Tortoise Weekly Newsletter
Good morning. Welcome back to the Tortoise weekly newsletter.
Whether we look out for "I" or "We" has been tested over and over again since the lockdown began. It's a concept that political scientist Robert Putnam has been studying for more than a decade - how members of communities become more isolated from one another as work, family structures and technology change.
Back in April we spoke to Putnam about the potential fall-out from coronavirus. Will it bring communities closer together or, once over, will we go back to how we used to be? Do listen to what he had to say here.
What's happening in the US is hard to ignore. The events have made us all pause, reflect and listen - we've realised that it's a time to support and seek out, to learn what we can change, how we need to change and how we can try to understand. So, this week's theme is listening. Here are my five picks, let me know what you think.
1. The show must be paused
As "Blackout Tuesday" spread across social media in response to protests and unrest over the death of George Floyd, we took the time to listen and discuss what we can learn from criminal injustice in our weekly open news meeting. Joined by former superintendent Leroy Logan and Jamiles Lartey from The Marshall Project who's piece we republished, the gaps in our education and the way in which we see our own history soon became clear. On Thursday, the Tortoise Network asked the same question about what we can learn - over 450 under 30s signed up, reminding us we have a lot of listening to do.
2. Sitting with discomfort
On Monday night, comedian, novelist and husband to the voice of Mother Peppa Pig, David Baddiel joined our newsroom. Stanley, my reluctant reading 10-year-old, loves his children's books which are full of adventure but we also went on to discuss the darker side of David's storytelling. In his recent BBC 2 documentary, Confronting Holocaust Denial, David tried to understand what motivates those with extreme opinions and why they are on the rise. He told Tortoise that "it is incumbent on people to try and challenge them and break them down", we can't just ignore what we don't want to hear.
3. The "S-Team"
In principle there is much to admire about the Everything Store, also known as Amazon. Expected to be the world's first $2 trillion company, the tech giant has collected $33 million in sales every single hour of the day for the first three months of 2020. But if you look at who's pulling the reins, you wonder whether it might begin to catch up with them - with only three out of Amazon's 22 "S-Team" being women and even fewer from an ethnic minority, isn't it time for Jeff Bezos to start listening to the people who truly represent him? Do take a look at our full Tortoise file on Amazon here.
4. Listening fuels our engine
In a week where we're being urged to pause, listen and learn it was wonderful to receive an honourable mention from INMA's Global Media Awards for our ThinkIns in their "Best Use of Event" category. Since we left our office for the safety of our homes, we've held 113 Digital ThinkIns with 21,152 people registering to attend - that's a lot of conversations. Do join us next week where you can hear from Madeleine Albright, Chair of Albright Stonebridge Group, on Monday night, Nudge author Cass Sunstein on Tuesday and a book club with Kate Mosse on Thursday at 6.30pm. Or, take out a 30 day free trial. See you there.
5. Homecoming
With the heightened emotions of lockdown, it doesn't take much to set me off these days. This one got me this week - a beautiful reunion of a family. Suzanne Vaughan, a nurse at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kings Lynn, surprised her two daughters who she had not seen for nine weeks due to working on the frontline in ICU and the Covid-19 A&E since the end of March. A true health hero.
Thanks for reading and stay well,
Katie.
