Who Trolled Amber? | Tortoise Investigates

Johnny Depp’s maverick lawyer Adam Waldman finally comes under scrutiny. Alexi uncovers Waldman’s links to powerful figures and investigates his role in feeding online abuse. Can the team get to the truth about who trolled Amber?

To find out more about Tortoise:

Downloadthe Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribeto Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a memberand get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer and reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Editor: David Taylor

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Additional reporting: Katie Riley 

Sound design: Karla Patella 

Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Could a nation state have deployed an online army to fight for Johnny Depp? Alexi discovers the curious relationship between the Hollywood star and an authoritarian world leader.

All six episodes of Who Trolled Amber are now available to binge-listen.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Downloadthe Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribeto Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a memberand get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer and reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Editor: David Taylor

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Additional reporting: Katie Riley 

Sound design: Karla Patella 

Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The astonishing case of a teenage killer helps lift the lid on how bot campaigns work – and offers the team a new path forward in the investigation.

All six episodes of Who Trolled Amber are now available to binge-listen.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Downloadthe Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribeto Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a memberand get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer and reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Editor: David Taylor

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Additional reporting: Katie Riley 

Sound design: Karla Patella 

Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Disinformation experts come back with some startling results. The story begins to cross continents as the team find evidence of a global campaign.

All six episodes of Who Trolled Amber are now available to binge-listen.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a memberand get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer and reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Editor: David Taylor

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Additional reporting: Katie Riley 

Sound design: Karla Patella 

Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

 The team talk to a Hollywood insider and travel to Florida in search of their first big clue: a treasure trove of data that might show what happened to Amber Heard online – and who was behind it.

All six episodes of Who Trolled Amber are now available to binge-listen.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Downloadthe Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribeto Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a memberand get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer and reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Editor: David Taylor

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Additional reporting: Katie Riley 

Sound design: Karla Patella 

Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Depp v Heard was the celebrity trial of the century. He won, she lost. But was Amber Heard the target of an organised trolling campaign?

All six episodes of Who Trolled Amber are now available to binge-listen.

Downloadthe Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribeto Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a memberand get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer and reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Editor: David Taylor

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Additional reporting: Katie Riley 

Sound design: Karla Patella 

Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing… Who Trolled Amber?

What comes to mind when you think of Amber Heard? Liar? Survivor? Narcissist? Millions of us watched the celebrity trial of the century, Depp v Heard, in 2022. Amber Heard lost and Johnny Depp was vindicated. But what if Amber was actually the victim of an organised trolling campaign? What if the online hate against her was manufactured?

Alexi Mostrous, the reporter who brought you Sweet Bobby and Hoaxed, investigates what happened to Amber and who might have been responsible. It’s a story about how our own thoughts and opinions can be moulded without us even realising.

All six episodes of Who Trolled Amber are now available to binge-listen.

To find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a memberand get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer and reporter: Xavier Greenwood

Editor: David Taylor

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Additional reporting: Katie Riley 

Sound design: Karla Patella 

Artwork: Jon Hill & Oscar Ingham

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Things begin to fall apart. Only a few years after Rebellion Defense’s rapid rise, it appears to be in trouble. The rebellion has failed to take off. 

In the secretive world of the military and big tech, Basia is met with a wall of silence as she tries to see inside the company… until a few former staffers agree to speak to her, revealing what happened behind closed doors. 

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oliver’s company, Rebellion Defense, is on the rise. In 2019, it is full of promise and pumped with cash, trading on the hype around what’s possible with AI in war. It attracts influential backers and goes after big government contracts. And it becomes even harder to sort fact from fiction – where is the scrutiny, and who is checking that any of this stuff is… real? 

As Basia delves deeper into the world of artificial intelligence, she hears from another former girlfriend of Oliver’s who knows about the ‘tissue of lies’ – and why it matters now. 

All four episodes are available to Tortoise members on thefree Tortoise audio app, and subscribers to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Basia begins unravelling the ‘tissue of lies’, but it becomes clear that some of Oliver’s claims exist in the grey area, and in the secretive world in which he works, it’s hard to sift fact from fiction. Did he serve in the military? Is he an aristocrat? And as she traces his rise in national security, she is pulled into a bigger story – about a company, and a threat that is facing us all. 

The first three episodes are available to Tortoise members on thefree Tortoise audio app, and subscribers to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This story starts in 2012. Oliver is a dashing young diplomat, working in Afghanistan. Charlie is a graduate newly arrived in London, trying to find her feet in the world. The pair meet online and she falls in love. But only a few months later, she discovers that the story Oliver has told her about his life is not what it seems. 

