The Slow Newscast

Tortoise Media

The Slow Newscast takes news slowly: every week we investigate one story that really matters

  • 48 minutes 6 seconds
    Trump's Dealmaker: Steve Witkoff and Gaza

    A week before President Trump's inauguration, a real estate mogul flew to Jerusalem to meet Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Within days, a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel was agreed. What happened that weekend and how influential was the businessman in the diplomatic negotiations?


    Reporter: Donald Macintyre

    Producer: Matt Russell

    Sound design: Tom Burchell

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett

    Slow Newscast Executive Producer: Matt Russell


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    4 March 2025, 6:00 am
  • 38 minutes 2 seconds
    Lucky Boy

    Gareth spent years believing he was a lucky boy. He was the 14-year-old who got the attention of the attractive young science teacher. Now, decades later, he wants the truth to come out about the damage it’s caused him. But his story is not straight forward. 


    Reported and produced by: Chloe Hadjimatheou and Gary Marshall


    Sound design: Hannah Varrall


    Podcast artwork: Lola Williams


    Executive producer: Basia Cummings


    You can find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]



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

    25 February 2025, 6:00 am
  • 28 minutes 27 seconds
    Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman | The lawsuit

    Last year we published a podcast series called Master: the allegations against Neil Gaiman. Five women accused the best-selling fantasy author  Neil Gaiman of sexually assaulting them. Neil Gaiman denied the allegations. It was a complicated and difficult story which shone a light on the nature of consent within an existing relationship.  Now, one of those women has filed a lawsuit in the United States against both Neil Gaiman and his estranged wife, Amanda Palmer. She explains why. Neil Gaiman continues to deny the allegations and says he has ‘never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity with anyone. Ever.’


    Reporter: Rachel Johnson

    Producer: Katie Gunning

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett

    Executive Producer for the Slow Newscast: Matt Russell


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

    18 February 2025, 6:00 am
  • 32 minutes 14 seconds
    The Rwanda plan: How to waste £700m

    The flagship policy for several Prime Ministers became the Rwanda plan. But three years, four Prime Ministers and £715 million later, the policy is dead and never really got off the ground. This is how so much money was spent on so little.


    Reporter: Catherine Neilan

    Producer: Ada Barume

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett

    Slow Newscast Executive Producer: Matt Russell


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    11 February 2025, 6:00 am
  • 42 minutes 13 seconds
    F**k it, release ‘em all: Trump and the Jan 6ers

    For more than two years, Special Counsel Jack Smith investigated allegations of President Trump’s election fraud. His investigation ended last month – not with a trial, but a dense report. Why has nobody paid attention?


    Reporter: Stephen Armstrong

    Producer: Claudia Williams

    Executive producer: Matt Russell

    Editor: Jasper Corbett

    Artwork: Lola Williams


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    4 February 2025, 6:00 am
  • 48 minutes 23 seconds
    Goodbye mum: the ruthless fight for child custody

    One of the most difficult questions facing a judge in the family court is which parent should have custody of a child. To help them answer that, judges rely on independent experts to provide an impartial voice in the court. But what happens when the objectivity of those experts is questioned? This is the story of how the family courts have failed some of the children it exists to protect.


    Reporters: Louise Tickle and Hannah Summers

    Additional reporting: Paul Bradshaw, Serena Cesaro, William Jarrett and Tom Wall

    Producer: Matt Russell

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    An investigation by Tortoise in partnership with The Bureau of Investigative Journalism


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    30 January 2025, 6:00 am
  • 39 minutes 6 seconds
    Rogue Russia: Nuclear poker

    In October 2022 the course of the Russia's war in Ukraine shifted. Intelligence from the USA and UK indicated that Russia could turn to a nuclear bomb to get on top of the war. This is the story of those six days in October, and just how close Putin really came to pressing the nuclear button.


    Reporter: Giles Whittell

    Producer: Ada Barume

    Additional reporting: Nina Kuryata

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett

    Slow Newscast Executive Producer: Matt Russell


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    21 January 2025, 6:00 am
  • 42 minutes 37 seconds
    Rogue Russia: Agents of mayhem

    Last October, the head of MI5 said Russia was on a mission to cause "sustained mayhem" on European streets. It might be hard to spot at first, but it is there in plain sight. This is the unpredictable, violent world of the modern Russian intelligence services


    Reporter: Alexi Mostrous

    Producer: Gary Marshall

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Editor: Jasper Corbett

    Slow Newscast Executive Producer: Matt Russell


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    14 January 2025, 6:00 am
  • 40 minutes 51 seconds
    Jordan Peterson and the making of man

    Jordan Peterson is a controversial figure, but he is also a man with a long-standing appeal to a particular demographic. What does his popularity tell us about a possible crisis in young men today?


    Reporter: Stephen Armstrong

    Producer: Matt Russell

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Sound design: Hannah Varrall

    Editor: Jasper Corbett


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    7 January 2025, 6:00 am
  • 19 minutes 26 seconds
    Finding my voice

    Xavier Greenwood’s childhood memories are dominated by a speech impediment and a thick accent. But was it all in his head?


    Reporter: Xavier Greenwood

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Artwork: Lola Williams

    Executive Producer: Matt Russell


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    31 December 2024, 6:00 am
  • 21 minutes 12 seconds
    The final bow: David Bowie's last act

    David Bowie's last months were spent fulfilling one final ambition: staging a musical based around his songs. They say you shouldn’t meet your heroes. Zelda Perkins not only met hers, she produced the musical he staged in his dying days


    Reporter: Zelda Perkins

    Artwork: Emma O'Neil

    Sound design: Dominic Delargy

    Executive Producer: Matt Russell


    To find out more about Tortoise:


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


    Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content


    Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more


    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 [email protected]


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

    24 December 2024, 6:00 am
  • More Episodes? Get the App