Exclusive: a Conservative councillor has been suspended after @theobserveruk.bsky.social found her name on a member list for a white supremacist dating site. Another member has several details in common with a Reform councillor.

Trump’s visit to Scotland may have local, national and global consequences. @theobserveruk.bsky.social

Unite’s £112m white elephant. An internal report claims building firm behind trade union’s disastrous hotel project provided a private jet to take Len McCluskey to the Champions League final. Read more:

I've written for @theobserveruk.bsky.social about Len McCluskey, the Flanagan Group and Unite's £112 million white elephant.

I've written a short piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social about Oasis and the songs that have no meaning. Lots to capture in 350 words, but I gave it a go

My piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social on what esports has in common with traditional sports... Saudi Arabia for one thing.

France says au revoir to public smoking. Me on the myths and realities of the French love affair with tobacco in today's @theobserveruk.bsky.social

Zohran Mamdani’s primary win in New York should be a warning for Democrats. Me for @theobserveruk.bsky.social

Canada seeks to break sport’s strangest losing streak Edmonton Oilers face-off against Florida Panthers with the weight of history – and geopolitics – on the line. 🖋️ @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social

The Stanley Cup begins this evening with the weight of history – and geopolitics – on the line. Here's my piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social on sport's strangest losing streak...

My analysis of Labour’s immigration plans in today’s @theobserveruk.bsky.social. They won’t beat Reform but may unintentionally show voters that reducing migration carries an economic and social cost:

A toxic takeover turned Manchester United from a powerhouse into football’s laughing stock. The 20-year anniversary of the Glazer family buyout does not mark a happy day for fans. ✍️ @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social Read more:

In today's @observeruk.bsky.social, I've written about 20 years of the Glazers at Manchester United. Time flies!

I’ve invented a new social media trend. It’s called the leave the Sentinelese people alone challenge. My story in @observeruk.bsky.social today about the growing threats to uncontacted tribes.

Manchester United is a club used to success. But it is languishing in the league and saddled with debt. This week's Slow Newscast tells the story of how one of the world's most successful football clubs fell apart. 🗣️ @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social Listen now: lnk.to/HyBIHwBS

For this week’s @tortoisemedia.bsky.social Slow Newscast, I’ve told the two-decade story of Manchester United’s decline. Listen if you enjoy football, business shenanigans or schadenfreude.

Feeling tired and depressed? Cheer yourself up H/T @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/04/15/m...

@chefboibex.bsky.social @ktriley.bsky.social and others have been working on an incredible new tool to track climate misinformation online. Check it out here @tortoisemedia.bsky.social

Some fantastic jobs coming up at the Observer, namely a chief international correspondent position as well as correspondent jobs in Africa, the Middle East, the US, Latin America and Europe. Take a look!

Come work with us! The Observer is looking for a chief international correspondent and a slate of new contributors across the world. It's a fantastic chance to join a revamped international team and play a role in shaping global coverage in the new Observer. www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/03/13/c...

Exclusive: Labour failed to declare five figure donation to Cabinet minister, citing "administrative error" The sum came from an opaque firm whose accounts don't show if it made a profit - something which the govt is considering banning www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/03/07/e...

Such nice words for Football on Trial in the Project Brazen newsletter! Listen to the first two eps on BBC Radio 5 Live at 7pm or catch the whole thing here now: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... @mrabutler.bsky.social @tortoisemedia.bsky.social

Multi-millionaire stunt giveaway YouTuber MrBeast is one of the biggest influences on children. On the set of his Amazon series, a 24-year-old has been left disabled after part of a building fell on him. Team Beast offered him $1,000 in gift cards. www.businessinsider.com/beast-games-...

