Before Tortoise Imy studied History as an undergrad at Exeter before going on to do the Broadcast Journalism MA at City University in London. She’s held various freelance positions for academic journals, local radio stations and production companies. Imy was nominated for the RTS Student Television Awards in 2019 in “Postgraduate News” and by the British Olympic Association to the European round of the IOC Young Reporters Programme.
Imy Harper
Producer
“At Tortoise I get to listen to such an array of voices, opinions, thought tracks, rants and rambles, moving between the editorial, planning and partnerships teams, learning from every corner of the newsroom as I go.”
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Tuesday 20 July 2021
10 minute read
Sensemaker: “Get Covid, live longer.”
What just happened
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Friday 5 March 2021
The Covid Variants
Further Reading
For those keen to dig a little deeper and find out more about Covid-19 mutations, herd immunity and the science behind it all…
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Thursday 16 January 2020
Trees: Saviours of the planet
How can I help?
The planet needs more trees, and one of their strengths as a climate change solution is that everyone can plant them, or help others to. Whichever your preference, here’s the Tortoise guide to trees
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Friday 23 September 2022
Unrest in Iran
The death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, has sparked anti-government protests across Iran. Could they be a tipping point for the Islamic Republic?
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Thursday 22 September 2022
Secrets and lies
Two young children make horrific allegations in a London police station, lighting the fuse on one of the most serious British conspiracy theories in decades
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Thursday 22 September 2022
Ella’s list
Seized upon by conspiracy theorists, Ella’s list of alleged cult members spreads like wildfire across the Internet. Hampstead parents start receiving death threats and lives are torn apart
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Thursday 22 September 2022
The Avengers
The perpetrators of the Hampstead hoax meet their match in an unassuming mystery novelist, who is determined to expose their lies and bring them to justice
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Thursday 22 September 2022
A crime in the making: Russia’s atrocities
No war crime is ever inevitable, but it’s possible to make one likely. Russia did exactly that before 53 prisoners of war burned to death at Olenivka
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Thursday 8 September 2022
Tackling period poverty
In August, Jason Grant became the Period Dignity Officer for Tayside. After an outcry over the job being given to a man he resigned and the role was abolished. But that doesn’t mean the issue has gone away.
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Tuesday 6 September 2022
Kim’s sister
Since her father’s death in 2011, Kim Yo Jong has risen through the ranks of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party. How influential is she in the secretive state?
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Monday 5 September 2022
The Fix
Desiree Fixler was a high-flyer in the world of finance until she raised questions about whether sustainable investing is living up to its promise. Her decision to speak out had huge consequences
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Tuesday 30 August 2022
Justice for justice
Last week, criminal barristers voted in favour of an indefinite strike over pay and conditions. What’s happening in our criminal justice system?
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Wednesday 24 August 2022
Customers vs. the energy companies
Grassroots campaign group Don’t Pay UK are threatening a mass non-payment of energy bills. What impact would that have?
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Tuesday 23 August 2022
Supersonic travel returns
More than two decades after Concorde retired, airline companies are placing orders for a new supersonic passenger jet. What’s different this time?
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Thursday 18 August 2022
The women taking on the Taliban
One year on from the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban, a group of women took to the streets to protest. What’s life like for them?
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Friday 12 August 2022
Returning treasures
The Horniman Museum’s decision to return a collection of Benin Bronzes to the Nigerian government will increase pressure on the British Museum to do the same. But how significant is the move?
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Wednesday 10 August 2022
NHS crisis: a junior doctor’s view
New junior doctors have just completed their first week working in England’s hospitals. With the NHS facing a summer crisis, what’s it been like?
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Wednesday 3 August 2022
Boris Johnson: what next?
A campaign led by businessman and Conservative donor Lord Cruddas to “Bring Back Boris” looks unlikely to succeed, so what might Boris Johnson do next?
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Tuesday 26 July 2022
Rishi Sunak’s pitch for PM
Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak are going head-to-head to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister. In the first of two Sensemaker episodes we look at what the former chancellor believes and what he might do if he wins.
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Thursday 21 July 2022
Covid’s new sub-variants
At the start of July, one in eighteen people in the UK were infected with Covid because of two new Omicron sub-variants. How worried should we be about rising cases?
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Monday 27 June 2022
Farewell to tennis’ golden generation
For the last two decades, a golden generation has dominated tennis’ biggest tournaments. But does this year’s Wimbledon mark the end of an era?
