indicted for his efforts. Will Rudy go down, or flip on Trump to save himself?
America’s mayor
In 2001, after two terms as New York’s mayor, Rudy Giuliani was running out of steam. Then hijackers attacked the World Trade Center, giving him a new lease on political life – and the chance to make some serious money
The prosecutor
Rudy Giuliani is facing charges in Georgia under US anti-racketeering laws – the same laws he once used to take down the Mob in a trial that made him a household name
Blue light: one woman’s story of policing on the frontline
For years, Claire McEnery was one of the most senior women in the Lancashire police force. With that seniority came exposure to the best – and worst – of life, but also to the best and worst of the police
William and Rupert: the prince and press baron
Paul Caruana Galizia investigates whether Prince William reached a secret out of court settlement with Rupert Murdoch and News Group over phone hacking. What were the terms of the reported deal and how much money changed hands?
Boris’s Baroness: The mysterious rise of Charlotte Owen
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.
Attack of the killer whales
What happens when another powerful carnivore threatens humans in a place where they are the masters?
Putin v Prigozhin: A story of mutiny and death
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
Spotted: snooker’s fight against match fixing
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 the story of the biggest British match-fixing scandal in over a decade
Sick river: saving the Brent
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?
Johnny Depp: The great uncancelling
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?
Landmark: the death of Kellie Sutton
A family’s six-year fight for a pioneering legal decision
Genocide hunters: on the trail of a mass murderer
How one of the most wanted men on earth was caught after three decades on the run
Three doors down
A mother, a murder and a thirty year investigation
Modern family: I had my dead son’s baby at 68
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.
Crispin Odey: The octopus’s world
How serious money, polite society and the law enabled Crispin Odey, one of the UK’s most successful and powerful hedge funders, amid mounting allegations of sexual harassment and assault over many decades
Into The Dirt
Private spy. Double agent. Whistleblower. Just who was Rob Moore?
Bill Gates: the prey
Bill Gates was the golden philanthropist at the top of the billionaire’s league – he was also Epstein’s way back into society
Gender GP: inside the world of private trans healthcare
The story of Gender GP and its founder Helen Webberley, labelled by one newspaper as one of Britain’s most controversial doctors
Master of the universe
Leon Black was the aggressive private equity billionaire at the top of New York society – he also bankrolled Epstein
The man in the hot tub
Jes Staley was one of the most powerful men in banking – he was also Jeffrey Epstein’s protector
Eyes wide open
After Epstein was dropped by JP Morgan, another bank stepped in to help his sex trafficking empire keep rolling
The Dishonours List
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?
The 31: Ukraine’s stolen children
Why is the Kremlin forcibly deporting tens of thousands of children to Russia?
Beastly: the stories of David Walliams
What do you do with a star children’s author who can’t stop pushing the boundaries?
Children locked away: Britain’s modern bedlam
A new Tortoise investigation into how the country’s most distressed and vulnerable children are being abandoned by the state.
Blackout: Coal, corruption and cyanide
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
Threat to life
London-based critics of the regime in Tehran face growing threats to their lives. Paul Caruana Galizia investigates why this is happening – and who is doing it
Building 11
A lost photographer in a Chiswick business park, a nervous phone caller in LA and a speedboat bound for Caracas – who exactly are the hit men behind the threats?
Rogue Lawyer: Power, money and a scandal at a London law firm
Yesterday’s Men: The Brexit hardliners’ last stand
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.
Ignition: The quest for nuclear fusion
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 the fusion scientists had been seeking for more than half a century. They call it ignition, and it could solve an energy crisis that’s becoming existential for humanity. This is the story of those precious seconds and the decades leading up to it
No questions asked: A convenient death in Rwanda
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
Takeover bid: The Peltz-Beckham wedding
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?
Detained in Modi’s India: A British citizen’s story
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
Murdoch: news vs the truth
What happened inside Fox News in those critical weeks following Donald Trump’s election defeat in 2020?
Family money
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?
After the fall: A death on the Lansdowne Estate
When a vulnerable woman falls from a tower block, how do you find out what really happened?
Wagner’s war: A year in Ukraine and beyond
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?
The prince against the press
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
Wronged
What happens if the law gets it wrong? As two men found out in their fight for justice, it can move very slowly
Snatched
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?
God on your side: Christians, courts and culture wars
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?
The Westminster Accounts
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
Damn and blast off: How not to go back to the moon
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
Musking it: Inside Elon’s Twitter takeover
The inside story of a troubled company that was bought by the world’s richest man
Octopus: The allegations against Crispin Odey
One of Britain’s richest and most powerful men was cleared of sexual assault last year. Four more women have 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
Inside Unite: the union, Liverpool and the £100m hotel
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.
The Alzheimer’s casino: Big money and bad science
What happens when science and medical research meet Wall Street?
