• How to disappear
    Jun 24 2025

    In the UK, a person is reported missing every 90 seconds. But how in a society of internet, phones and social media is it so easy to go missing? This is the story of two men...and how sometimes people don't even realise they've gone missing.


    Reporter: Francisco Garcia

    Producer: Matt Russell

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    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 journalists


    If 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

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • Brute force: domestic abuse in the ranks
    Jun 17 2025

    The police have an increasingly bad reputation when it comes to dealing with violence against women and girls. Forces in England and Wales say they’re trying to fix that, but its track record within its own ranks paints a very different picture. This is the story of three women with one shared experience- being a police officer whose own institution can’t help them escape the abuse of their partners.


    Reporter: Eve Livingstone

    Producer: Ada Barumé

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    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 journalists

    -If 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

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • The Wargame
    Jun 10 2025

    A bunker. A scenario. A group of former senior ministers, military chiefs and other experts. Russia knows our weaknesses – but do you?


    Sky News' security and defence editor Deborah Haynes presents The Wargame. From Sky News and Tortoise, it imagines how a Russian attack on the UK could play out... and how military chiefs and politicians might try to defend the country.


    Episodes will be released weekly - search for The Wargame wherever you listen to your podcasts.


    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 journalists


    If 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

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Jeff and Donald
    Jun 3 2025

    What happens when the business interests and private passions of one of the world’s richest men collide with the world’s most powerful man? This is the story of Jeff Bezos...and Donald Trump.


    Reporter: Stephen Armstrong

    Producer: Katie Gunning

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    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 journalists

    If 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


    AD: To get the best discount off your NordVPN plan, go to https://nordvpn.com/newscast. Our link will also give you 4 extra months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    52 mins
  • Jamie Vardy: The last underdog
    May 27 2025

    After thirteen years, Jamie Vardy is leaving Leicester City. His time at the club is an example of not one, but two underdogs succeeding against the odds. Could anything like this happen again in the Premier League?


    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

    If 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


    AD: To get the best discount off your NordVPN plan, go to https://nordvpn.com/newscast. Our link will also give you 4 extra months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    24 mins
  • Car crash: Musk and Tesla
    May 20 2025

    Tesla saw their stock price soar with President Trump's election. But since January, it has come plummeting back down. Has Musk crashed Tesla?


    Reporter: Giles Whittell

    Producer: Matt Russell

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    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 journalists


    If 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


    Ad: To get the best discount off your NordVPN plan, go to https://nordvpn.com/newscast. Our link will also give you 4 extra months on the 2-year plan. There’s no risk with Nord’s 30-day money-back guarantee

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    30 mins
  • Just Stop TurmOil
    May 13 2025

    The radical climate protest group Just Stop Oil delighted supporters and infuriated opponents in equal measure. But then the government began to crack down on them. So where are they now?


    Reporter: David Taylor

    Producer: Matt Russell

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    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 journalists


    If 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

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Sara Sharif: one judge, three court cases and a murder
    May 6 2025

    The brutal circumstances of Sara Sharif’s death were described by the judge that sent her killers to prison as torture. But when it emerged that the two adults who murdered her were granted parental responsibility by a family court judge four years earlier, the finger of blame began to wander. Who could have saved Sara Sharif?


    Reporter: Louise Tickle

    Producer: Ada Barumé

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    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


    Ad: Go to www.incogni.com/slownewscast for your exclusive discount.

    • Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists

    If 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


    Ad: Go to www.incogni.com/slownewscast for your exclusive discount.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Show More Show Less
    49 mins