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Wednesday 22 June 2022
G’day, ma’am
Australia has just appointed its first assistant minister for the republic. Matt Thistlewaite’s job is to oversee the transition toward establishing an Australian republic with an Australian head of state. But will he be successful?
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Monday 20 June 2022
Rail strikes
There’s going to be serious disruption to Britain’s train network this week as staff walk out in the biggest rail strike for three decades. What’s behind the industrial action?
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Wednesday 15 June 2022
The Guptas arrested in Dubai
Two brothers from the wealthy Gupta family have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates. They’re wanted by South Africa on criminal and money-laundering charges. But will they be extradited?
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Thursday 9 June 2022
Britain’s democratic disillusionment
Twelve years since the Conservatives took power and six since the EU referendum, voters are dissatisfied with their representatives, divided by demography and distrustful of a system that seems stacked against them.
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Tuesday 7 June 2022
Paying the pay rise price
With inflation at a 40 year high, the Bank of England’s governor has suggested workers shouldn’t ask for a pay rise because of worries it could fuel price rises. But what’s the reality?
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Wednesday 1 June 2022
The monkeypox outbreak
The recent outbreak of monkeypox has been described by health experts as a “highly unusual” event. Why’s it happening now?
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Monday 30 May 2022
North Korea’s “fever”
For two years, North Korea shut itself off from the world and boasted about its zero Covid cases. Now, the country has reported its first case of Covid-19. What could a sudden surge in the country mean for the rest of the world?
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Thursday 26 May 2022
The Met’s next commissioner
Applications for the next commissioner of London’s Metropolitan Police have now closed. Who are the runners and riders?
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Thursday 19 May 2022
A u-turn on torture
In 2020 the government tried to pass legislation that would have made it harder to prosecute British troops for war crimes like torture. This is how one group of campaigners forced it to rethink the Overseas Operations Bill.
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Tuesday 17 May 2022
Covid’s bereaved families
A group of people united by one haunting question have come together to form the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice. They’ve got the public inquiry they campaigned for, but there’s still a long way to go until they get answers.
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Wednesday 11 May 2022
Beergate
Labour leader Keir Starmer is currently under a police investigation for breaching Covid-19 lockdown rules. If fined, he says he’ll resign. How did we get here and what does this mean for prime minister Boris Johnson?
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Wednesday 4 May 2022
Westminster wrongdoing
The rotten culture at Westminster has been exposed once again. Has anything changed since allegations of sexual misconduct and bullying first emerged in 2017?
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Thursday 28 April 2022
Jacob Rees-Mogg’s crusade against WFH
The Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency wants to get civil servants back in the office. Why is he so bothered about it?
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Wednesday 27 April 2022
Elon Musk goes shopping
Twitter’s board has accepted Elon Musk’s offer to buy the social media company for around $44 billion. But what’s he going to do with it?
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Monday 25 April 2022
Sinn Fein’s election hopes
Voters in Northern Ireland will elect a new assembly on 5th May. Polls suggest Sinn Fein could for the first time defeat unionists to become the largest party.
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Thursday 21 April 2022
The Rwanda plan
The UK government’s plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda has raised both ethical and legal questions. Why is it still pressing ahead?
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Tuesday 12 April 2022
The chancellor’s non-dom wife
Revelations that Rishi Sunak’s wife chose to avoid paying UK income tax through her non-dom status have created a political storm for the chancellor. But were they in the wrong?
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Wednesday 6 April 2022
The recovering Russian ruble
When Russia invaded Ukraine, the country’s currency tumbled. More than a month on, it looks like it’s bounced back. But has it?
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Thursday 31 March 2022
The Scheherazade: Putin’s yacht?
One of the world’s largest yachts is currently in the Tuscan resort of Marina di Carrara. Who it belongs to is disputed but there are suspicions it could be owned by Russian president Vladimir Putin.
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Wednesday 30 March 2022
Child Q
A 15-year-old Black school girl who was suspected of carrying cannabis was strip searched by police officers at her school. How unusual is this?
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Friday 25 March 2022
A degree of controversy
After Tony Sewell chaired the controversial Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities the University of Nottingham decided to revoke their offer of an honorary degree. Was it justified?
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Wednesday 23 March 2022
The hostage left behind
When a 40-year-old debt was settled between Britain and Iran last week, two British hostages were allowed to return home. So why was Morad Tahbaz, also a British hostage, left behind?