Egypt’s bad cop
The story of one man, fighting to his last breath, to reveal the darkness that lies behind this year’s UN Climate Change Conference
Mutiny: The undoing of Liz Truss
The inside story of how the shortest premiership in British history came to an end
The missing male pill
More than 60 years after the development of the contraceptive pill for women, we still don’t have an equivalent for men. Why?
Britannia unhinged
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?
Toxic: the making of Andrew Tate
What happened when social media platforms banned Andrew Tate, whose misogyny netted him a fortune and millions of online followers?
Paradise Bust: Scandal in the British Virgin Islands
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?
A crime in the making: Russia’s atrocities
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
The Fix
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
Thank the Lord
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
Myanmar’s forgotten coup
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?
Hostile environment: Inside the Home Office
The making of the modern Home Office
Hunt for the porn king: a reckoning
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?
Chained woman: China’s trade in brides
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
America at the crossroads: abortion in South Bend
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
Left to die: Return to the Amarula
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?
Londongrad: The Johnson Affair
A former KGB officer, Britain’s foreign secretary – and a potential national security breach
The Darwin job: the mystery of the vanishing notebooks
One sleuth, two notebooks – and a 20-year puzzle
A coup at Claridge’s: Qatar’s quiet move on London
A tiny Gulf state has bought up some of Britain’s prized assets. But at what cost?
Hollywood’s cultural revolution
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
Visit Rwanda: Britain’s harsh welcome for refugees
Britain’s harsh welcome for refugees – and what happened when the plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was tried before
The Rules: democracy in Britain
Every day more cracks emerge in the political system that guarantees the freedoms Britons hold dear. How do we stop it shattering?
Stripped. Searched. Traumatised. Children and the police
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
Odesa
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?
Revealed: Stormy Daniels and her battle for truth
Who is the real Stormy Daniels? Hattie Garlick meets arguably one of America’s most misunderstood and misrepresented women
Downfall: twenty days that did for Rishi Sunak
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
Mariupol
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
The Lost Ark
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?
Greg Barker: the lord’s work
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
Fallen women
Twenty-seven women. Falling. Off balconies, out of windows, from the top of multi-storey carparks. And there, in most of the cases, is a man, standing in the shadow of her fall. What if these women didn’t just fall, but were pushed?
The trials of Alexei Navalny
This audio was updated on the 16th of February 2024.
What does the story of Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya tell us about Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the state of opposition?
Into the dark: The broken promise of a bionic eye
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?
Shadow whipping: The men who saved Boris
Political wisdom says Ukraine has saved Boris Johnson’s skin – a global crisis so grave that it looks self-indulgent to question his leadership. But the really successful operation to rescue the prime minister started long before Russia’s war, and much closer to home
Russian warship, go f*** yourself
We thought the Russians were masters of the information war; that they’d sweep Ukraine aside. Why is it not turning out that way?
Lebedev: Lord of Siberia
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?
Spiking: An injection of fear
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
Modi’s warrior pose
Narendra Modi’s dominance of Indian politics is built on a knowing appeal to traditional Indian values: Hindu values. He has turned yoga into an unlikely but powerful weapon in his campaign
Unforgotten: Syria’s war crimes
How the chief of a notorious Damascus torture unit was put on trial thousands of miles away, in a German courtroom
The Ministry of Untruths
Boris Johnson’s history of lies – and the story of one crucial fortnight in March 2020
China’s missing tennis player
In November, athlete Peng Shuai accused a senior Chinese politician of sexual assault. Then, she vanished. Poppy Sebag-Montefiore investigates her disappearance – and the silencing of China’s #MeToo movement
Virginia
Twenty years ago, Prince Andrew’s attacks on Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s credibility may have proved fatal to her case. Now, the power has shifted
A finding of rape
How a former government minister abused the secrecy of the family courts in an attempt to hide the truth
CoolSculpting
How a lucrative fantasy collided with the reality of the body
2021: Our year in stories
As 2021 draws to a close, Basia Cummings looks back over a year of Slow Newscasts with her colleagues James Harding, the co-founder of Tortoise, and Ceri Thomas. What’s changed in the way we think about podcasts at Tortoise? And are there any you’ve missed which you might want to catch up on over the Christmas break?
