The Slow Newscast takes news slowly: every week we investigate one story that really matters
Gianni Infantino is the most powerful man in world football but in the run up to the 2026 men's World Cup, his relationship with US president Donald Trump has grown very friendly. It's led to questions whether Infantino still has football's best interests at heart.
Reporter: Rory Smith
Producer: Ada Barumé
Artwork: Lola Williams
Sound Design: Dominic Delargy
Editor: Jasper Corbett
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The chancellor’s budget was supposed to be a gamechanger, but turned out to be an exercise in political survival. This is the story of how Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves took on a radical budget.
Reporter: Rachel Sylvester
Producers: Jonathan Lewis and 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
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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]
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When Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana announced a new political party this summer, it had all the ingredients to be a big success. But a summer of disarray has seen them overtaken by a rival on the left. What happened?
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Three years ago, travel writer Lydia Gard discovered freediving. An extreme and beautiful sport defined by one objective: to dive as deep as you can on one single breath. It soon became a calling. Then, she stumbled on a darker side of the sport. Rumours that a group of top divers were doping to go deeper. So she decided to investigate.
Reporter - Lydia Gard
Producer - Gary Marshall.
Music supervision and sound design - Karla Patella
Sound design - Rowan Bishop
Podcast artwork - Lola Williams
Fact checking - Poppy Bullard, Katie Gunning, Amalie Sortland, Madeleine Parr & Jess Swinburne
Executive producer - Basia Cummings
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 [email protected]
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With Prince Harry in effective exile and Andrew disgraced, the Royal family is smaller than ever before and at a potential crisis point. Prince William has already signalled his intention to be a different kind of monarch to King Charles. But can the monarchy survive, and what is its purpose?
Reporter: Rachel Sylvester
Producer: Madeleine Parr
Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp
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 [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Over the summer, Epping, a small town on the outskirts of London became the scene of mass protests. featuring hundreds of people. Noisy and occasionally violent, the demonstrations attracted crowds from around the country and plenty of media attention.
But what really happened in Epping and what does it tell us about where the right in Britain is heading?
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 [email protected]
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Just outside Gaza is a small settlement of Israelis hoping to enter and settle inside Gaza. They may be a fringe movement, but their voice holds a powerful sway within Israel's cabinet. Could they influence the terms of a future peace plan for Gaza?
Reporter: Oliver Marsden
Producer: Poppy Bullard and 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 [email protected]
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The French President and the First Lady of France are taking American right wing commentator Candace Owens to court in Delaware over bizarre claims the First Lady is transgender and the President is part of a CIA-backed mind-control programme, among many other conspiracy theories. But how much are the French President and the First Lady risking in doing so?
Reporter: Stephen Armstrong
Producer: Ada Barumé
Artwork: Lola Williams
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Executive Producer: Matt Russell
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 [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Donald Trump has launched four lawsuits against major media organisations for up to $15 billion over the past year. This is the story of Trump's war on the media and the people driving it.
Reporter: Giles Whittell
Producer: Jonathan Lewis
Artwork: Lola Williams
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Editor: Matt Russell
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 [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Since May, almost 900 Palestinians are reported to have been killed in the vicinity of aid checkpoints. So what exactly has happened at these aid sites?
Reporter: Ruth Michaelson
Producer: Madeleine Parr
Artwork: Jon Jones & Lola Williams
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Editors: Jasper Corbett & Matt Russell
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Unite was once the biggest trade union in Britain, and the largest funder of the Labour Party. In the past its reputation has come under scrutiny. Four years after its first female leader was elected on a promise of restoring trust… it remains mired by in-fighting.
In our podcast called “An uncivil war inside Unite”, which was released on 30 September 2025, we failed to convey Unite’s position that it is in good financial health and that the submission of its accounts has been delayed by a re-audit of the 2021 filing involving the Birmingham project which was overseen by the previous leadership regime. We apologise for this omission
Reporter: Jon Ungoed-Thomas
Producer: Jonathan Lewis
Sound design: Dominic Delargy
Art work: 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
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.