The Slow Newscast

David Bowie's last months were spent fulfilling one final ambition: staging a musical based around his songs. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Zelda Perkins not only met hers, she produced the musical he staged in his dying daysTo find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

The tech millionaire Bryan Johnson once went viral for infusing himself with a litre of his 17-year-old son’s blood plasma. That experiment failed, but it hasn’t distracted him from his life’s mission: reversing ageing. Now, the self-declared professional guinea pig has travelled to a libertarian free zone on a remote Caribbean island, to receive experimental gene therapy administered by a company called Minicircle. In the crypto city of Próspera, Roatán, the Honduran government grants Minicircle regulatory freedom for medical experiments that are banned by the FDA in the US.This is the story of biohacking… on steroids. What happens when you build a privately run, for-profit nation state? And what happens when that state becomes a playground for experimental medicine?To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

The fall of Assad in Syria is a disaster for Iran, so much so that people are beginning to ask if this might finally be the moment when Iran’s pro-democracy movement breaks through. This is the story of one activist’s 25 year fight against the Islamic regime in Iran, a story of courage and despair.Reporter: Ceri ThomasProducer: Katie GunningSound design: Dominic DelargyArtwork: Jon HillShow's Executive Producer: Matt RussellTo find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

In June 2024, Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore went into space. It was expected to last just over a week. Instead, by the time they'll return, it'll have been more than eight months.This is the story of how two great American institutions - Boeing and NASA - failed them.To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

Eugenia Kuyda thinks she can solve an “epidemic” of loneliness. Her app, Replika, is “the AI companion who cares”, a chatbot that can text you, flirt with you, and promises to love you unconditionally. But Replika is fraught with ethical concerns – and risks. In 2021 19-year-old Jaswant Chail told Replika: “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the Queen.” The chatbot replied that this was “very wise”. A few days later, Chail broke into Windsor Castle with a crossbow. Patricia Clarke and Matt Russell investigated the people behind Replika. It’s a story that took them from Windsor Castle to Silicon Valley, to meet the woman who runs a growing and largely unregulated app. And the more they looked into it, the more questions emerged – about privacy, control, and the company that millions of users are giving their hearts – and their data – to.This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.It was reported and produced by Patricia Clarke and Matt Russell.The sound design was by Hannah Varrall. Artwork by Jon Hill.The editor was Jasper Corbett.To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

Out on the high seas, Paul Watson became a hero and pariah of the environmental movement. Now he sits in a remote prison. How should we treat the radicals willing to go to extremes to protect the planet?Reported by: Basia Cummings and Xavier GreenwoodProduced by: Xavier GreenwoodSound design by: Hannah Varrall and Dominic DelargyEdited by: Gary Marshall and Matt RussellPodcast artwork by: Jon HillImage credit: Mirco Taliercio/laif/ Camera PressTo find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

When Donald Trump declared victory in the US presidential election, he told an adoring crowd that "a star is born". He was referring to Elon Musk.After months of reporting on the billionaire's use of private investigators, Alexi Mostrous asks whether the insights he gained from that investigation reveal how Musk will operate in his new political era, and what that means for everything in his orbit.Reported and produced by: Alexi Mostrous, Gary Marshall, Matt Russell & Patricia Clarke. Sound design: Bart Warshaw Original music: Tom Kinsella Podcast artwork: Jon HillExecutive producer: Basia Cummings To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

This is a story of stigma, uncomfortable truths and allegations of an attempted cover up at Britain's biggest army base.As the UK army rapidly modernises its approach towards mental health, an old cultural problem persists at Catterick Garrison where a series of repeated, systemic errors have been uncovered.Reporters: Claudia Williams and Angela WalkerTo find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

The Fury family bridge the gladiatorial old world of boxing and the very new world of influencer culture. This is the story of how one family built a multi-million pound empire with their fists.Reporter: Claudia WilliamsProducer: Matt RussellSound design: Hannah VarrallExec: Basia CummingsTo find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more