School 49: An explosion in China’s high-pressure education system
China’s transformation into an economic powerhouse has come at a cost to its children, under enormous pressure to succeed. Now the country is wondering if the price has been too high
The super divorce: The Akhmedovs and a game of hide and seek
When a High Court Judge awarded Tatiana Akhmedova a record £450m divorce payout, it was only the beginning of a case that went on to become the most expensive family feud in history…
A place for Elliott
This is a story about Covid vaccinations and how hard it is for some people – profoundly disabled people – to get them. But it’s about much more than that. It’s a story about family, joy and resilience. And a boy called Elliott who is trapped in time
Retreat from Kabul: 11 days in August – Part II
In Kabul, the Taliban’s takeover was assured. In London, an ignominious retreat, and the betrayal of former comrades in the Afghan army, was more than a group of ex-soldiers, now MPs, could stomach
Retreat from Kabul: 11 days in August – Part I
As the Taliban closed in on Kabul, and Western troops and desperate Afghans scrambled to leave, Britain found itself frozen out of decision making and incapable of influencing events. It was a stark illustration of the UK’s status, made worse by catastrophic misjudgements at the top of government
Who is REvil?
Who are the people behind a spate of multi-million dollar ransomware attacks on financial institutions, schools, hospitals and critical infrastructure? When Nicky Woolf began to investigate the highest-profile ransomware outfit, REvil, it was almost completely hidden from view. But then the cyber-police started to uncover its secrets
Nazanin: Trapped in Whitehall
Since 2016, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held hostage in Iran. Her supporters recognise that the Iranian government must be held responsible for her ordeal, but missteps and machinations in London have ensured that it hasn’t been brought to a swift end
Shamsa, the forgotten princess
The abduction of a young woman from the streets of Cambridge is the origin-story of how Sheikh Mohammed of Dubai treats the women in his life
True Crime: The tragedy of Gabby Petito
When Gabby Petito is reported missing in Wyoming her disappearance is widely shared online. When her body is discovered her case seems to mobilise a whole army of digital detectives and citizen journalists all trying to solve the mystery of what happened
Havana Syndrome
The mystery of the immaculate concussion
From Russia with Diamonds, Part II
More than 20 years after emptying the Russian state treasure of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds and gold, Andrei Kozlenok breaks his silence with an even more extraordinary tale. But why?
From Russia with Diamonds, Part I
When Andrei Kozlenok went on the mother of all spending sprees, the FBI joined forces with Russian police in an investigation that led to a treasure house under the streets of Moscow, and to the Kremlin
Pfizer’s war
It’s been said often enough: the pandemic has been like a war. Economically, on civil liberties and the deaths it has caused, it’s hard to find a better comparison. And just like a war it places responsibilities on companies that make vital supplies which are different from peacetime – to profit, but not to profiteer
Wrong turn
Plenty of people take wrong turns in their lives. But so too can justice systems. John Crilly and hundreds more have been the victims of the legal doctrine of Joint Enterprise and how it has been applied for the past 30 years
Beau and Biden
President Biden believes his eldest son’s cancer, which claimed his life in 2015, was linked to his time serving in Iraq. It is a belief that makes sense of the loss, and – as has become clear in recent weeks – shapes Biden’s world view
Orphaned by America
Thousands of children were separated from their parents at the US border under the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy. This is the story of how, five years later, 300 remain lost in a system designed to swallow them
Smear
Grooming gangs, conspiracy theories and the lawless digital politics of Oldham
A son of Afghanistan
The story of Rohullah Yakobi, and a 20-year war
Popbitch
Claudia Williams presents a special edition of the Slow Newscast – on a newsletter that both reflected and reshaped celebrity culture
Boycott! The lost Olympics
With human rights groups demanding a diplomatic boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics in Beijing, we look back to Moscow 1980, and ask what’s the lesson of the most notorious Olympic boycott in modern times?
Genesis: The mystery of where Covid began
The truth of an origin story has never mattered more: did Covid cross to humans from an animal, or did it escape from a laboratory? The arguments between science, politics and, now, the intelligence services have only grown fiercer. And in the fog of war, the World Health Organisation lost its way
The Arms Race: vaccine failure at Carbis Bay, the G7’s deadly sin
Last month the richest nations on the planet squared up to its greatest public health challenge, how to vaccinate every adult everywhere against Covid. They failed. The story of how and why they came up catastrophically short is a litany of political parochialism, low ambition and poor organisation – with potentially dreadful consequences
DIY justice
How one woman was asked to deal with an allegation of rape by herself
Left to die: Escape from the Amarula – Part 3
Nick Alexander tells the story of his torturous escape from the ambushed Amarula Hotel convoy – and the question left lying in the dust of the attack: who, really, abandoned them all?
