We call her Emma | Tortoise Investigates

Introducing...We call her Emma

Emma is a high achieving, middle class girl from west London. She seems destined for a successful career in banking and a comfortable British life. Until she makes a decision that will come to define her. In 2001 Emma marries Bashar al-Assad - the now infamous dictator of Syria. In the early days, people inside and out of Syria dared to hope. Alongside his beautiful, progressive wife, Bashar promised to modernise the country. But when the Arab Spring reached Syria in 2011, Bashar's regime showed itself for what it really was: a brutal force, willing to capture and kill ordinary Syrians demanding change. And in all the years that a war raged on, Asma stood by her husband. She seemingly ignored the desperate pleas to stop her husband from killing his own people.  But what did she really know about the atrocities her husband’s government was carrying out? And what choices did she really have? Some people allege that she actually assisted the regime and cashed in on the war, that she herself is a war criminal. Others say she tried to run away but was trapped, held hostage by a regime who threatened her life and her children.  So, who is the real Emma? We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer. To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer [https://observer.co.uk/subscribe/audio] and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription. You'll get access to: * This series and all our podcasts before anyone else * Ad-free listening * Premium newsletters * Puzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crossword * Exclusive offers from our partners including Mubi and iescape * Tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Or subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to listen to all our podcasts, including this one, without any ads. Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou Producer - Gary Marshall Sound design - Karla Patella Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Under one roof | Foundling Ep 2

Jess does a DNA test. And she and Lucy travel to visit a house where Jess’s birth mother once lived, and try and work out how nobody noticed a thing. Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer [https://observer.co.uk/subscribe/audio] and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription. You'll get access to: * This series and all our podcasts before anyone else * Ad-free listening * Premium newsletters * Puzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crossword * Exclusive offers from our partners including Mubi and iescape * Tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Or subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to listen to all our podcasts, including this one, without any ads. Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

On the verge | Foundling Ep 1

Journalist Lucy Greenwell goes in search of Jess following rumours and unanswered questions about where she was born and who gave birth to her.  Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer [https://observer.co.uk/subscribe/audio] and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription. You'll get access to: * This series and all our podcasts before anyone else * Ad-free listening * Premium newsletters * Puzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crossword * Exclusive offers from our partners including Mubi and iescape * Tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Or subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to listen to all our podcasts, including this one, without any ads. Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Introducing... Foundling

On 6th October 1987, a newborn baby is found on the verge of a remote country lane in Suffolk. Police comb the area for clues and appeal for witnesses, but the mother is never found. The baby, Jess, is adopted. Journalist Lucy Greenwell has never forgotten the day when Jess was discovered. She was a child and lived nearby. For decades Lucy has wondered; what happened to Jess, and what could have driven a mother to leave her child in such an isolated place? When Lucy tracks Jess down, she finds a woman already deep in her own search for the truth, and a story far more tangled than either of them expected. What unfolds is a tale of long-held secrets and unintended consequences that spirals out of Jess’s control. Foundling is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer. To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer [https://observer.co.uk/subscribe/audio] and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription. You'll get access to: * This series and all our podcasts before anyone else * Ad-free listening * Premium newsletters * Puzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crossword * Exclusive offers from our partners including Mubi and iescape * Tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Or subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to listen to all our podcasts, including this one, without any ads. Reporter - Lucy Greenwell Producer - Katie Gunning Original theme music - Tom Kinsella Sound design and additional music - Rowan Bishop Podcast artwork - Blythe Walker Sibthorp Narrative editor - Gary Marshall  Editor - Jasper Corbett ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Missing Book | The Walkers Ep7

The Salt Path was the supposed bestseller debut book by Raynor Winn, selling millions worldwide. So when two more sequels came along with increasingly bold claims on reversing a terminal illness, why did the publisher Penguin not question it more? Chloe also goes on the hunt for Raynor Winn’s fourth  book…her true debut written years before The Salt Path. Credits: Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou Producer - Matt Russell Artwork - Observer design with acknowledgements to Angela Harding Music supervision - Karla Patella Sound design - Tom Burchell Executive Producer - Jasper Corbett ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.