David was deputy editor for Guardian US and before that was Head of News and US Editor for The Times
David Taylor
Editor

“At Tortoise we aim to dig deeper, talk to more people and open up the process of journalism so we can understand what is shaping the world and tell powerful stories.”
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Thursday 10 November 2022
18:30-19:30 GMTBattle for the soul of America: making sense of the midterms
Join us to digest the results and their impact on the US and the world.
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Wednesday 18 May 2022
18:30-19:30 BSTMaking sense of the right to protest, with Dave Taylor
Is the right to live without disruption more important than the right to protest?
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Thursday 19 May 2022
18:30-19:30 BSTIn conversation with Jack Monroe
Jack on food poverty campaigning, the cost of living crisis, and the inflation of a bag of pasta.
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Thursday 19 May 2022
16:00-17:00 BSTSheila McKechnie Foundation National Campaigner Awards 2022
An hour of celebration and inspiration with our host, the writer and comedian Viv Groskop, as part of the Tortoise Community Network week.
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Wednesday 1 December 2021
18:30-19:30 GMTThe Attack: How secure is American democracy?
A special ThinkIn, in partnership with The Washington Post, almost 11 months after the storming of the Capitol.
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Thursday 21 October 2021
18:30-19:30 BSTClass, 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.
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Wednesday 15 September 2021
18:30-19:30 BSTWhat is America for now?
As American politicians confront the unedifying reality of balancing domestic public opinion against long-term geopolitical implications and an immediate humanitarian crisis, what is the point of America now? Can the American people, and the nation as a whole, come to terms with its various crises and begin to work towards redemption, and renewal?
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Thursday 10 June 2021
18:30-19:30 BSTFans vs Football: who owns the game?
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Wednesday 10 March 2021
18:30-19:30 GMTBakeIn: An hour of ‘breaditation’ with Tortoise
Take an hour out of your day for some ‘breaditation’ as we bake a sourdough loaf live.
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Thursday 25 February 2021
08:30-14:50 GMTThe Future of Money Summit
Join us an invited experts to discuss the big questions about the future of money
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Wednesday 4 November 2020
18:25-20:00 GMTUS Election: The Result – what now?
As the votes were still being counted, we discussed the US election – why it played out in the way that it did, and what the outcome will mean for America and the world.
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Tuesday 24 November 2020
13:00-14:00 GMTOpen News
Add your voice to the Tortoise editors’ weekly news conference. Bring story ideas and perspectives. Have your say.
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Tuesday 17 November 2020
13:00-14:00 GMTOpen News
Add your voice to the Tortoise editors’ weekly news conference. Bring story ideas and perspectives. Have your say.
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Wednesday 7 October 2020
18:25-19:30 BSTHidden homicides: how many murders go unreported?
Why do so many women’s sudden and unexpected deaths go un-investigated?
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Wednesday 30 September 2020
18:25-19:30 BSTTrump vs Biden: who won the first debate?
Calm analysis of the first debate, and what it means for the race to The White House.
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Monday 21 September 2020
18:20-19:30 BSTIs American democracy in danger?
Win or lose on November 4th, Trump will leave an indelible mark on American democracy.
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Tuesday 13 June 2023
Epstein’s victims can’t take him to court – so they’re going after the banks that handled his money
JP Morgan’s settlement was a long time coming – and it’s unlikely to be the last
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Friday 17 June 2022
Watergate now
A minor burglary started the most famous political scandal of modern times. It still resonates
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Monday 13 June 2022
My life in a field
Festivals are back. They may bring rain, mud, thieves and terrible toilets, but David Taylor can’t wait
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Monday 27 September 2021
10 minute readSensemaker: Substantial injustice
What just happened
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Monday 18 January 2021
Former US Defense Secretary: The attack on the Capitol was a ‘coup’
Chuck Hagel, a Republican senator for 12 years and Barack Obama’s defence chief, was speaking to this week’s Tortoise Slow Newscast
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Monday 11 January 2021
10 minute readDavid Taylor: These are the enablers
Over the past few days, senior Republican figures have lined up to denounce Trump. But they all knew about him before now – and did nothing
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Thursday 26 November 2020
Scottish Independence
Tories on Scotland: what’s the strategy?
Even if the SNP wins big in next year’s Scottish elections, there’s still a major impediment between them and another independence referendum: the UK’s Conservative government. We decided to find out what they’re thinking
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Tuesday 7 July 2020
The Reckoning
Death at Justice
Listen to the story of Emanuel Gomes
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Friday 12 June 2020
Goodbye America
Lockdown meltdown
Charting the stages of Trump’s response to crisis at home
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Monday 6 April 2020
Unheard voices
Isolation
Everyone will have their own story of the lockdown. Some of the most difficult are unreported
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Friday 7 February 2020
Bringing up the body count
Donald Trump’s State of the Union was more action movie than speech – and it played well with his fanbase
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Monday 27 January 2020
Three women homeless
‘You get attacked. You get men coming up to you, offering you money.’
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Friday 20 September 2019
Can anyone beat Trump?
