The girl from Acton | We call her Emma Ep1

About this episode

The episode explores the life of Emma, who becomes Asma al-Assad, the first lady of Syria, after marrying the son of a dictator.

Emma is a high achieving, middle class woman from West London - she’s destined for a successful career and a comfortable British life. But in 2001 she makes a decision that will come to define her - she marries the son of a dictator and becomes Asma al-Assad, the first lady of Syria. Episodes one and two are available to all listeners. To access the rest of the series, ad-free, subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or subscribe to The Observer for access to all our podcasts and newsletters seven days a week, plus puzzles, recipes and Culture Club. Use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription. We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer. Reporter - Chloe Hadjimatheou Producer - Gary Marshall Field producer - Sarah Dadouch Sound design - Karla Patella Podcast artwork - Lola Williams & Eliza Bourner Executive producers - Jasper Corbett and Basia Cummings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Chloe Hadjimatheou

Topics covered

• biography
• politics
• marriage
• dictatorship
• Syria
• identity

Keywords

• Emma
• Asma al-Assad
• Syria
• dictator
• marriage
• biography
• politics

Sponsors

The Observer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Tortoise Investigates, The Observer, Acast

More episodes of Lucky Boy | Tortoise Investigates

• Asma’s choice | We call her Emma Ep3 · July 21, 2026 · 43 min
• Diana of Damascus | We call her Emma Ep2 · July 14, 2026 · 46 min
• Introducing...We call her Emma · July 1, 2026 · 4 min
• Lost | Foundling Ep 6 · April 28, 2026 · 39 min
• Betrayal | Foundling Ep 5 · April 21, 2026 · 30 min
• The fallout | Foundling Ep 4 · April 14, 2026 · 35 min