Last year, a YouTuber attempted to reach an uncontacted tribe on the remote island of North Sentinel, an area that is out of bounds for everyone else on the planet. His bid for content may have been audacious, and illegal, but it’s just the latest in a long line of misguided foreigners attempting to make contact. But do these individuals represent the greatest threat to the tribe? And what do we as a planet stand to lose if contact is made?

Reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Producer: Madeleine Parr 

Additional production: Ada Barumé

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Matt Russell

Clip Credits: NBC News, News 10 and News9 Live

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A businessman from Tunbridge Wells is accused of leading a double life. He’s secretly recorded planning a brutal attack with ice picks on behalf of the Chinese state. His story takes a dramatic turn with a high-stakes escape. 

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Reporters - Alexi Mostrous and Frankie Vetch

Producer - Jonathan Lewis

Additional production - Amalie Sortland

Sound design - Dominic Delargy

Podcast illustration - Shonagh Rae

Editor - Jasper Corbett

Credits - Voice of America, CBS

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American citizens are recruited to carry out Beijing’s dirty work on home soil. A Florida correctional officer poses as an art dealer, exposing the murky world of transnational repression and China’s shadow war.

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Reporters - Alexi Mostrous and Frankie Vetch

Producer - Jonathan Lewis

Additional production - Amalie Sortland

Sound design - Dominic Delargy

Podcast illustration - Shonagh Rae

Editor - Jasper Corbett

Credits - CNBC

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Alexi goes in search of the “long arm” of the Chinese state following a series of attacks and bounties on British soil. He uncovers a coordinated campaign of fear that has left dissidents feeling unsafe in the UK – and asks what British authorities are doing to protect them. 

This is Part One of a three part series. To listen to all episodes today, and enjoy the Slow Newscast ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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Reporters - Alexi Mostrous and Frankie Vetch

Producer - Jonathan Lewis

Additional production - Amalie Sortland

Sound design - Dominic Delargy

Podcast illustration - Shonagh Rae

Editor - Jasper Corbett

Credits - Channel 4, Sky News, ABC, CBS, NBC, BBC

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Every year babies are abandoned by their parents. Following a long reporting project exploring the story of one foundling on a search for her biological parents, Alexi Mostrous asks, 'why do mothers abandon babies?'. To try and make sense of these complicated, often hidden stories, he's joined by the series reporter Lucy Greenwell and the series' producer Katie Gunning.

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Foundling is a six-part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer. This is episode 1 - On the verge

Journalist Lucy Greenwell goes in search of Jess following rumours and unanswered questions about where she was born and who gave birth to her. 

To listen to the rest of the series, just search for Tortoise Investigates wherever you get your podcasts.

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Credits: 

Reporter - Lucy Greenwell

Producer - Katie Gunning

Original theme music - Tom Kinsella

Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop

Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Narrative editor - Gary Marshall 

Editor - Jasper Corbett

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America's war against Iran has revealed plenty of gunslinging, provocative rhetoric from the US defence secretary Pete Hegseth. But is there much to learn about America's aims in Iran from Trump's self-described 'secretary of war'?

Reporter/Producer: Alexi Mostrous and Ada Barumé

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

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Genetic testing start ups are a booming industry in America. Behind the headlines of 'designer babies' are companies tapping into disputed science, facing accusations that this is a pathway to eugenics. So what does the story of one company in particular tell us about this new field of fertility and science?

Reporters: Madeleine Parr and Matt Russell

Producers: Madeleine Parr and Matt Russell

Additional production: Gary Marshall

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

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Alexi sits down with the reporter of this week’s Slow Newscast, Francisco Garcia, to talk about one stop in particular on the road to Putin’s frontline, the Orthodox Church. How did a young man from Dunblane end up converting to this ancient form of Christianity? And why are so many young men converting to the Orthodox Church?

Producer: Ada Barumé

Executive Producer: Matt Russell

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