The Slow Newscast

When the Arab Spring reached Syria in 2011, Bashar al-Assad's regime showed itself for what it really was: a brutal force, willing to capture and kill ordinary Syrians demanding change. And in all the years that a war raged on, Asma stood by her husband. She seemingly ignored the desperate pleas to stop her husband from killing his own people. But what did she really know about the atrocities her husband’s government was carrying out? And what choices did she really have? Some people allege that she actually assisted the regime and cashed in on the war, that she herself is a war criminal. Others say she tried to run away but was trapped, held hostage by a regime who threatened her life and her children. So, who is the real Asma...or Emma as she was known?We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.Or subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to listen to all our podcasts, including this one, without any ads.Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouProducer - Gary MarshallSound design - Karla PatellaPodcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza BournerExecutive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

The US celebrates 250 years of independence from the British Crown on 4th July. Accusations have flown that Trump has used the anniversary to celebrate himself, not the country. So what does it tell us about Trump’s place within America…and is it really that unusual?Ada Barumé is joined by the Observer’s Americans, Erica Wagner and Evan Moffitt to discuss this moment in US history.

Criminal gangs have turned Britain's waste system into a goldmine and transformed pockets of the countryside into toxic wastelands. But how do you hide an 11,000 tonne illegal dump in plain sight?Reporters: Jeevan Vasagar and Jonathan LewisProducer: Jonathan LewisSound design: Dominic DelargyArtwork: Lucy StevensonExecutive producer: Matt RussellEditor: Jasper Corbett

 Each year new temperature records are threatened to be broken. But the UK seems to respond not with innovative adaptation, but with shock. Why?Ada Barumé is joined by academic meteorologist Rob Thomson and Dimple Rana, who is the Heat Resilience Leader at Arup, to discuss how we got here and where we go next.

Following Keir Starmer's resignation, Andy Burnham is now in prime position to become the UK's next prime minister. So what does he stand for?

This week we’re speaking to Frank Cottrell Boyce, the children’s laureate, who has spent two years visiting schools, libraries, and communities to discover what it means to grow up in Britain today. He’s written about it in a new book ‘A British Childhood: How our children live now’

Ordinary people are turning to illegally produced peptides in the hopes of a beauty quick fix. How are these shady black market drugs slipping through the regulatory gaps? Reporters: Stephen Armstrong and Madeleine ParrProducers: Madeleine Parr, Matt Russell and Amalie Sortland Sound Design: Dominic DelargyArtwork: Harmony BlaiseEditor: Jasper CorbettClips: ITV News, Channel 4 News, 5 News, Loreal Elvive, Ozempic

A Sherpa was left for dead on Everest at the end of the climbing season. Stranded for almost a week thousands of metres up in extreme conditions, he survived. But his story is not a new story, and it raises questions about the mountaineering industry that has risen around the industry of summiting the world's most dangerous episodes.We've been here before, so can lessons be learned?

Children are being caught in a global grooming pandemic. This is the story of a mother whose daughter was one such victim.Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Matt RussellIllustrator: Sara AndreassonSound design: Dominic DelargyEditor: Jasper Corbett