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Matt Russell

@mattrussell3.bsky.social
731 followers 162 following 19 posts

Deputy Head of Audio at The Observer. Formerly: Newsnight and Radio 4 Email pitches/story ideas to matt.russell@observer.co.uk

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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Late to the party, but was fortunate to produce the brilliant investigation about how a missing shoe and a mislaid phone led to a whole year stolen: lnk.to/3T4B7FWE
lnk.to
One-star review: A stolen year
How a mislaid phone led to a nightmare of fake reviews and claims of antisemitism. When Ali, a restaurateur, realised his mobile’s security had been breached and that random things were missing from h...
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Ben Coles @bencoles.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This interview with Phil Vickery was part of a new podcast for @observeruk.bsky.social - ‘Hard knocks: the cost of courage’. It looks at influential concussion expert Paul McCrory, who in 2022 was found to have plagiarised multiple articles. Listen here: podfollow.com/the-tortoise...
podfollow.com
The Tortoise Podcast: Hard knocks: the cost of courage
When World Cup Winner Phil Vickery retired in 2010, he thought his toughest physical battles were behind him. Today, like hundreds of former players, he lives with memory loss and the looming th...
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chloehadj.bsky.social @chloehadj.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
I spent months on this investigation and gathered docs from the UK courts, Land Registry and a French local authority, to show that Raynor and Moth Winn's story is not as they claim. @tortoisemedia.bsky.social @observeruk.bsky.social observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk
The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller le...
Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal it was far from the truth
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The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 06/07/2025
Penniless and homeless, Raynor and Moth Winn found fame with their story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. The Salt Path became a global bestseller and was adapted into a major film. But we can reveal it wasn’t the whole truth. @chloehadj.bsky.social Read more:
observer.co.uk
The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller le...
Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal it was far from the truth
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Alfie Tobutt @alfietobutt.bsky.social · 05/07/2025
THE OBSERVER: The real Salt Path #TomorrowsPapersToday
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 29/06/2025
I mean, this is just straight up censorship by the government and the BBC
Police in Somerset say they are assessing comments made on stage by rap punk duo Bob Vylan and Irish-language rap group Kneecap at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday.
The government has "strongly condemned" chants from Bob Vylan who called for "death" to the Israeli military during their performance which was broadcast live on the BBC.
Rapper Bobby Vylan led chants of "free, free Palestine" and "death, death to the IDF [lsrael
Defense Forces]".
A BBC spokesperson said some of the comments were "deeply offensive", adding it had issued a warning on screen about "very strong and discriminatory language". The set will not be available to rewatch on BBC iPlayer.
The Israeli Embassy posted on the social media site X that it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric".After Bob Vylan's performance, a government spokesperson said Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy had spoken to BBC director general Tim Davie to seek an "urgent explanation about what due diligence" the broadcaster carried out ahead of airing the act.
The government added that it welcomed the decision not to re-broadcast the performance on
BBC iPlayer.
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
With so many ways to track us online, just how easy is it to vanish in the 21st century? Well, easier...and more common... than you might think. Listen to Francisco Garcia's brilliant bit of storytelling on the two brothers who suddenly found themselves missing: observer.co.uk/listen/the-s...
observer.co.uk
How to disappear | The Observer
In the UK, a person is reported missing every 90 seconds. But how in a society of internet, phones and social media is it so easy to go missing? This is ...
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Gerald Butts @gmbutts.bsky.social · 25/05/2025
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Gaza.
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Paul Gowder @gowder.io · 22/05/2025
I love the bit at the end where she says that is being done in the interests of kids learning "what it means to promote freedom and liberty" it's directly ripped from Orwell, censorship for freedom
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
Thought this was a really beautiful piece on the Sycamore Gap tree. Amid the mass of coverage it's gathered, this is the piece that has stuck with me the most observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk
‘It was as if someone had been murdered’: the felling of the Sycamore Gap tree | The Observer
I set out to answer the question a whole nation has been asking: what made two men cut down the Sycamore Gap tree?
