Be nice to bats this Halloween
These wondrous flying mammals have had a bad rap, thanks in no small part to Bram Stoker. They deserve our friendship
a brand new podcast series
Sweet Bobby
Kirat is a successful marketer and radio presenter. On Facebook she is approached by Bobby, a cardiologist vaguely known to her. Eventually, they become tangled up in a love affair full of lies and manipulation. Then… Kirat discovers a deception of almost unimaginable proportions…
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Pulp and be damned
Are the so-called “culture wars” really affecting freedom of thought and expression? If so, are publishing houses in part to blame?
slow views
Be nice to bats
These wondrous flying mammals have had a bad rap, and are suffering. This Halloween, they deserve our friendship.
Tonight’s Thinkin
Sir Dave Lewis
With Cop 26 just a few days away, we’re holding a special Open News meeting with the WWF Chair, Xlinks Executive Chair and former Tesco CEO.
Slow Views
Expect no more than theatre from Sunak
Tomorrow’s Budget is unlikely to amount to much more than repackaged austerity and a few headline-grabbing measures.
sensemaker our daily roundup of the news that matters
Got your back
26 october 2021
- Tesla’s market value surpassed $1 trillion on news that Hertz ordered 100,000 of its electric vehicles, putting it in the company of Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
- Sudanese soldiers reportedly killed 10 people after firing on protesters in Khartoum who were demanding the return of civilian rule.
- Japan’s Princess Mako gave up her royal status to marry her commoner college boyfriend, a man she called “irreplaceable”.
Tomorrow Rishi Sunak will announce his first real post-Covid budget, but he’s leaving few surprises about what’s in store. His policies have already been trailed across the media. The headlines: £5.9 billion to be spent on the NHS in England, a national minimum wage hike, and unfreezing public sector pay. But not everything adds up.
Slow Views
Expect no more than theatre from Sunak
In tomorrow’s Budget and spending review, the chancellor will not deliver the road-map to genuine reform so badly needed by the country
Plan B should be implemented now. But Boris Johnson’s ego won’t allow that
A modest recalibration of the government’s Covid strategy would lift pressure on the NHS. But the PM will wait until he has absolutely no other option
The president that should have been
Colin Powell’s decision not to run for the White House in 1996 was one of the most consequential moments in recent American history
Join us at Cop 26
From 3-11 November we’ll be hosting a series of ThinkIns at the New York Times Climate Hub in Glasgow.
Listen
Shut up and dribble
Marcus Rashford has become as much an activist as a footballer. Can any player successfully balance on- and off-the-field activities?
Britain’s tumbling birth rate
In the UK, we’re having fewer children than ever before. What’s going on?
Keeping it in the football family
The PSG star Mauro Icardi’s spectacular fall-out with his wife has become big news – because she’s his agent, too. More and more footballers seem to be mixing family with business.
Masters of the metaverse
Facebook has just announced that it is creating 10,000 jobs to make a metaverse. A what?
Everyone can join
By offering sponsored membership to those who otherwise could not join Tortoise, we are truly an open and inclusive newsroom.
Campaign
We need to get the world vaccinated as fast as possible. We’re in an arms race: vaccines vs variants. That’s why we’ve launched our Vaccine Tracker along with a campaign to vaccinate the world by the end of next year.
Watch
Class, sexism and surviving Trump’s White House: A ThinkIn with Fiona Hill
We were joined by Fiona Hill for a wide-ranging conversation covering class, social mobility, being a feminist hero as a witness in the impeachment of President Trump, The Specials, and Russia.
The French Dispatch
Friend of Tortoise members joined us for a private preview screening of Wes Anderson’s latest movie The French Dispatch at Odeon Covent Garden.
King Richard
Friends of Tortoise members joined us for the headline Gala Screening of King Richard at this year’s London Film Festival.
Why is it still so hard to talk about mental ill-health?
As the first in a series of ThinkIns that seek to critically examine, and ultimately progress, the public conversation about mental health and wellbeing, we zeroed in on the elephant in the room: many people still don’t want – or know – how to talk about it.
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Countdown to Cop26 with Sir Dave Lewis
Join us for a special Open News meeting with Sir Dave Lewis, former CEO of Tesco and Chair of the WWF, to discuss the likely outcomes from Cop26.
Who should pay to save the rainforest?
Join us for a Cop26 series ThinkIn as we look at rainforest preservation and protection.
How far can we go with the technology we already have?
Join us for a Cop26 series ThinkIn as we consider whether the technology we need to deliver our Net Zero commitments already exists.
Talk is cheap. What should CEOs actually do about the climate crisis?
Join us for a Cop26 series ThinkIn as we ask, what is the CEO’s role in resolving the tension between the need for collective action to survive versus the need for competition to thrive?
covid Inquiry
Why wait until spring 2022?
That’s when the prime minister has said an independent inquiry into the government’s response to Covid will begin. Here at Tortoise, we felt the need was far more urgent – and so, last Autumn, we held our own.
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We’re building a different type of newsroom, for a slower, wiser news.
Members are at the heart of what we do
Our members bring a diverse range of voices into our newsroom to inform our journalism.
Taking the time to get it right
News has become noise. We sort through it all and crunch the data to call out what really matters.
A fresh approach to journalism
We use infographics, absorbing audio and stunning photography to make complex stories clear and enjoyable.
