When Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the United States over his links with Jeffrey Epstein people wondered how he ever got appointed in the first place.  

Eventually Keir Starmer’s government was forced to publish more than a thousand pages of emails, messages and letters which reveal how Peter Mandelson was appointed, vetted and cleared to become the UK’s most influential diplomat. 

What emerges from those documents, is a story about who wields power in Britain today, how it works and how we conduct our politics.   

The Observer’s Ada Barumé tells the story of a political farce that begins with the appointment of Peter Mandelson and ends with the resignation of Keir Starmer. 

The Mandelson Files is a 4 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

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Reporter - Ada Barumé

Producer - Amalie Sortland

Sound design - Dominic Delargy

Podcast artwork - Lucy Stevenson

Executive producer - Jasper Corbett

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Eighteen months ago the Assad regime suddenly collapsed, and the first lady and her family fled to Moscow. A regime insider tells Chloe just how powerful Asma had become in the final years and what was happening inside the palace. Could Asma really have had aspirations to take over from her husband?

We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Gary Marshall

Field producer - Sarah Dadouch

Sound design - Karla Patella & Hannah Varrall

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner

Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

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Chloe learns of allegations that Asma - the ‘mother of the nation’ - had an active role in one of the regime’s cruellest strategies: separating the children of dissidents and rebel fighters from their parents to use them as bargaining chips. At an orphanage in Damascus, Chloe gets closer to the truth. 

We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

To binge listen to more episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Gary Marshall

Field producer - Sarah Dadouch

Sound design - Karla Patella & Hannah Varrall

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner

Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

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Chloe travels to Damascus to meet people close to Bashar and Asma. One source tells her that Asma took a drastic decision in the early years of the war - she tried to leave Syria. Only it’s not for the reasons you might think.

We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

To binge listen to more episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Gary Marshall

Field producer - Sarah Dadouch

Sound design - Karla Patella & Hannah Varrall

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner

Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

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In 2011, the Arab Spring hits Syria and Asma has a decision to make: speak out in favour of the popular revolution or stay loyal to the regime. But what choice did she really have? 

We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Gary Marshall

Field producer - Sarah Dadouch

Sound design - Karla Patella

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner

Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

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

When Asma arrives in Syria, there’s a palpable sense of hope. People in the country and around the world dare to believe that she is a force for good. Chloe hears from people who worked with her in the early years who - despite everything that’s happened - still believe her intentions were genuine but that she became trapped by the regime.

We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

You'll get access to:

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Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Gary Marshall

Field producer - Sarah Dadouch

Sound design - Karla Patella

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner

Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

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

Emma is a high achieving, middle class woman from West London - she’s destined for a successful career and a comfortable British life. But in 2001 she makes a decision that will come to define her - she marries the son of a dictator and becomes Asma al-Assad, the first lady of Syria.

We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

You'll get access to:

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Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Gary Marshall

Field producer - Sarah Dadouch

Sound design - Karla Patella

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner

Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

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

Emma is a high achieving, middle class girl from west London. She seems destined for a successful career in banking and a comfortable British life. Until she makes a decision that will come to define her. In 2001 Emma marries Bashar al-Assad - the now infamous dictator of Syria.

In the early days, people inside and out of Syria dared to hope. Alongside his beautiful, progressive wife, Bashar promised to modernise the country.

But when the Arab Spring reached Syria in 2011, Bashar's regime showed itself for what it really was: a brutal force, willing to capture and kill ordinary Syrians demanding change. And in all the years that a war raged on, Asma stood by her husband. She seemingly ignored the desperate pleas to stop her husband from killing his own people. 

But what did she really know about the atrocities her husband’s government was carrying out? And what choices did she really have? Some people allege that she actually assisted the regime and cashed in on the war, that she herself is a war criminal. Others say she tried to run away but was trapped, held hostage by a regime who threatened her life and her children. 

So, who is the real Emma?

We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou

Producer - Gary Marshall

Sound design - Karla Patella

Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner

Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings

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

Jess does a DNA test. And she and Lucy travel to visit a house where Jess’s birth mother once lived, and try and work out how nobody noticed a thing.

Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer

To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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

Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer

To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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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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On 6th October 1987, a newborn baby is found on the verge of a remote country lane in Suffolk. Police comb the area for clues and appeal for witnesses, but the mother is never found. The baby, Jess, is adopted. Journalist Lucy Greenwell has never forgotten the day when Jess was discovered. She was a child and lived nearby. For decades Lucy has wondered; what happened to Jess, and what could have driven a mother to leave her child in such an isolated place? When Lucy tracks Jess down, she finds a woman already deep in her own search for the truth, and a story far more tangled than either of them expected. What unfolds is a tale of long-held secrets and unintended consequences that spirals out of Jess’s control.

Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.

To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.

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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

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