The Slow Newscast

Stephen Miller is the United States Homeland Security Advisor. But the vague sounding title belies his immense influence with Donald Trump behind the scenes. He’s better understood as the architect of some of the US’s most audacious recent policies - the capturing of Venezuelan President Maduro, the rollout of ICE enforcement through communities, and a threat to capture Greenland. So what can he tell us about what America will do next?Credits:Reporter: Stephen ArmstrongReporter/Producers: Madeleine Parr, Poppy Bullard, Jonathan LewisSound design: Dominic DelargyArtwork: Lucy StevensonEditors: Matt Russell & Jasper CorbettSubscribe to The Observer today: https://observer.co.uk/subscribe And get access to:Our podcasts before anyone elseA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or onlineClick here to subscribe today for just £1 for your first month.

The Epstein Files are wreaking havoc across British institutions; first the Royal family and now, the government. Peter Mandelson was sacked as US Ambassador in September over his links to the billionaire paedophile, but the latest tranche of documents show the pair were closer than anyone previously knew. What did their relationship look like? And did it give Jeffrey Epstein access to the heart of the British government?Reporters: Ada Barume and Poppy BullardProducer: Poppy BullardSound design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper Corbett

The dating app Bumble built its identity on a promise: women make the first move. In this episode, The Observer uncovers a legal campaign by men’s rights activists that helped dismantle that premise.Correction: A previous version of this episode stated that the Los Angeles Angels baseball case settled for $500,000. That case did not settle and was dismissed in court. It was a separate case involving the Oakland Athletics baseball team that settled for $500,000. This episode has been updated.Reporter: Patricia ClarkeProducer: Jonathan LewisSound design: Dominic DelargyArtwork: Blythe Walker SibthorpEditor: Jasper CorbettSubscribe to The Observer today: https://observer.co.uk/subscribe And get access to:Our podcasts before anyone elseA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or onlineClick here to subscribe today for just £1 for your first month.

There are over a thousand oil tankers at sea that are helping finance Russia's war in Ukraine in plain sight. And they're not just trading in sanctioned oil, they're sabotaging the very infrastructure we all rely on. The UK and EU know about them, they pass right by our coasts, but so far have been unable to stop them at any sort of scale. This is the story of a shadow ship, sailing its way through sanctions, sabotage and subterfuge.Credits: Reporter/Producer: Matt RussellSound design: Dominic DelargyArtwork: Lola WilliamsExecutive Producer: Gary MarshallEditor: Jasper CorbettSubscribe to The Observer today: https://observer.co.uk/subscribe And get access to:Our podcasts before anyone elseA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or onlineClick here to subscribe today for just £1 for your first month.

Rachel hears the shocking story of “Patient A”, who explains that patients are at risk too. Her testimony raises more questions about the way sexual misconduct cases are handled in healthcare, as victims — both doctors and patients — call for change.Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallArtwork: Lola WilliamsSound Design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper Corbett Subscribe to The Observer today: https://observer.co.uk/subscribe And get access to:Our podcasts before anyone elseA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or onlineClick here to subscribe today for just £1 for your first month.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Brooklyn Beckham publicly cut ties with his parents David and Victoria Beckham. Its exposed a rift in the family that seemingly dates back at least to Brooklyn's wedding.More than two years ago, Brooklyn Beckham married the actress Nicola Peltz in a wedding that did not go smoothly. Nicola Peltz's billionaire father, Nelson Peltz, filed a lawsuit against two wedding planners demanding a refund. The Observer's Claudia Williams in this episode of the Slow Newscast asked the question: what happens when you treat a wedding like a billion-dollar business deal? This episode was first published on 28th March 2023Reporter: Claudia WilliamsProducer: Imy HarperSound design: Sam MbathaEditor: Basia Cummings

When an esteemed transplant surgeon is found to have sexually harassed a number of his female colleagues — sometimes in the middle of operations — the General Medical Council recommends that he be struck off the medical register. But that is not what happens.Rachel Sylvester discovers that the case of James Gilbert, isn't a shocking one-off. In fact, it is symptomatic of a much wider problem in surgery.Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallArtwork: Lola WilliamsSound Design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper Corbett Subscribe to The Observer today: https://observer.co.uk/subscribe And get access to:Our podcasts before anyone elseA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or onlineClick here to subscribe today for just £1 for your first month.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From next week, our Investigations Editor Alexi Mostrous – the man behind Sweet Bobby, Who Trolled Amber and Elon’s Spies – will take over as the new host of the Slow Newscast, and he wants to hear from you. If there are particular types of stories you’d like us to cover more often, or if you have thoughts on what we do well, or could do better, please let us know.You can email us on studios@observer.co.uk

In a small town in north Wales, an alleged theft at a local estate agents plants the seeds for a global blockbuster. To listen to episode two, just search for Tortoise Investigates wherever you get your podcasts.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series on Tuesday 13th January.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentHead to our website observer.co.uk Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouAdditional reporting - James UrquhartProducer - Matt RussellMusic supervision & sound design - Karla PatellaArtwork - Lola WilliamsExecutive Producer - Jasper Corbett