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Wednesday 16 March 2022
Russia-Ukraine: Whose side is China on?
President Xi Jinping has said his friendship with Vladimir Putin has “no limits”. So what does he make of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine?
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Monday 14 March 2022
Endurance endures
The frozen seascape just off Antarctica, home to a sunken ship for 106 years, is one of the most scientifically important ecosystems on the planet. What can it teach us about climate change?
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Thursday 10 March 2022
The UK and Ukrainian refugees
Two weeks on from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the UK has only granted 760 visas to Ukrainian refugees. Why?
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Wednesday 2 March 2022
Germany’s historic shift
Germany has overturned decades-old security and foreign policy doctrines in the face of Russia’s aggression in eastern Europe. How did it happen?
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Monday 28 February 2022
From comedian to wartime president
Before Russia’s invasion, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky faced criticism at home. Now he is a wartime leader rising to the moment.
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Wednesday 16 February 2022
Olaf Scholz pipes up in Moscow
Germany’s new chancellor was initially criticised for his slow and awkward response to the Ukraine crisis, but he has now met Vladimir Putin. What does it tell us about his policy towards Russia?
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Friday 11 February 2022
Macron’s mission
French president Emmanuel Macron met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin this week. It was an attempt to de-escalate tensions over Ukraine, but Macron had another aim too.
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Tuesday 1 February 2022
A slow march
It’s been more than 20 years since the British military lifted their ban on gay people serving, so why are LGBT+ veterans still waiting for compensation?
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Friday 28 January 2022
The t-shirt ban
The Australian Open banned t-shirts about the missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai, but then u-turned. What does it tell us about how sporting bodies deal with repressive regimes?
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Tuesday 25 January 2022
The letter
Every year Larry Fink, one of the biggest names in finance, writes a letter to the business world. Why has it become one of the most anticipated events in the calendar?
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Friday 21 January 2022
A risky game
What does it do to a politician, to be caught lying to parliament?
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Friday 14 January 2022
Partygate and Dominic Cummings
When Dominic Cummings was driven out of Number 10 at the end of 2020, many thought the days of the “Westminster protagonist” were over. Then came partygate.
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Wednesday 12 January 2022
The family which captured a country
The Indian businessmen, the Gupta brothers, became enormously influential in South Africa. A new report says they effectively captured the country.
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Friday 7 January 2022
The rise of the incels
Incels – men who are ‘involuntarily celibate’ and blame women – are growing in numbers and getting angrier and more misogynistic. A man who goes by the name Alexander Ash is promoting their rise.
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Wednesday 5 January 2022
Is Plan B working?
The Omicron variant of Covid is surging across the UK, but the government seems determined not to go beyond its famous “Plan B” – the restrictions we’re living with now.
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Tuesday 4 January 2022
2022: Predictions
Today, we’re doing something a little different. We’re going to kick off the year by predicting a few big things we think will happen in 2022.
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Tuesday 28 December 2021
The woman at the top
Cressida Dick is in charge of the Metropolitan Police. But having a woman at the top hasn’t shielded the force from accusations that it’s still a deeply sexist institution.
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Wednesday 15 December 2021
The unvaccinated question
The Omicron variant is causing a rapid rise in Covid-19 infections. Is the UK government making the right call by not clamping down on unvaccinated people?
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Thursday 9 December 2021
Turkey tensions
Politicians are promising that this Christmas will be better than the last one. And one man, and his supermarket, are securing shoppers their turkeys…
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Monday 6 December 2021
Is Scotland cooling on independence?
In Scotland, the SNP is committed to trying again for a referendum on independence. But timing is everything.
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Tuesday 30 November 2021
Understanding Omicron
Scientists think the new mutation of Covid-19 could be linked to HIV. How?
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Monday 29 November 2021
Stopping the people smugglers
How can Britain and France stop the lucrative, and deadly, trade in human lives in small boats across the English Channel?
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Friday 26 November 2021
A hospital’s prisoner
Tony Hickmott has autism and learning difficulties. For more than 20 years he’s been held in a specialist hospital, hours away from his family. His local council blame a lack of other options – how can this be justified?
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Wednesday 24 November 2021
Europe’s anti-lockdown fight
This week, Austria brought in its fourth national lockdown and said Covid vaccines will become a legal requirement from early next year. It’s been met with large protests and threats of strike action. Will the UK follow a similar path?
