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

Apr 14, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 66: A vaccine warning from Chile
Is the pandemic behind us in the UK because the vaccine roll-out has gone so well? Not necessarily. Just look what's happening in Chile.
Apr 13, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 65: The ambassador who got locked out
Kyaw Zwar Minn is the Myanmar ambassador to the UK. But now, as a military takeover seizes power at home, he has been locked out of his own embassy in London. Why?
Apr 12, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 64: The case of Katie Hill
Katie Hill is an American politician whose nude photos were published online by a newspaper. Now, a judge has ruled that these images are in the public interest. Are they?
Apr 9, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 63: Brexit + a funeral = trouble in Northern Ireland
The violence on the streets of Northern Ireland is worrying politicians. Is the peace deal under threat?
Apr 8, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 62: A Royal squabble
A high-profile prince has fallen out with the king in Jordan. Does it spell trouble in a usually calm Middle Eastern country?
Apr 7, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 61: AstraZeneca's PR woes
What had been a huge success for the vaccine maker is now looking more like a comms disaster... how did it go so wrong? 
Apr 6, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 60: Amazon vs the workers
How one man could change workers' rights across the United States for good.
Apr 1, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 59: Ghislaine Maxwell's future
Ghislaine Maxwell's charge sheet just got longer: Jeffrey Epstein's former girlfriend is now accused of sex trafficking, too. So how long could she spend behind bars?
Mar 31, 2021 · 8 min
Ep 58: The trial of Derek Chauvin
Millions of people saw the video of Derek Chauvin with his knee on George Floyd's neck. But how do you tell two different stories about the same video?
Mar 30, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 57: 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
Mar 29, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 56: You can't vaccinate a victory
Israel's prime minister was hoping a successful vaccination programme would win him an election victory. It turned out it wasn't that simple
Mar 26, 2021 · 5 min
Ep 55: You're gonna need a bigger canal
The story of a giant ship, the Ever Given, and how it got stuck in the Suez Canal – costing billions in delays.
Mar 26, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 54: David Cameron's texts
The story of the former British Prime Minister, a company called Greensill Capital, and a series of risky texts.
Mar 24, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 53: The first minister who didn't lie
What exactly has Scotland's Nicola Sturgeon been cleared of – and what does it mean for Scottish independence?
Mar 23, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 52: A dangerous love story
The story of Jang Yeong-jin's escape from North Korea, a country where citizens are told homosexuality doesn't exist.
Mar 22, 2021 · 8 min
Ep 51: Brazil's president vs. the world
In recent days, a quarter of all Covid deaths worldwide have been in Brazil. So why won't President Jair Bolsonaro take the virus seriously? And what does it mean for the rest of us?
Mar 19, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 50: Europe's vaccine battles
She seemed like the perfect candidate to oversee the EU's vaccine rollout... what went wrong for Ursula von der Leyen?
Mar 18, 2021 · 6 min
Ep 49: The 'first lady of hell'
Is justice coming for Asma al-Assad, the glamorous face of Syria's brutal civil war?
Mar 17, 2021 · 8 min
Ep 48: Police power
The government’s controversial new anti-protest bill – and what people really think about it.
Mar 16, 2021 · 7 min
Ep 47: John Hollis's exciting antibodies
An American man caught Covid - and his body responded by making some amazingly powerful antibodies. It could be a breakthrough for medicine.