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The Slow Newscast

Introducing...Drilled

We are partnering with the podcast Drilled, to share something extra with you this week so that we can continue to bring our listeners brilliant investigations on The Slow Newscast and across The Observer audio network. You can discover more at https://observer.co.uk/listen.


This season, Drilled follows reporter Alleen Brown through a legal trial that will change the course of activism in the U.S. and beyond. Greenpeace, which was only tangentially involved in the Standing Rock protests, has been slapped with a $666 million bill for damages...despite the fact that the Dakota Access Pipeline was built, and has been making its builder, Energy Transfer, millions of dollars for years. How did we get here? Cody Hall, an Indigenous activist who was a key figure during the Standing Rock protests and was targeted in Energy Transfer's lawsuit, walks us through how things went down back in 2016, and where this suit began.


If you're hooked, you can find more Drilled episodes at https://push.fm/fl/drilled

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  • 403. Nigel Farage and the five million pound gift: what's wrong with that? (

    21:31||Season 1, Ep. 403
    It was recently revealed by The Guardian that before he stood to be an MP in 2024, Nigel Farage received a £5 million gift from billionaire Christopher Harborne. But is there anything wrong with that?
  • 402. Lively vs Baldoni: Inside Hollywood’s PR machine

    35:28||Season 1, Ep. 402
    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 DelargyArtwork: Lucy StevensonEditor: Jasper Corbett Clips credits; ITV newsVogueNew York Times
  • 401. How could the elections define the UK?

    26:19||Season 1, Ep. 401
    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
  • 400. Djokovic in exile

    42:08||Season 1, Ep. 400
    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 - DaviesProducer: Madeleine ParrArtwork: Harmony ClossSound design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper CorbettClip Credits: Tennis Channel, The Telegraph
  • 399. A mother's loss: The case of Tarryn Baird

    23:08||Season 1, Ep. 399
    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 MostrousGuest: Claudia WilliamsProducer: Ada Barumé
  • 398. Freud’s missing Bacon

    37:18||Season 1, Ep. 398
    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 SmithProducer: Ada BaruméArtwork: Blythe Walker SibthorpSound design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper Corbett
  • 397. Can Starmer survive the Mandelson fallout?

    21:40||Season 1, Ep. 397
    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?
  • 396. Ten to midnight: Iran's nuclear arms race

    34:40||Season 1, Ep. 396
    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
  • 395. Is this the end of Orban's influence?

    41:33||Season 1, Ep. 395
    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 BaruméProducer: Amalie SortlandExecutive Producer: Matt RussellIlliberal land: Hungary’s empire of ideasReporter: David AaronovitchProducer: Jonathan LewisArtwork: Lola WilliamsSound Design: Dominic DelargyExecutive Producer: Jasper Corbett