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
The UK is locking up protesters for up to four years. Has the government's crackdown on climate activism led to the end of Just Stop Oil? Listen to @geordiedav.bsky.social as he tries to find out: podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/j...
podcasts.apple.com
Just Stop TurmOil
Podcast Episode · The Slow Newscast · 13/05/2025 · 43m
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David Taylor @geordiedav.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
observer.co.uk/listen/the-s... Listen: The space for non-violent protest has shrunk, the UK state is jailing people for years whilst the rest of Europe measures sentences in days. Where does the climate activism movement go next - and why is Labour defending Tory laws? New pod for The Observer
observer.co.uk
Just Stop Turmoil | The Observer
The radical climate protest group Just Stop Oil delighted supporters and infuriated opponents in equal measure. But then the government began to crack down on them. So where are they now?
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
Beyond anything else, Labour's inability to learn a lesson from Canada and Australia's recent elections is baffling. bsky.app/profile/chad...
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Patricia Clarke @paticlarke.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
Surreal to have written this week's @theobserveruk.bsky.social cover story about the Trump family’s conflicts of interest. It builds on my reporting with @barneymac.bsky.social on the launch of Trump's memecoin and the dogged work of so many US journalists. There is still so much more to say.
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The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 10/05/2025
The Firm: Trump Inc. and the new age of corruption. Buy your copy of The Observer, available across the country, tomorrow morning. Get the newspaper delivered to your door every Sunday: bit.ly/4jFwQCW
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
A shocking story. www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/...
cbsnews.com
Woman says security guard at Liberty Hotel in Boston confronted her in bathroom, asked to prove gender
A couple said a security guard at the Liberty Hotel in Boston challenged their use of a bathroom and kicked them out.
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The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 26/04/2025
The new Observer has gone to press. Buy your copy, available across the country, tomorrow morning. observer.co.uk/print
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The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Tristan Tate is far less well known than his notorious elder sibling, Andrew. But today Tristan’s central role in the brothers’ alleged criminality can be revealed for the first time. Alexi Mostrous | Andrei Popoviciu | Phoebe Davis Read more: bit.ly/4cYs6FZ
bit.ly
The other Tate brother
Tristan Tate is far less well known than his notorious elder sibling, Andrew. But new evidence suggests he holds a central role in their alleged criminality
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
This is a story about growth, net-zero and the kind of country we want the UK to be. And it is the story of an ordinary man who the Prime Minister believes is costing the country its future. www.tortoisemedia.com/listen/the-s...
tortoisemedia.com
Nimby Nation
Earlier this year the Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, wrote about a group of people he called zealots. And he identified one man in particular who the Prime Minister claimed was costing the country its ...
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Dorian Lynskey @dorianlynskey.bsky.social · 06/04/2025
None of the fake reasons she gives for hating trans people applies to also mocking asexual people but the “horrendous human being” theory holds up
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Come work @tortoisemedia.bsky.social where we have some exciting opportunities in our audio team with an Assistant Producer and Producer roles open. Info on roles and how to apply are here: www.tortoisemedia.com/search?tags=... But do get in touch if you have any questions
tortoisemedia.com
Search
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
Come work @tortoisemedia.bsky.social where we have some exciting opportunities in our audio team with an Assistant Producer and Producer roles open. Info on roles and how to apply are here: www.tortoisemedia.com/search?tags=... But do get in touch if you have any questions
tortoisemedia.com
Search
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Jess Winch @jesswinch.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
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...
tortoisemedia.com
Chief International Correspondent, The Observer
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
At Tortoise we're not ones to shun the big questions facing us. So thanks to @gwhittell.bsky.social for trying to answer the biggest one there is...are we alone? And the story that might give us the answer. Listen on Spotify: shorturl.at/ykeVY Or Apple: shorturl.at/yu8CD
shorturl.at
Are we alone?
