Philip Collins: Trump’s paean to untruth
It was just another rambling Trump speech to his supporters. Except it wasn’t. This was the speech that got the president impeached for a second time.
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
The race is on
15 jANUARY 2021
Giles Whittell and Kim Darrah
- Bobi Wine claimed victory in Uganda’s historic election after voters in some parts of the country stayed to watch the count after polls closed. President Museveni claimed an early lead; final results are due tomorrow.
- Xi Jinping used a letter to the founder of Starbucks to call for a reset in US-China trade relations.
- A new study estimated that more foreign-born residents left Britain last year than in any other year since the Second World War.
Not just between the virus and the vaccines but between nations desperate for herd immunity. So far the competition seems to take the form of governments striving to do better because of positive headlines from elsewhere (Israel, UK, early hiccups notwithstanding). The risk is that the competition turns into a beggar-thy-neighbour scramble for supply…
Slow Views
Jonathan Cake: Drama out of real lives
The director of the remarkable Up series, Michael Apted, died last week. His casts had more to thank him for than just the work.
Liz Moseley: Shops are culture
The demise of the ‘Big Topshop’ in London will leave a gap in our Saturday afternoons – and our lives
The vaccine
Our way out of the coronavirus pandemic has been discovered – but not yet delivered.
Immigration & asylum
As the post-Brexit era begins, what does Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s vision of “global Britain” mean?
Year of the Screen
From Zoom calls to gaming sessions, from Netflix binges to smartphone-led protests, this is how 2020 panned out
Feminism Inc.
The Wing was the perfect haven for professional women – until it wasn’t. Here’s what happens when corporate feminism turns sour.
Halloween 2020
Leaks, delays, mistakes and recrimination. This Halloween, there was nothing scarier than the British government’s handling of the second lockdown
Chinese capitalism
Jack Ma’s fintech company Ant Group was set for one of the biggest stock market launches in history. Then China’s ruling party took offence.
Trans rights
Earlier this year, JK Rowling stepped into one of the fiercest debates of our time – gender and trans rights. Why?
Iran prison
The prison that Iran built for itself
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.
Net zero
Tortoise members have been working on how to get to net zero carbon emissions by 2030.
Fighting for justice
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 & 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?
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.