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Thursday 18 November 2021
The profit of conspiracy
Alex Jones is one of the United States’ great sources of misinformation – and he’s made a lot of money from it. This week a court has found him liable by default of defamation. But will it stop him spreading lies in future?
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Tuesday 16 November 2021
A deadly crisis in Kuznica
Trapped between Polish guards on one side and Belarusian guards on the other, migrants trapped on Europe’s frontier find themselves caught in a lethal geopolitical game.
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Thursday 11 November 2021
Trapped in Whitehall
Since 2016, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has been held hostage in Iran. And to understand why, you need to know about a long-forgotten tank deal, and a debt Britain is refusing to pay…
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Friday 5 November 2021
A sleazy fiasco
Boris Johnson tried to save his colleague Owen Paterson from accusations of sleaze. He failed, but by trying he’s damaged himself and the reputation of Parliament.
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Thursday 4 November 2021
Coal and climate
In Cumbria, there’s a plan for a new coal mine. Should we say no to it for the sake of the planet?
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Friday 29 October 2021
The endemic equilibrium
The government is under increasing pressure to reintroduce Covid restrictions. Why are they holding off?
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Thursday 14 October 2021
A frosty relationship
The UK has left the European Union. Why is trying now to renegotiate the way it left?
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Tuesday 12 October 2021
The priceless price cap
Gas bills are rocketing – but there’s supposed to be a ‘price cap’ on them to protect consumers. Why isn’t it working?
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Thursday 7 October 2021
Breaking open shell companies
The leak of financial documents known as the Pandora Papers shines a light on ‘shell companies’ which allow people to hide their wealth. Has the time come for tax authorities to clamp down on them?
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Monday 4 October 2021
A long way from home
After the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, the UK agreed to take thousands of refugees. What’s happening to them?
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Thursday 30 September 2021
The vaccine war
Pfizer makes one of the most important vaccines against Covid-19. Did it go beyond supporting its own vaccine and start undermining others?
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Monday 27 September 2021
Down’s syndrome, discrimination, and Heidi Crowter
Heidi Crowter has Down’s Syndrome. She fought to change a UK law which allows women with a Down’s baby to have an abortion much later in pregnancy.
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Thursday 23 September 2021
Will the lights stay on?
The looming energy crisis erupted this week – gas prices rocketed and more energy suppliers went bust. So why didn’t we see it coming?
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Tuesday 21 September 2021
Andrew Neil’s minority of one
GB News faces an uncertain future. Its star and chairman, Andrew Neil, has left. Viewer figures make for grim reading. So is there an audience for an ‘anti-woke’, Fox News style channel?
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Friday 17 September 2021
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?
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Wednesday 15 September 2021
Danger in the Channel
The UK’s Home Secretary, Priti Patel, has announced plans to authorise “pushbacks” of migrant boats in the English Channel. It is a policy condemned as dangerous and… possibly, illegal.
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Friday 10 September 2021
The crypto country
El Salvador has become the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. Will it come to regret its decision?
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Wednesday 8 September 2021
National Insurance – the misunderstood tax
The government has just put up National Insurance to help pay for the NHS to recover from Covid and to improve social care. Did they choose to increase that particular tax because a lot of us don’t know what it is?
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Friday 27 August 2021
The fatal border
A little-known US law, brought back in by Donald Trump, has caused a surge in migrants from Mexico. It’s not what President Trump intended.
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Friday 20 August 2021
America’s classroom war
Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis has blocked a mask mandate for the state’s schools, going against advice from the Center for Disease Control. But with a fourth Covid wave causing more hospitalisations, can the state really afford to “get back to normal”?
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Monday 16 August 2021
Code red on climate
Last week the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a code red report on climate change. But with Cop26 just around the corner, will leaders act fast enough to avoid the worst effects?
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Wednesday 11 August 2021
Fires and fury in Greece
Fires have ripped across the island of Evia, in Greece. And when help finally came it was too little, too late.
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Monday 9 August 2021
The dating app that cares?
Bumble has announced it will be offering free therapy to anyone who experiences sexual assault from someone they meet on the app. It this a meaningful change, or just smart PR?
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Thursday 5 August 2021
Dying in the line of duty
Four police officers have taken their own lives since the Capitol riots in Washington DC in January, but their deaths are not considered “in the line of duty”. Why?
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Monday 2 August 2021
The Stormzy effect
Grime artist Stormzy has been supporting Black students at Cambridge university. He’s making an impact, and it’s part of a wider change at elite British universities.