The Slow Newscast · Episode
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Libby Brooks @libbybrooks.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
This is a beautiful piece of writing and such a touching, galvanising story, I'm so glad Sam Dick shared it A moment that changed me: I was 16, gay and bullied for it. Then my father wrote to the Guardian … www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
theguardian.com
A moment that changed me: I was 16, gay and bullied for it. Then my father wrote to the Guardian …
Britain in the 90s seemed to see homosexuality as something shameful. My father told the world how proud he was of me
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Heba Gowayed هبة جويد @hebagowayed.bsky.social · 24/02/2025
Through the "Voices of Gaza" series I attempt to center the lives of people who have become a political symbol, but who themselves are increasingly abandoned as they put together the pieces of worlds destroyed by genocide & occupation. I'm consolidating the links here.
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Xavier Greenwood @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
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
bbc.co.uk
BBC Sounds - Football on Trial: The Manchester City Charges - Available Episodes
Listen to the latest episodes of Football on Trial: The Manchester City Charges on BBC Sounds.
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Andrew Butler @mrabutler.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
🎧 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
bbc.co.uk
BBC Sounds - Football on Trial: The Manchester City Charges - Available Episodes
Listen to the latest episodes of Football on Trial: The Manchester City Charges on BBC Sounds.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 18/02/2025
for the second time today, Tom Homan is on Fox News confirming that he asked the DOJ to investigate AOC
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
This is a damning and brilliant piece, already beginning to ring true. The deconstruction of American democracy: www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...
foreignaffairs.com
The Path to American Authoritarianism
What comes after democratic breakdown.
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 29/01/2025
A SpaceX Dragon docked with the ISS in September - for this purpose - and is already scheduled to return in March. All arranged by NASA while Biden was president. Trump has had nothing to do with it. Fantasy stuff.
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Given the news years today, two years back @tortoisemedia.bsky.social looked at Prince Harry's legal claims. www.tortoisemedia.com/listen/the-s...
tortoisemedia.com
The prince against the press
The Harry show – the bestselling memoir, the Netflix documentary, the rounds of television interviews – isn’t over. In fact, it’s only just begun: the prince’s legal claims against Britain’s biggest m...
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Tortoise @tortoisemedia.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
Four more women have accused Neil Gaiman of sexual misconduct in an article for New York Magazine. It follows reporting by Tortoise, beginning in July 2024, and brings the total number of women who have alleged abuse by the author to nine. Listen to our original podcast: lnk.to/NG-MasterBS
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
An absolutely harrowing piece: bsky.app/profile/lila... A hard read, but an important one. Having worked on the original reporting for Tortoise, cannot understate what a difficult and good job Lila has done.
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New York Magazine @nymag.com · 13/01/2025
Read here: www.vulture.com/article/neil...
vulture.com
There Is No Safe Word
How the best-selling fantasy author Neil Gaiman hid the darkest parts of himself for decades.
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New York Magazine @nymag.com · 13/01/2025
“I knew immediately there’s this dissonance between who he says he is and these stories.”
nymag.com
On the Cover: The Side of Neil Gaiman His Fans Never Saw
“I knew immediately there’s this dissonance between who he says he is and these stories.”
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
First Slow Newscast of the new year is, I'm afraid, all about men. That's what it might seem anyway, but of course that's not really the case. This is the story of one man, Jordan Peterson, and the strange places it might take us. Reported with @stephena1984.bsky.social bsky.app/profile/tort...
