Sensemaker

The Observer

The Sensemaker from The Observer - one story every day to make sense of the world.

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1,388 episodes
Updated June 19

Episodes1388

Newest first

Dec 28, 2021 · 9 min
Ep 248: 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. Listen to Wrong turn: murder, miscarriage and justice: pod.fo/e/eae38
Dec 27, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 247: The death of Zaki Anwari
The day after the Taliban took Kabul, a young man fell to his death from a US airplane. The tragedy revealed a lot about America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan. Listen to the Slow Newscast: https://podfollow.com/1487320403
Dec 24, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 246: The princess of pop
Britney Spears has rarely been out of the headlines this year. What does her story tell us about pop culture in 2021? Listen to Popbitch: https://torto.se/326f3lC
Dec 23, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 245: Simone Biles: the gymnast who chose herself
When Simone Biles put her mental health before more medals, and pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics, the world was amazed. Subscribe to the Sensemaker podcast: https://podfollow.com/1548929040
Dec 22, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 244: Lights, camera, space station!
How a Russian actress, not a joyriding billionaire, is the best person to show us where space travel is going. Sign up to our daily Sensemaker newsletter: www.tortoisemedia.com/sensemaker/
Dec 21, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 243: A game of patience
Squid Game's director Hwang Dong-hyuk originally had the idea for this year's runaway TV hit in 2009. His story is a 12-year lesson in endurance. Listen to the Playmaker podcasts: https://podfollow.com/1579093092
Dec 20, 2021 · 8 min
Ep 242: The man at no. 11
Conservative leaders have traditionally been in favour of low taxes and spending - but not Boris Johnson. How will he and his Chancellor Rishi Sunak sort out their differences? Listen to ThinkIn with James Harding: https://podfollow.com/1562163623
Dec 17, 2021 · 10 min
Ep 241: Three dads
Three dads came together this year in the saddest of circumstances; they all had daughters who'd taken their own lives. They turned their tragedies into a story of love and hope.
Dec 16, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 240: Europe's first cannabis country
This week Malta became the first European country to legalise the cultivation and possession of cannabis for personal use. Will this be a trend across the rest of Europe?
Dec 15, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 239: 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?
Dec 14, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 238: The killer robots
"Killer robots" are already being developed and used by lots of countries. But if these machines are really autonomous, who do we blame if things go wrong?
Dec 13, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 237: Protection for punters
Gambling firms could be forced to ask punters for their payslips in a move to help prevent unaffordable losses. Why's it taken until now?
Dec 10, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 236: Boris Johnson's never-ending Christmas party
It's the story which refuses to leave at the end of the night: the saga of the Downing Street Christmas party. But how much of a hangover could it cause Boris Johnson?
Dec 9, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 235: 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...
Dec 8, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 234: Omicron: what do we know?
Even though it's more transmissible, there's a chance the new Covid variant might be weaker than others. And that might be because, as the virus mutates, it loses its "fitness"...
Dec 7, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 233: Dread in Ukraine
Russia is building up troops near its border with Ukraine. Moscow claims there is a growing threat on its western border. It all feels like a return to 2014... why the renewed tensions?
Dec 6, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 232: Is Scotland cooling on independence?
In Scotland, the SNP is committed to trying again for a referendum on independence. But timing is everything.
Dec 3, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 231: Parole for Pistorius?
Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's most famous athlete, was jailed in 2013 for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp. He could soon be released on parole.
Dec 2, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 230: Labour's levelling up
Both Labour and the Conservatives agree the country needs to level up. How we get there is where the parties split.
Dec 1, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 229: Reproductive rights at risk
For almost 50 years, women in the United States have had the right to have an abortion. But a Supreme Court case could put those rights in jeopardy.