Football on Trial – hosted by the great Clive Myrie – is a four part series telling the story of Manchester City and investigating its ongoing legal battle with the Premier League. Here are four things I learned writing + producing the series ↓

🎧 New podcast out today – very pleased to announce the four-part podcast series I've co-produced with my @tortoisemedia.bsky.social colleague @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social is out now on BBC Sounds. Full series on BBC Sounds: bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand... First 2 eps on Apple/Spotify: lnk.to/FOTTMCC

I spent countless childhood evenings listening to BBC Radio 5 Live in my mum’s car, so it’s a dream to have written this series for 5 Live about Man City. All four eps out on BBC Sounds and on the radio soon. Produced with @mrabutler.bsky.social & hosted by Clive Myrie. @tortoisemedia.bsky.social

We're in the happy place of starting to advertise for the roles that will help make up The Observer in its next chapter! Please take a look and share! First off we need a production editor with an eye for detail and a flair for writing headlines to manage a small production team on The New Review.

Kendrick Lamar has 22 Grammies and a damn Pulitzer if you don’t know who he is that’s a You problem

I looked at where Donald Trump's executive orders, pledges and press junket boasts have met with reality. In today's @tortoisemedia.bsky.social Sensemaker.

The now well-worn formula of a MailOnline story: 1. See the Super Bowl is being headlined by a Black artist. 2. Recognise the innate need to dunk on said artist. 3. Find a few critical tweets that allow you to attack the artist. 4. Invite thousands of comments calling the performance 'woke'.

Almost two weeks ago, I found out I was one of 40 people getting laid off from NBC News. Those who know me know I’ve wanted to go independent for a long time. Later this month, I’m launching @spitfirenews.com. We need journalism that is louder than ever. spitfirenews.com/p/an-introdu...

This is very very good by @andrewkersley.bsky.social. That is, I spent every paragraph getting angrier and angrier www.the-londoner.co.uk/noise-compla...

And what did OpenAI use to train ChatGPT?

In today's @tortoisemedia.bsky.social Daily Sensemaker, I look at New York City's new congestion charge. Traffic is an rabid beast which gorges on a city's productivity, and leaves behind a cloud of pollutive harm. Why is it so damn hard to fix? Read below ⬇️ www.tortoisemedia.com/2025/01/24/n...

With Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley now gone, something has been lost from the world

Prince Harry has settled his case against News Group Newspapers, who issued an “unequivocal apology” for “serious intrusion” and vowed to pay the Duke substantial damages. Read more: torto.se/4g8ZxFC ✍️ @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social

Supreme Court, as expected, has upheld a law requiring TikTok to be sold by Sunday or banned in the US. Can Trump save it?

Tick tock for TikTok in today's @tortoisemedia.bsky.social Sensemaker:

End of the Lime

Let me go further

🎧 @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social 's childhood memories are dominated by a speech impediment and a thick accent. In this week's Slow Newscast, he tells the story of how finding a piece of old audio led him on a journey of discovery about class, memory, and identity. Listen: lnk.to/SNCFindingmy...

This is a beautiful piece by @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social. A great listen to start your new year with open.spotify.com/episode/0pN3...

Well this is rather special: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/t... @tortoisemedia.bsky.social @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social

For this week’s @tortoisemedia.bsky.social podcast, I’ve told the story of how I found a piece of audio from my childhood and what it has taught me about class, memory, and the things that constitute our identity. Featuring, if you stick with it, my voice at 10 years old.

Hours into 2025 I’ve developed a new toxic trait — to be able to say I’ve seen Nosferatu (1922) but not Nosferatu (2024)

after watching the new wallace and gromit

Great to see our podcast about Depp and Heard — Who Trolled Amber —mentioned in NYT and BBC articles about Blake Lively. Disturbing to see how effective the alleged campaign against Lively was. @tortoisemedia.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2024/12/21/b...

A story which has echoes of my colleagues @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social and Alexi Mostrous’s excellent series Who trolled Amber? about the online harassment of Amber Heard open.spotify.com/show/13B88jd...

Really intriguing piece about the alleged smearing of Blake Lively, which bears no small resemblance to what happened to Amber Heard.