What drove Syrians to rise up and overthrow a brutal dictator? ‘Days of Love and Rage’ by Anand Gopal is an intimate account of how one town in Syria joined a revolution. The book took him 8 years to report and write.  

The Observer’s Basia Cummings and Chloe Hadjimatheou, reporter of the We Call Her Emma podcast series about Asma al-Assad, talk to Gopal about how Syrians took politics into their own hands while facing threats from their own government and then ISIS. 

Anand Gopal's reporting on Syria and ISIS can be found here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2024/03/18/the-open-air-prison-for-isis-supporters-and-victims 

His book, Days of Love and Rage, can be found here: https://www.plutobooks.com/product/days-of-love-and-rage/

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Ten years ago Kim Edwards and her boyfriend, Lucas Markham, who were both 14 at the time, stabbed Kim’s mother and Kim’s younger sister to death. They were both sentenced to life in prison and became the youngest, and among the most notorious, double murderers in Britain. For the first time Kim’s grandmother, Maxine Follows, tells her side of the story, and questions how the criminal justice system treats children.   

Reporter: Katie Glass

Producer: Ada Barume

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Executive Producer: Matt Russell

Editor: Jasper Corbett

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In the late 1980s 14-year-old Gareth had a sexual relationship with his 27-year-old chemistry teacher, Sally-Anne Bowen. His friends told him at the time that he was a ‘lucky boy’.  Last week Sally-Anne Bown was convicted of seven counts of indecent assault. The Observer’s podcast series ‘Lucky Boy’ played a part in the case. 

Basia Cummings is joined by Chloe Hadjimatheou, who reported the story, to discuss the conviction of Sally-Anne Bowen.

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Paolo Zampolli, the Italian modelling agent who introduced Donald Trump to his future wife, Melania, has gone from the 1990s fashion world to the very top of the Trump administration, joining the small circle of loyalists Trump likes to keep close to advance his brand and influence. It is a story about how power works at the White House and how the distinction between private interests and public office are increasingly blurred.

Reporter: Stephen Armstrong

Producer: Jonathan Lewis and Amalie Sortland

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Emma O’Neill

Editor: Matt Russell

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

After a spate of paranormal sightings in 1970s London, debate raged over the existence of a vampire in Highgate Cemetery. Fifty years on, the legend has been taken on by a new generation, fuelled by the world’s longest-running online feud

Reporter: Francisco Garcia

Producer: Poppy Bullard

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Blythe Walker-Sibthorpe

Editor: Matt Russell

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After a 2025 mass shooting on Florida State University’s campus, investigators found a year’s worth of chat history between the shooter and ChatGPT. MotherJones’ Mark Follman has been investigating what the chat log reveals about the shooter and the chatbot and examines how AI responds when faced with severe warning signs and where the responsibility lies when something goes wrong.

Note: This story discusses suicide and violence.

Mark Follman's reporting can be found here: https://www.motherjones.com/media/2026/08/openai-chatgpt-fsu-mass-shooting-chat-logs/

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Rupert Lowe is the MP for Great Yarmouth, and the leader of Restore Britain, a right-wing political party which launched in February this year. So, how did the leader of such a young, fringe party end up appearing as a guest on the world’s most popular podcast? And what does it tell us about how the far-right works? 

Reporter: Poppy Bullard

Producers: Amalie Sortland and Ada Barume

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Editor: Matt Russell 

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

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

When Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the United States over his links with Jeffrey Epstein people wondered how he ever got appointed in the first place.

Eventually Keir Starmer’s government was forced to publish more than a thousand pages of emails, messages and letters which reveal how Peter Mandelson was appointed, vetted and cleared to become the UK’s most influential diplomat.

What emerges from those documents, is a story about who wields power in Britain today, how it works and how we conduct our politics.

The Observer’s Ada Barumé tells the story of a political farce that begins with the appointment of Peter Mandelson and ends with the resignation of Keir Starmer.

All four episodes are now available to listen to for subscribers to the Observer.

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