The Slow Newscast

By The ObserverSociety & Culture Documentary News News Commentary

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The Slow Newscast episodes

November 10 Left to Die: The Philip Mawer story
Five years ago the second deadliest terror attack in modern history happened in north Mozambique. Hundreds were left trapped under siege in a hotel, including a British man, Philip Mawer. Until they decided to make a break for it. This is how Philip Mawer's story could change the future of one of Big Oil's biggest companies.
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41 min
November 06 Prince William and the duchy tenants facing eviction
For generations they trusted their royal landlords, but now frightened farmers and locals in Devon feel betrayed by the ‘urban’ Prince of Wales.
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23 min
November 03 My therapist, the predator
When Asha visited her new therapist during covid, little did she realise she was placing her faith in the wrong individual. Her story reveals the perils of an unregulated industry, where people can use and abuse the unique privileges that come with the label of 'therapist'.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
33 min
October 29 Burnham's 'do no harm' budget
The Chancellor has delivered the first budget of Andy Burnham's premiership. But what does it reveal about their vision for the UK?
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35 min
October 27 Spiral
When The Observer’s Technology Editor, Patricia Clarke began investigating a new phenomenon initially dubbed ‘AI psychosis’, she found lives upended by long, intimate conversations with chatbots. But as she followed the evidence from a psychiatric ward in Bristol to the safety teams in Silicon Valley, a far darker story emerged. Guided by AI industry whistleblowers, grieving families and hundreds of pages of chatbot transcripts, Spiral exposes how big tech is running an unprecedented experiment on the human mind.

This is episode one of Spiral, a six-part series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer, produced in partnership with the Pulitzer Center’s AI Accountability Network.

Reported by Patricia Clarke
Produced by Katie Gunning
Sound design by Hannah Varrall
Development production by Jess Swinburne and Owen Thomas
Artwork by Jon Hill and Michelle Thompson
Narrative editor is Gary Marshall
Executive producers are Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

Spiral is a 4 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.
To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer.
Or subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to listen to all our podcasts, including this one, without any ads.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
43 min
October 23 The veteran photographer attacked by settlers
Last week, a group of West Bank settlers attacked Palestinian farmers and veteran Washington Post photographer, Heidi Levine, who was there to cover the annual olive harvest. The assault left Levine in hospital with broken bones, but she is not the first foreigner to be caught in the middle of increasingly violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank.

Basia Cummings speaks to the Observer's Ruth Michaelson who is in Tel Aviv covering the upcoming elections, about what happened and whether it'll impact the outcome of the vote.

Producer: Ada Barume
Exec: Matt Russell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
27 min
October 20 Christ is King: the far right and God
In September 2025, religious leaders in the UK got a shock: protests at Tommy Robinson’s Unite the Kingdom rally were carrying crosses, and waving signs with Christian slogans. On stage, pastors led the crowd in song and prayer. One of those pastors is Rikki Doolan, who says he converted Tommy Robinson while he was in prison. This is the story of how the far-right found God.

Reporter: Kart Mathieson

Reporter/producer: Poppy Bullard

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Editor: Jasper Corbett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
36 min
October 16 How an innocent man was put on death row
For decades, Paul Skalnik made a living telling police and prosecutors that other prisoners had confessed to crimes. The former police turned con artist and jailhouse informant helped send a man called Jim Dailey to death row for the murder of a teenage girl.

Basia Cummings speaks to investigative journalist and author Pamela Colloff who spent years uncovering his deceptions, and his story exposes a criminal justice system prioritising winning convictions over the truth.

Producer: Amalie Sortland
Exec: Matt Russell
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28 min
October 13 Bones and all: the trade in human remains
Britain’s cultural institutions are wrestling with what to do with the human remains in their collections. But as they reckon with the ethical ramifications the sale of body parts remains largely unregulated. Who are the people selling? And why is it easier than ever to buy human remains?

Reporter: Evan Moffitt
Producer: Ada Barumé
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp
Exec producer: Matt Russell
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
32 min
October 09 The Fixer: The life of Len McCluskey | Ep 2
The former Unite boss says the police investigation into alleged corruption during his tenure will clear his name after years of accusations. But whether it can erase this dark episode in British trade unionism is another matter. So will the reputation of someone who was one of the UK's most influential power brokers stand the test of time?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
28 min

About The Slow Newscast

From the publisher's feed

The Slow Newscast from The Observer takes the news slowly. We investigate, and every week we focus on stories that really matter in the UK and around the world. From wars in Ukraine and Gaza…