Why did the US seize a Russian-flagged oil tanker?

How did the seizure of a Russian oil tanker unfold? Is President Trump’s crypto-profeteering a bigger scandal than Watergate? And with the United States turning 250, is this a time to reflect on the UK-US special relationship? 

Giles Whittell is joined by The Observer’s Vanessa Thorpe and James Tapper, plus special guest - the host of The Making of Musk: Understood, Jacob Silverman. Today they battle it out to see who can pitch the story that should lead the news.

You can find Understood wherever you get your podcasts, and here: https://link.mgln.ai/NewsMeetingxMoM 

**We want to hear what you think! Email us at: [email protected] 

Follow us on Social Media: 

• @ObserverUK on X 
• @theobserveruk on Instagram and TikTok
• @theobserveruk.bsky.social‬ on bluesky 

Host: Giles Whittell 

Producer: Casey Magloire 

Executive Producer: Jasper Corbett and Gary Marshall 

To find out more about The Observer:

Subscribe to The Observer today and get access to:

• Our podcasts before anyone else
• 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.