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Friday 30 July 2021
The mind Games
Simone Biles is the greatest female gymnast ever. By talking openly about mental health she may have changed elite sport forever.
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Wednesday 28 July 2021
Money for medals
If the UK does well at the Tokyo Olympics, there’s a reason why: money. Britain pays for its elite sports to do well. But it turns the taps off if they don’t. They’re wrong.
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Monday 26 July 2021
The next Olympics
After Tokyo comes Paris in 2024. If these Olympic games are difficult because of Covid, what legacy will they hand on?
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Tuesday 20 July 2021
The pingdemic
As Covid infections in the UK multiply, the NHS app is pinging hundreds of thousands of people to tell them to self-isolate. Businesses are wondering how they can cope.
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Thursday 15 July 2021
The truth about Sputnik V
Sputnik V is the Russian vaccine against Covid. The world isn’t sure it’s getting the whole truth about it
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Tuesday 13 July 2021
A masked U-turn
At first Boris Johnson said that after the great unlocking, masks would no longer be mandatory. Just days later, he changed his mind. Why?
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Thursday 1 July 2021
Why Bill Cosby was freed
Comedian Bill Cosby was jailed for sexual assault – one of the highest-profile stars held to account after the #MeToo movement. So why has he just walked free?
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Wednesday 30 June 2021
China’s rap patriots
China’s ruling party are about to celebrate their 100-year anniversary. But their new anthem isn’t quite what you’d expect…
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Monday 28 June 2021
The paranoid pioneer
John McAfee invented anti-virus software and made millions. Last week he took his own life in a Spanish jail, convinced that politicians and the FBI were out to get him.
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Friday 25 June 2021
Britney’s back
Britney Spears’s speech to a court about the conservatorship that runs her life has made headlines. But it’s also raised an important question: who gets to decide if you can have a child?
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Tuesday 22 June 2021
Blame the burrito
The American track star Shelby Houlihan has lost her place at the Olympics after testing positive for a steroid. She blamed a Mexican takeaway
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Thursday 17 June 2021
Murder and corruption
A 34-year-old unsolved murder has led to the Metropolitan Police being labelled ‘institutionally corrupt’.
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Tuesday 15 June 2021
Football’s duty of care
After Christian Eriksen collapsed on the football pitch, it was left to the players to decide whether to carry on with the match.
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Monday 7 June 2021
Waiting at the bar
British pubs and restaurants have reopened after a long lockdown. But can they find anyone to serve us?
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Tuesday 1 June 2021
Fever pitch
How one country may have tried to buy their way to win at the Eurovision song contest
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Friday 21 May 2021
The forever war: abortion in the USA
Presidents come and go, but the fight over abortion continues regardless in the United States
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Tuesday 18 May 2021
The new variant
Has the government made the right call on the ‘Indian’ variant, otherwise known as B1617?
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Thursday 13 May 2021
What counts as junk food?
The British government wants to ban junk food adverts. But who decides what’s junk?
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Tuesday 11 May 2021
Keir Starmer mis-fires
The Labour leader tried to sack his deputy. It could hardly have gone worse for him.
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Thursday 6 May 2021
Bollywood politics
Why one of Bollywood’s biggest stars, Kangana Ranaut, has been removed from Twitter.
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Thursday 29 April 2021
Another vaccine breakthrough?
The man who has dedicated his life’s work to fighting malaria may have finally cracked it.
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Thursday 22 April 2021
A president killed in battle
The remarkable story of Chad’s Idriss Déby, and what his death means for the fight against extremism
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Thursday 15 April 2021
The lost (again) Leonardo
The Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction: $400m. After it was sold it vanished. But the arguments about it rage on.
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Tuesday 6 April 2021
Amazon vs the workers
How one man could change workers’ rights across the United States for good.
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Tuesday 30 March 2021
Britney’s sideways step to freedom
Britney Spears is trying to escape from her father’s control – by putting someone else in charge of her life
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Friday 26 March 2021
David Cameron’s texts
The story of the former British prime minister, a company called Greensill Capital, and a series of risky texts
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Thursday 18 March 2021
The ‘first lady of hell’
Is justice coming for Asma al-Assad, the glamorous face of Syria’s brutal civil war?
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Thursday 4 March 2021
The rise and rise of Rishi
How the Chancellor rewrote the rules of political branding – and embraced the power of the hoody, and the meme.