Left to die: Escape from the Amarula – Part 2
In the second part in our series investigating how 200 civilians were left to die at the Amarula Hotel in northern Mozambique, we tell the story of their harrowing escape
Left to die: Escape from the Amarula – Part 1
In March, Islamist militants attacked the town of Palma, in northern Mozambique – the site of a $20bn gas project. They besieged a hotel, where more than 200 civilians were taking shelter. Help would soon be on its way, they were told. But the rescue never came. Why? In our new three-part series, we investigate what happened
The missing note
In little more than a year, the year of the pandemic, Anand Menon lost his mother, father, brother and sister. Here, he speaks to James Harding about the burden of grief
A death at Lancaster Lodge
Sophie Bennett took her own life in a care facility that was crumbling around her. Paul Caruana Galizia and Chris Cook investigate what went wrong at a charity led by a famous mental health pioneer
The second couple
After Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds’ wedding, there are now two powerful married couples in Number 10. Meet the other: Munira and Dougie
Hunt for the porn king
As dozens of women accuse the world’s largest porn company of profiting from their abuse, listen to the full story of how we traced its secretive owner to his London mansion
Nail house: At home with the German far right
In the East German city of Chemnitz, political extremists aren’t just present – they’re organised. And they’re trying to spread their creed from ramshackle buildings to the rest of the country
White gold rush
California’s largest lake was a giant mistake created by an accidental flood more than a century ago. Today, the Salton Sea is an environmental disaster. But could the communities around the shore of the dying lake be saved by the quest for green energy and the hunt for one of the most sought-after elements on earth?
The cause: what happened to Shukri Abdi?
The death of Shukri Abdi in 2019 has become a cause for campaigners who believe that something unlawful happened. But is that the truth?
Lost at sea
The mystery of Gulf Livestock 1, a 12,000-tonne ship that disappeared without a trace.
Cross stitch
How an embroidery charity – beloved by its members – tore itself apart at the seams
The reasonable case of Keir Rodney Starmer
Who is Keir Starmer? There’s the basic answer: he’s the leader of Britain’s Labour party. But beyond that? Gaby Hinsliff delved into his past to find out more.
#Savagemountain
Reaching the summit of K2 in winter had never been done before. In January, a group of mountaineers – professionals, amateurs, social media adventurers – attempted it. It ended in #triumph… and tragedy
The Navalny Show
This audio was updated on the 16th of February 2024.
As he returned to Moscow after months recovering from a nerve agent attack, Alexei Navalny released a remarkable YouTube video – and with it, sowed the seeds for a new Russian revolution by meme
March of the Mutants
Covid may be losing the vaccine battle. But, as the virus evolves fast to form new variants, the war is most definitely not over
A very British business
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is one of Britain’s richest men. His decision to move to Monaco after receiving a knighthood has angered those who recommended him and raises questions about how this country’s honours system works
Fairy tale finance
A myth has been made: a tale of wolves on Wall St; a pack of principled amateurs biting the legs of greedy financial giants and bringing them down. But almost everything you think you know about wallstreetbets, GameStop and Robin Hood is wrong.
Changed: My dad and the virus
Last March, Geoff Woolf went into hospital. He returned home 306 days later
The money hunt
They occupied a world of high-rolling hunting parties and complicated gifts – until it went seriously wrong.
Fight on
How an unprecedented legal case could change the way the courts approach domestic abuse.
No going back
The astonishing case of Emily Whelan, and decisions and delays that cannot be undone
A killer, twice missed
How a police force’s failure to notice a pattern led to two tragic deaths
Hidden in plain sight
The life and death of 21-year-old Katie Wilding, and her mother’s remarkable fight against the police
This was a coup
Ten former defense secretaries recently signed a letter warning about Trump’s attempts to subvert the US election result. Then, on 6 January, we saw more clearly than ever what they meant
Shot in the dark
The vaccine is an incredible scientific achievement. But some of the political decision-making behind its rollout is rather less impressive.
Crossing the Channel
A former army base outside Folkestone, Kent, is now the epicentre of the migration story
Contract tracing
Why did a month-old company land a couple of big-money contracts for PPE? And what does it reveal about the British government’s response to the pandemic?
Clipped wings
Inside the rise and fall of The Wing, the feminist empire that got found out
The Split
Is Scotland on an unstoppable march to leave the UK?
Lockdown meltdown
Fear, delays, mistakes and recrimination. On 31 October, we looked to Boris Johnson’s government for certainty – they served up a nightmare
Hero of the financial revolution
Can the Chinese Communist Party learn to live with Jack Ma?
JK Rowling and the Unfinished Business
Why did a famous author wade into the debate over trans rights?
Blessed are the deal-makers
Evangelicals have been key to Donald Trump’s presidency, and to his bid for re-election
Recession 2021
Alistair Darling and Mervyn King, who were both at the centre of the 2008 crisis, talk to James Harding about what’s coming next
Happy, the elephant you will never forget
Courtroom drama: Happy’s case goes to the top
Happy, the elephant who knew who she was
Part II Happy passes the ‘mirror test’, an examination of intelligence and self-awareness
Happy, the elephant in the courtroom
This is the story of an elephant. It’s a family saga, and a courtroom drama.
It’s about how we live with animals, what we do to them and what they are entitled to expect from us.
The golden egg
Young women are being offered the chance to delay the menopause. The question is: does it work, and does anyone even want it?
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