Blake Lively’s legal action against Justin Baldoni was settled just two weeks before it was due to go to trial. But the legal documents filed by both sides reveal something darker than a celebrity feud; a new troubling PR playbook.

Reporting: Stephen Armstrong and Casey Magloire.

Producers: Casey Magloire and Katie Gunning.

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Editor: Jasper Corbett 

Clips credits;

ITV news

Vogue

New York Times

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The elections look set to create ominous headlines for Labour. In the locals they could see massive losses across the country. But in Wales and Scotland voters go to the polls to determine who will run the Senedd and Holyrood. It means the results might not just determine Keir Starmer’s future, but the future of the United Kingdom.

Observer editor-in-chief James Harding sits down with political editor Rachel Sylvester to unpack what the elections could mean for Keir Starmer, Labour and the United Kingdom.

Producer: Amalie Sortland

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Novak Djokovic has long been Serbia’s most successful athlete, and perhaps most famous citizen. But as political conflicts such as youth protests have fractured the country, the tennis superstar has found himself on the outside of a regime and a country who once heralded him.

Reporters: Francisco Garcia and Camilla Bell - Davies

Producer: Madeleine Parr

Artwork: Harmony Closs

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Clip Credits: Tennis Channel, The Telegraph

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Alexi is joined by the Observer's national news editor, Claudia Williams to discuss the case of Tarryn Baird. Last week, her husband, Christopher Trybus was cleared of driving her to kill herself. Where does a grieving mother who spent 10 years searching for answers go from here?

Host: Alexi Mostrous

Guest: Claudia Williams

Producer: Ada Barumé

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In 1988, a painting by Lucian Freud of his one-time friend Francis Bacon was stolen from a Berlin art gallery. It’s now worth £20 million. This week, Steve Smith goes in search of the lost art.

Reporter: Steve Smith

Producer: Ada Barumé

Artwork: Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Jasper Corbett

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According to United States and Israel, there's 460 kilograms of enriched uranium that Iran are just ten days away from turning into weapons grade nuclear bomb material. The story of Iran's nuclear arms race is less clear than they make it appear though. It's a tale of espionage, assassinations, and a high-stakes game of bluff.

Credits:

Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Matt Russell

Sound Design - Dominic Delargy

Artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp

Editor - Jasper Corbett

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After sixteen years of rule in Hungary, Viktor Orbán has been voted out of office. But in that time, he’s built a deep-rooted network of soft power through think-tanks, universities and media organisations. As the new Prime Minister Péter Magyar seeks to assert his own identity and vision for Hungary, will Orbanism’s influence cause him problems?

Slow Newscast Extra: 

Host: Ada Barumé

Producer: Amalie Sortland

Executive Producer: Matt Russell

Illiberal land: Hungary’s empire of ideas

Reporter: David Aaronovitch

Producer: Jonathan Lewis

Artwork: Lola Williams

Sound Design: Dominic Delargy

Executive Producer: Jasper Corbett

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Ceri Thomas revisits the appalling case of Peter Sullivan, jailed for 38 years for a murder he did not commit and offered no apology when finally released. Why does the court work so slowly? Why is it allowed to mark its own homework, and why is it so resistant to reform? 

Reporter: Ceri Thomas

Producer: Katie Gunning

Artwork: Lucy Stevenson

Sound design: Dominic Delargy

Editor: Matt Russell

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Meta and YouTube were found liable earlier this year in a social media addiction trial and ordered to pay out $6 million in damages. Could this be a blueprint for how to avoid history repeating itself with AI?

Host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer: Amalie Sortland

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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

Subscribe to The Observer today: https://observer.co.uk/subscribe 

And get access to:

Our podcasts before anyone else

A daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a week

Puzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crossword

Recipes for every occasion

Free tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online

Subscribe today for just £1 for your first month.

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