The arts have a role to play in levelling-up the country
From Blackpool to Great Yarmouth, culture has helped us all throughout the pandemic – and it can do more in the years ahead
THE ARMS RACE
The Covid coup
Tunisia had the highest Covid death rate in the world and not enough vaccines. A new leader threw the government out and is using vaccine supply to consolidate his position.
creative sensemaker
How Nicki took over politics
A rapper’s delight is now our own, and so too are her crazy outbursts.
SUMMIT
Can we stay ahead of cybercrime?
Attacks wreak havoc on our personal lives – and national infrastructure. In a digital world, we are more at risk than ever.
Slow views
Scotland’s second blueprint
Sturgeon is taking the gamble to invite scrutiny once more. How will it reframe the key questions of Scotland’s future?
sensemaker our daily roundup of the news that matters
Shine a light
17 september 2021
- The US and UK agreed to give Australia the technology to build nuclear submarines, a deal China described as “extremely irresponsible”.
- France suspended 3,000 health workers because they were not vaccinated against Covid under a new rule that made jabs mandatory for the country’s health, care, and fire service workers.
- Kemi Badenoch, the UK’s equality minister, called trans women men and appeared to mock gay marriage in a 2018 audio recording obtained by Vice World News.
- Researchers found bone tools and bones from skinned animals in a cave in Morocco that suggest humans began using clothing as far back as 120,000 years ago.
Millions of workers are bound by gagging contracts whether they know it or not. That could change, at last. Zelda Perkins, the first woman to break her non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with Harvey Weinstein, the former film producer who is serving a prison sentence for rape and sexual assault, exposed how he had used the devices to silence his victims.
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.
Everyone can join
By offering sponsored membership to those who otherwise could not join Tortoise, we are truly an open and inclusive newsroom.
Slow Views
The Covid coup
Tunisia’s leader used vaccine shortages to take power, and then vaccine supply to consolidate his new position
On Covid and climate, rich countries can’t afford to be selfish
Due to vaccine inequality, trust is breaking down ahead of the crucial Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow. Genuine solidarity is needed to solve both transnational crises
Still crazy about the monarchy after all these years…
Britain’s royal family isn’t particularly powerful and is increasingly beset by scandal. Yet our fascination with them remains strong. Why?
thinkin with james harding
The Battle for Truth
Does truth even exist anymore and, if so, who owns it? Welcome to Season One of ThinkIn with James Harding.
Rhodes Must Fall and the battle for truth
Cancel culture and the battle for truth
Grenfell Tower and the battle for truth
Dominic Cummings, Barnard Castle and the battle for truth
What our members are saying about the Battle for Truth podcast series
The Battle for Truth series was outstanding and truly thought-provoking.
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We’re not cutting emissions fast enough
In the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, Tortoise – in collaboration with members and a network of coalition organisations – is running a programme of ThinkIns and journalism devoted to accelerating net zero.
By the time we get to the conference, we want to have an agenda with a difference.
Listen
Scoring net zero
This weekend, Tottenham Hotspur play Chelsea in a match that will be a first of its kind. But is a ‘net zero’ football match purely a stunt or signs that things are changing for the better?
Instagram’s big problem
When an internal presentation by Instagram was leaked this week, it showed the social media giant knows how harmful its platform can be. So why aren’t they being transparent about it?
Ronaldo v Messi
Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to the Premier League with Manchester United was bound to get the conversation about who, really, can claim the GOAT (greatest of all time) title.
Winter is coming…
With Covid cases, hospitalisations and deaths are on the rise, we were all wondering what the government’s plan was going to be for a seemingly inevitable winter wave. Well, on Tuesday Boris Johnson revealed his plans for managing Covid-19 over the next few months. In today’s Sensemaker we ask: will their plan work?
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.
Watch
Why do so many people with autism die young?
Public awareness of issues relating to neurodiversity in general has improved in recent years, but has all that awareness translated into meaningful change, especially in terms of medical treatment, for autistic people and their families?
Victoria, Succession and Stephen: is drama better at news than journalism?
How do the shifting boundaries between fact and fiction, news and drama reshape our relationship with journalism, and with history? If journalism is the first draft of history, is TV drama now the finished article?
The fight for feminism
At a time when women’s rights across the world are increasingly under threat, why is feminism eating itself alive? What can be done to bring everyone together?
Afghanistan: what now?
Although it happened faster than even the Taliban expected, the fall of Kabul was not a surprise. The key question is, what happens now?
Book
In conversation with Katherine Ainley, CEO, Ericsson UK & Ireland
Join Alexi Mostrous in conversation with Katherine Ainley, CEO, Ericsson UK & Ireland.
Open News Meeting
Add your voice to the Tortoise editors’ weekly news conference. Bring story ideas and perspectives.Have your say.
Will technology widen the power gap? In conversation with Azeem Azhar
Join Alexi Mostrous in conversation with Azeem Azhar to discuss his new book, Exponential.
The Tortoise Cyber Summit
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