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Tortoise @tortoisemedia.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Jordan Peterson is a controversial figure, but he is also a man with a long-standing appeal to a particular demographic. In this Slow Newscast, Tortoise reporter Stephen Armstrong asks: what does his popularity tell us about a possible crisis in young men today? Listen: lnk.to/86O19hBS
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 01/01/2025
This is a beautiful piece by @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social. A great listen to start your new year with open.spotify.com/episode/0pN3...
open.spotify.com
Finding my voice
The Slow Newscast · Episode
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
Doing something a bit different over the next two weeks with two of our favourite essays written for @tortoisemedia.bsky.social This by @zeldaperkins.bsky.social is a truly lovely piece
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Tortoise @tortoisemedia.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
Tortoise is pleased to announce that it has signed a deal to buy The Observer from The Guardian Media Group and The Scott Trust. Read more ⬇️ torto.se/3Bw2br1
torto.se
Tortoise signs deal to buy The Observer
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Xavier Greenwood @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Chuffed to see Who Trolled Amber, which I made w/ Alexi Mostrous (not of this parish), named one of Amazon Music’s best new shows of 2024. Hugely grateful to @tortoisemedia.bsky.social which gives space for deep coverage not always possible in the rush of 24h news. open.spotify.com/episode/4okm...
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Read this piece - aeon.co/essays/why-i... And it reminded me of a fantastic RadioLab episode. In the 70s in Nicaragua, a community of Deaf children first began to have their own language, and their understandings of their selves and their emotions expand substantially.
aeon.co
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Xavier Greenwood @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Art imitating life imitating art www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/b...
The legal maneuvering came to a head during several days of sealed, in-person testimony in Reno in September by Mr. Murdoch, Lachlan, James, Elisabeth, Prudence and a number of their representatives on the trust. The proceedings revealed that Mr. Murdoch’s children had started secretly discussing the public-relations strategy for their father’s death in April 2023. Setting off these discussions was the episode of the HBO drama “Succession,” the commissioner wrote, “where the patriarch of the family dies, leaving his family and business in chaos.” The episode prompted Elisabeth’s representative to the trust, Mark Devereux, to write a “‘Succession’ memo” intended to help avoid a real-life repeat.
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Cat Neilan @catneilan.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Some key facts about Tortoise's proposal for The Observer, including info about our award-winning journalists and journalism, what we hope to achieve with the deal, and where the money is coming from www.tortoisemedia.com/2024/12/04/t...
tortoisemedia.com
Tortoise and The Observer - Tortoise
Questions and answers about Tortoise's bid to buy The Observer
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 27/11/2024
Here's a story I've been working on with @paticlarke.bsky.social It's a bit mad and hopefully as interesting to hear as it was to report
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Patricia Clarke @paticlarke.bsky.social · 26/11/2024
NEW 🎙️: I investigated the people behind Replika: “the AI companion who cares”. The chatbot can text you, flirt with you, and promises to love you unconditionally. But who are users really handing their hearts – and their data – to? open.spotify.com/episode/3A0G...
open.spotify.com
My AI girlfriend: a cure for loneliness
The Slow Newscast · Episode
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Matt Russell @mattrussell3.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
As a lot of people flock here, this is a great piece of immersive, cinematic reporting and storytelling from @basialc.bsky.social and @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social Feels incredibly timely as people work out how to make their voices heard.
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Xavier Greenwood @xaviergreenwood.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Emerging from the belly of a blue whale to ask you to listen to my latest podcast for @tortoisemedia.bsky.social, made with Basia Cummings. The story of Paul Watson, a whaling activist who could spend the rest of his life in jail in Japan, and a parable for our time. open.spotify.com/episode/1gR4...
open.spotify.com
Operation Asshole: Paul Watson's whale war
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Basia Cummings @basialc.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
I followed the story of "eco-terrorist" Paul Watson, arrested for his fight to save whales from Japan's hunting fleet. A story for @tortoisemedia.bsky.social Slow Newscast about how we treat the people willing to go to extremes to protect our world. podcasts.apple.com/mt/podcast/o...
podcasts.apple.com
Operation Asshole: Paul Watson's whale war
Podcast Episode · The Slow Newscast · 19/11/2024 · 44m
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