As Democrats try to avoid another defeat, Lucia Graves joins us to discuss the hunt for a 2020 contender
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Monday 26 June 2023
Jeffrey Epstein’s bankers
One of the banks that helped protect the paedophile financier has settled a lawsuit brought by a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse.
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Wednesday 21 June 2023
Bill Gates: the prey
Bill Gates was the golden philanthropist at the top of the billionaire’s league – he was also Epstein’s way back into society
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Thursday 15 June 2023
Master of the universe
Leon Black was the aggressive private equity billionaire at the top of New York society – he also bankrolled Epstein
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Monday 12 June 2023
Eyes wide open
After Epstein was dropped by JP Morgan, another bank stepped in to help his sex trafficking empire keep rolling
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Monday 12 June 2023
The man in the hot tub
Jes Staley was one of the most powerful men in banking – he was also Jeffrey Epstein’s protector
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Friday 24 March 2023
Boris Johnson, Met Police report and life expectancy
In this episode Tortoise’s editor-in-chief James Harding is joined by political editor Cat Neilan, editor Dave Taylor and head of investigations Alexi Mostrous. They discuss Boris Johnson’s future, Baroness Casey’s scathing review of the Metropolitan Police and the life expectancy gap between the wealthiest and poorest areas.
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Monday 13 March 2023
Murdoch: news vs the truth
What happened inside Fox News in those critical weeks following Donald Trump’s election defeat in 2020?
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Friday 24 February 2023
A year of war in Ukraine, the tomato shortage and cash-strapped councils
Three journalists pitch their top story of the week to Tortoise’s editor-in-chief James Harding. In this episode James is joined by Tortoise editors Jess Winch and David Taylor, as well as leading UK barrister Hashi Mohamed.
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Friday 20 January 2023
Britishvolt, David Carrick and online harms
Journalist and broadcaster Adam Boulton is the guest host of this week’s News Meeting. He’s joined by Tortoise editors Liz Moseley, Alexi Mostrous and Dave Taylor
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Friday 6 January 2023
NHS crisis, Congress chaos, Parthenon marbles
In the first episode of 2023 James Harding is joined by Liz Moseley, Dave Taylor and Mark St Andrew to discuss the stories they think mattered most this week
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Wednesday 21 December 2022
The warrior with a wooden spoon
Food prices have soared this year and the arguments about the causes have raged. One campaigner cut through to demand change from government and supermarkets.
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Friday 16 December 2022
Fusion breakthrough, FTX boss arrested, corruption scandal
In the last episode of 2022 James Harding is joined by Liz Moseley, Dave Taylor and Tortoise political editor Cat Neilan to discuss the stories they think mattered most this week.
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Friday 2 December 2022
Balenciaga, Alzheimer’s drug and protests
James Harding is joined by Tortoise journalists Liz Moseley, Andrew Butler and Dave Taylor to discuss the stories they think mattered most this week
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Friday 25 November 2022
World Cup, winter of discontent, Disney hero?
In the first episode James Harding is joined by Tortoise editors Cat Neilan, Dave Taylor and Liz Moseley to discuss the stories they think mattered most this week
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Thursday 17 November 2022
Trump is back
The man who tried to stage a coup to stay in power has announced he is running for president again. Donald Trump still has his passionate supporters, but does he have a path back to the White House?
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Friday 11 November 2022
Trump’s enemy within
The midterm elections in the United States were supposed to deliver a Republican red wave to sweep away Democrats. But the wave never came – and that has big implications for Donald Trump who is facing a new rival in his own party.
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Tuesday 12 July 2022
Episode 3: Dividing lines
Does the UK punish families for their poverty? Is the government doing enough to help young children flourish and parents succeed? What will it take to fix a broken system?
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Tuesday 5 July 2022
Episode 2: Nursery networkers
What’s the point of nurseries? Why are the ages of three to five so crucial? Are today’s children part of a giant, unplanned experiment?
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Tuesday 28 June 2022
Episode 1: Modern families
Is there such a thing as a “normal” family? Does technology make interactions between parents and children better, or worse? In the struggle between work and childcare, who wins and who loses?
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Monday 20 September 2021
Wrong turn
Plenty of people take wrong turns in their lives. But so too can justice systems. John Crilly and hundreds more have been the victims of the legal doctrine of Joint Enterprise and how it has been applied for the past 30 years
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Monday 13 September 2021
Beau and Biden
President Biden believes his eldest son’s cancer, which claimed his life in 2015, was linked to his time serving in Iraq. It is a belief that makes sense of the loss, and – as has become clear in recent weeks – shapes Biden’s world view
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Thursday 16 July 2020
“It was shocking and bewildering”
Listen to former chief prosecutor Nazir Afzal on the behaviour of Dominic Cummings
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Thursday 21 May 2020
Cash and caring: the business of care homes
The tragedy of COVID-19 exposes deep problems in UK care homes: too little money at the front line, too much in tax havens
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Thursday 23 April 2020
No weddings and 14 funerals
For a parish priest, joy is in short supply and tragedy is everywhere. But hope lives on