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

Nov 30, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 228: Understanding Omicron
Scientists think the new mutation of Covid-19 could be linked to HIV. How?
Nov 29, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 227: 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?
Nov 26, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 226: 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?  
Nov 25, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 225: The blob running Britain?
Kate Bingham is one of many public figures to accuse the government, civil service, and the media of being a "blob" resistant to reform. Is it really a problem?
Nov 24, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 224: 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?
Nov 23, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 223: The strange case of Peng Shuai
A top Chinese woman tennis player alleged that a senior politician had sexually abused her - then she disappeared. Now Peng Shuai has resurfaced, but is she safe?
Nov 22, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 222: Could there be a war in Europe?
Bosnia has been held together by a complicated peace deal since its civil war 25 years ago. Is it about to fall apart?
Nov 19, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 221: The battle across the Channel
Some days, more than 1000 migrants cross the English Channel in small boats. Could the UK and France stop them if they wanted?
Nov 18, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 220: 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?
Nov 17, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 219: A sickle cell crisis
Sickle cell disease is a condition which affects Black people, and people from other ethnic minorities. Too many are dying needlessly from it.
Nov 16, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 218: 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.
Nov 15, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 217: COP's conscience
At the start of COP, Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley delivered a stark warning on the effects of a rise in global temperature. But did anyone listen?
Nov 12, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 216: Xi Jinping’s great rejuvenation
The Chinese Communist Party has just passed a landmark new resolution under Xi Jinping. But what's really motivating him?
Nov 11, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 215: 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...
Nov 10, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 214: Big Bird gets (a) shot
The culture wars over vaccinating kids against Covid in the US have got so fierce that a Sesame Street character has been dragged into the fight.
Nov 9, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 213: Where did all the doctors go?
Lots of GPs are leaving the profession, and we can't recruit or train new ones fast enough to fill the gaps.
Nov 8, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 212: A peace prize winner goes to war
Abiy Ahmed, prime minister of Ethiopia, won the Nobel Peace Prize two years ago. How has he ended up accused of war crimes?
Nov 5, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 211: 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.
Nov 4, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 210: 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?
Nov 3, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 209: Russia's HIV epidemic
In much of the world, rates of HIV infection are falling. In Russia, they're going through the roof.