The Observer

Sensemaker

News EN ↓ 1388 episodes

The Sensemaker from The Observer - one story every day to make sense of the world. Subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription: Early access, bonus content and ad-free listening to our podcasts A daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a week Puzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crossword Recipes for every occasion Free tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Author

The Observer

Category

News

Podcast website

observer.co.uk

Latest episode

Jun 19, 2026

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Episodes

Ep 61: AstraZeneca's PR woes 07.04.2021

What had been a huge success for the vaccine maker is now looking more like a comms disaster... how did it go so wrong?  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 60: Amazon vs the workers 06.04.2021

How one man could change workers' rights across the United States for good. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 59: Ghislaine Maxwell's future 01.04.2021

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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 58: The trial of Derek Chauvin 31.03.2021

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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 57: Britney's sideways step to freedom 30.03.2021

Britney Spears is trying to escape from her father’s control - by putting someone else in charge of her life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 56: You can't vaccinate a victory 29.03.2021

Israel's prime minister was hoping a successful vaccination programme would win him an election victory. It turned out it wasn't that simple Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 55: You're gonna need a bigger canal 26.03.2021

The story of a giant ship, the Ever Given, and how it got stuck in the Suez Canal – costing billions in delays. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 54: David Cameron's texts 26.03.2021

The story of the former British Prime Minister, a company called Greensill Capital, and a series of risky texts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 53: The first minister who didn't lie 24.03.2021

What exactly has Scotland's Nicola Sturgeon been cleared of – and what does it mean for Scottish independence? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 52: A dangerous love story 23.03.2021

The story of Jang Yeong-jin's escape from North Korea, a country where citizens are told homosexuality doesn't exist. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 51: Brazil's president vs. the world 22.03.2021

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? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 50: Europe's vaccine battles 19.03.2021

She seemed like the perfect candidate to oversee the EU's vaccine rollout... what went wrong for Ursula von der Leyen? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 49: The 'first lady of hell' 18.03.2021

Is justice coming for Asma al-Assad, the glamorous face of Syria's brutal civil war? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 48: Police power 17.03.2021

The government’s controversial new anti-protest bill – and what people really think about it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 47: John Hollis's exciting antibodies 16.03.2021

An American man caught Covid - and his body responded by making some amazingly powerful antibodies. It could be a breakthrough for medicine. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 46: The multi-million dollar .JPEG 15.03.2021

A digital artwork just made history by selling for millions at auction. Could it revolutionise how we think about digital ownership? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 45: Who's in charge in Hong Kong? 12.03.2021

Hong Kong is meant to have some independence from China. But those days are nearly over. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 44: The end of the Piers show? 11.03.2021

Piers Morgan is probably the biggest name in British broadcasting right now. This week he left Good Morning Britain in a blaze of publicity. He'll be back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 43: Is Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe coming home? 10.03.2021

After five years in an Iranian jail, the British-Iranian mother's sentence has come to an end. But returning to her family might still be a way off... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 42: Joe Biden's frenemy 09.03.2021

One politician - a member of Joe Biden's own party - could shoot down some of the President's biggest plans Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 41: A reckoning for New York's governor 08.03.2021

Two serious scandals are unfolding around Andrew Cuomo. For now, he's staying in office. But how long will he last? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 40: Jolene, vaccine 05.03.2021

America's willingness to take the vaccine is split down party lines. Can the beloved Dolly Parton bridge the divide? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 39: The rise and rise of Rishi 04.03.2021

How the Chancellor rewrote the rules of political branding – and embraced the power of the hoody, and the meme. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 38: Post-pandemic freedom at last? 03.03.2021

We've all got the date in our heads: the 21st of June – the great reopening. But is it a realistic deadline? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ep 37: The missing patient 02.03.2021

Someone, somewhere in England, has the super-infectious Brazil variant of Covid-19 – and the authorities are racing to track them down. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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