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
Slow down, wise up
What’s different about Tortoise is slow news. Not breaking news, but what’s driving it.
Our award-winning team doesn’t cover every story but takes the time to reveal just one a week. Calm, clear reporting on the stories that matter most.
sensemaker our daily roundup of the news that matters
Got your back
26 october 2021
phoebe davis and paul caruana galizia
- 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.
our big five
wealth
new things
our planet
100-year life
Jabs for kids
Moderna said its Covid vaccine induced the desired immune responses in children aged 6 to 11 in a clinical trial…
Belonging
sensemaker daily | catchup
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
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.
The Slow Newscast
Our biggest stories given voice
True Crime: The tragedy of Gabby Petito
19 October 2021
39 minutes
When Gabby Petito is reported missing in Wyoming her disappearance is widely shared online. When her body is discovered her case seems to mobilise a whole army of digital detectives and citizen journalists all trying to solve the mystery of what happened.
Havana Syndrome
The mystery of the immaculate concussion
From Russia with Diamonds, Part II
More than 20 years after emptying the Russian state treasure of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds and gold, Andrei Kozlenok breaks his silence with an even more extraordinary tale. But why?
From Russia with Diamonds, Part I
When Andrei Kozlenok went on the mother of all spending sprees, the FBI joined forces with Russian police in an investigation that led to a treasure house under the streets of Moscow, and to the Kremlin
Pfizer’s war
It’s been said often enough: the pandemic has been like a war. Economically, on civil liberties and the deaths it has caused, it’s hard to find a better comparison. And just like a war it places responsibilities on companies that make vital supplies which are different from peacetime – to profit, but not to profiteer
Newsletter
Net Zero Sensemaker
Your weekly update on what we’re doing – and what more we can do – to build an agenda for Cop26 that makes a difference.
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More of our stories from 2021
the pandemic
Everything you need to know about Covid-19
For a year now, one story has dominated the news cycle above all others. We’ve aimed to take the long-view of Covid-19: we’ve investigated the catastrophe of the test and trace system, the crisis in care homes, and the extended after-effects of the disease.
Some of our biggest stories from 2020
Trans Rights
Earlier this year, JK Rowling stepped into one of the fiercest debates of our time – gender and trans rights. Why?
Campus justice
We have spent months examining the handling of rape and sexual assault cases on campus at UK universities.
Tech States: Amazon
The tech giants have as much money and influence as nation states. What if we reported on these companies like countries?
Feminism Inc.
The Wing was the perfect haven for professional women – until it wasn’t. Here’s what happens when corporate feminism turns sour
Meet the editor
“In my recent journalism, I’ve been digging into the dysfunction at the heart of the UK government. Here’s an example, along with some other recent Tortoise articles I’ve enjoyed.”
Matt d’Ancona
Our members like
Photo essays
Our friends in the North
Xiomara Bender
29 June 2019
Bitter harvest
Mariano Silletti
16 November 2019
The wee muckers
Toby Binder
12 October 2019
Circus Love
Stephanie Gengotti
02 August 2019
Line in the sand
Pascal Maitre
7 February 2020
Life at the top
Kadir van Lohuizen and Yuri Kozyrev
27 April 2019
No agua, no vida
John Trotter
30 November 2019
Isolated from the world
Jordi Ruiz Cirera
10 March 2019
Europe’s last pastoral
Rena Effendi
16 March 2019
Crunching the numbers
Discovering stories in big datasets.
Responsibility 100 Index
A ranking of the FTSE 100 companies on their contribution towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, measuring their commitment to key social, environmental and ethical objectives such as carbon reduction, gender equality and good business practices.
The Global AI Index
Which countries are winning the race for the future?
Coronashock
The pandemic didn’t affect all of Britain equally.
Accelerating Net Zero
Tortoise members have been working on how to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Fighting for justice
Hidden Homicides
How many women are killed – but not counted? In the UK, we’re told that two women a week are killed by a current or former partner. But these are just the killings we know about…
My mother’s murder
In October 2017, Daphne Caruana Galizia was murdered by a car bomb in Malta where she lived and worked. She was a prolific reporter, juggling dozens of stories at the same time.
Happy the elephant
A judge will decide whether Happy is unlawfully detained and can leave her zoo for an elephant sanctuary. It is a milestone case – not least for our relationship with animals.
Campus justice
We have spent months examining the handling of rape and sexual assault cases on campus at UK universities.
The reckoning
As Britain begins to reopen, there is a need for a reckoning: what has happened during this pandemic; how have decisions been taken; and what must be done differently?
Arts and culture
Slow Reviews
Our new series focuses on the cultural artefacts – books, movies, albums – that really made their mark
Trans Rights
Earlier this year, JK Rowling stepped into one of the fiercest debates of our time – gender and trans rights. Why?
Policing black music
How Drill – the sound of Chicago’s streets – rewrote the rules of the music business
The Future of History
What should history look like today – as a subject of study, but also an area of action and protest?
Creative Sensemaker
Our weekly guide to all that’s best in culture and the arts – movies, streaming, books, music, galleries and much else.
A planet ready, at last, for its close-up
More than half a century after Frank Herbert’s Dune was published, Denis Villeneuve has created the movie version it deserves – and a timely parable of today’s environmental crisis
The rich are different
Succession, which returns on Monday, was always much more than a satire on the Murdoch family: it elevates television drama to the status of American myth
Prince of the city
Cush Jumbo’s Hamlet at the Young Vic is a dazzling interpretation of the part that tests Shakespearean performers more than any other
Edith
Big five
The forces changing our world
The 100 year life
health. education. living. public policy.
Our planet
environment. natural resources. geopolitics.
New things
technology. science. engineering.
Belonging
society. identity. countries. beliefs. arts.
Wealth
investment. fairness. prosperity.
