The Slow Newscast

When Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announced a new political party this summer, it had all the ingredients to be a big success. But a summer of disarray has seen them overtaken by a rival on the left. What happened?

Three years ago, travel writer Lydia Gard discovered freediving. An extreme and beautiful sport defined by one objective: to dive as deep as you can on one single breath. It soon became a calling. Then, she stumbled on a darker side of the sport. Rumours that a group of top divers were doping to go deeper. So she decided to investigate.Reporter - Lydia Gard Producer -  Gary Marshall. Music supervision and sound design - Karla PatellaSound design - Rowan BishopPodcast artwork - Lola Williams Fact checking - Poppy Bullard, Katie Gunning, Amalie Sortland, Madeleine Parr & Jess Swinburne Executive producer - Basia Cummings To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf 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

With Prince Harry in effective exile and Andrew disgraced, the Royal family is smaller than ever before and at a potential crisis point. Prince William has already signalled his intention to be a different kind of monarch to King Charles. But can the monarchy survive, and what is its purpose?Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Madeleine ParrArtwork: Blythe Walker SibthorpSound design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper CorbettTo find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf 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

Over the summer, Epping, a small town on the outskirts of London became the scene of mass protests. featuring hundreds of people. Noisy and occasionally violent, the demonstrations attracted crowds from around the country and plenty of media attention.But what really happened in Epping and what does it tell us about where the right in Britain is heading?  To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf 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

Just outside Gaza is a small settlement of Israelis hoping to enter and settle inside Gaza. They may be a fringe movement, but their voice holds a powerful sway within Israel's cabinet. Could they influence the terms of a future peace plan for Gaza?Reporter: Oliver MarsdenProducer: Poppy Bullard and Matt RussellArtwork: Lola WilliamsSound design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper CorbettTo find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf 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 French President and the First Lady of France are taking American right wing commentator Candace Owens to court in Delaware over bizarre claims the First Lady is transgender and the President is part of a CIA-backed mind-control programme, among many other conspiracy theories. But how much are the French President and the First Lady risking in doing so?Reporter: Stephen ArmstrongProducer: Ada BaruméArtwork: Lola WilliamsSound design: Dominic DelargyExecutive Producer: Matt RussellEditor: Jasper CorbettTo find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf 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

Donald Trump has launched four lawsuits against major media organisations for up to $15 billion over the past year. This is the story of Trump's war on the media and the people driving it.Reporter: Giles WhittellProducer: Jonathan LewisArtwork: Lola WilliamsSound design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Matt RussellTo find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.uk Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsIf 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

Since May, almost 900 Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the vicinity of aid checkpoints. So what exactly has happened at these aid sites?Reporter: Ruth MichaelsonProducer: Madeleine ParrArtwork: Jon Jones & Lola WilliamsSound design: Dominic DelargyEditors: Jasper Corbett & Matt Russell

Unite was once the biggest trade union in Britain, and the largest funder of the Labour Party. In the past its reputation has come under scrutiny. Four years after its first female leader was elected on a promise of restoring trust… it remains mired by in-fighting.In our podcast called “An uncivil war inside Unite”, which was released on 30 September 2025, we failed to convey Unite’s position that it is in good financial health and that the submission of its accounts has been delayed by a re-audit of the 2021 filing involving the Birmingham project which was overseen by the previous leadership regime. We apologise for this omissionReporter: Jon Ungoed-ThomasProducer: Jonathan LewisSound design: Dominic DelargyArt work: Lola WilliamsEditor: Jasper CorbettTo find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our website observer.co.ukDownload the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalistsHosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.