A decade later, this man has climbed to the top of academia, the civil service, and into the world of national security, eventually founding a billion-dollar company selling AI to the military. 

But a mystery hangs over Charlie: did the untruths continue, and if they did, why haven’t caught up with him?

The first three episodes are available to Tortoise members on thefree Tortoise audio app, and subscribers to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s London, 2012. Oliver is a dashing diplomat. Charlie is a young graduate trying to find her feet in the world. They meet online and she falls in love. With his encouragement, Charlie applies for a job in British intelligence. Then, she receives a text message that turns her life - and her relationship - upside down, and 10 years later, a mystery is still hanging over her. Walter's War is an investigation into what happened next – a journey through big tech and national security, hype and hucksterism, where anyone who can tell a good story can go far. But how much is true?

Episode 1 goes live on Tuesday 21st November. The first three episodes will be available to Tortoise members on thefree Tortoise audio app, and subscribers to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content

Become a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more

If you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Radicalised by Covid, the anti-vax movement goes mainstream – and RFK Jr emerges as a new figurehead.

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise audio app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content 

Become a Tortoise member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Wakefield becomes a superstar thanks to the support of celebrities and an army of mothers – and establishes anti-vax as a moneymaker.

This is part 2 of a 3-part series - to listen exclusively to episode 3 today subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or become a member and listen on Tortoise's audio app. 

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise audio app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content 

Become a Tortoise member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A British doctor sparks a global health panic about the safety of vaccines. But even though his work is discredited, he lights a fire that becomes the modern anti-vax movement. Hosted by Alexi Mostrous. 

This is part 1 of a 3-part series - to listen exclusively to episodes 2 and 3 today subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or become a member and listen on Tortoise's audio app. 

You can find out more about Tortoise:

Download the Tortoise audio app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists

Subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content 

Become a Tortoise member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and more. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Dr Anti-vax: the making of a modern panic

How did the anti-vax movement become so mainstream?

25 years ago, a British doctor Dr Andrew Wakefield sparked a global vaccine panic. Today, Alexi Mostrous, the reporter behind chart-topping hit podcasts Sweet Bobby and Hoaxed investigates how anti-vaxxers have gone from the fringes of public life to the centre of the culture wars that divide America and so many other countries, and the beguiling fall and rise of the man who started it all.

Episode 1 goes live on Tuesday 24th October and all three episodes will be available to Tortoise members on thefree Tortoise audio app, and subscribers to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was “America’s mayor”. Now he’s been indicted, along with Donald Trump, for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Will Rudy die in jail for The Don?

Listen to the three part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was “America’s mayor”. Now he’s been indicted, along with Donald Trump, for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Will Rudy die in jail for The Don?

Listen to the three part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twenty years ago, Rudy Giuliani was “America’s mayor”. Now he’s been indicted, along with Donald Trump, for allegedly attempting to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. Will Rudy die in jail for The Don?

Listen to the three part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The police say they are not looking for any more victims of David Boyd but we met other women who were confronted by the killer. This episode contains descriptions of child sexual abuse.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sharon's case should be extraordinary but it isn't. A few miles away from Sharon another mother was left to solve her own daughter's murder after being let down by police. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The number one suspect is interrogated by police until he confesses but it's not until 30 years later that the right man is put on trial.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rumours choke the case and a vulnerable suspect is arrested. The first 48 hours after a crime are crucial: what did the police get so wrong in the days after Nikki went missing?

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1992 on a council estate in Sunderland a seven year old girl is murdered. It took the police 30 years to find the killer, a convicted child sex offender who lived three doors away from where Nikki Allan went missing. What happened on the night of her disappearance?

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Three doors down: a murder, a mother and a thirty year investigation

In May in a packed room at Newcastle Crown Court, David Boyd, was found guilty of the brutal murder in 1992 of seven year-old Nikki Allan. Sharon Henderson, Nikki’s mother, called for a public inquiry into why it had taken the police so long to find and convict her daughter’s murderer. 

When Nikki was murdered, Sharon was a single mother of four living in Wear Garth, a rundown housing estate in Sunderland. David Boyd lived a few floors above Sharon in the same block. He was known to the police. He was the kind of offender who should have been caught. 

Three doors down tells the astonishing story of Sharon Henderson’s thirty year campaign to get justice for her daughter’s killing. It shines a light on police behaviour and their treatment of working class women. It’s a personal tale of trauma and resilience in the face of systemic police failure, that couldn’t be more timely. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode, Ceri travels to meet Rob in a peaceful garden in rural Wiltshire. What unfolds is a heated exchange about what Rob's story really is and what adds up to the whole truth. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Global Witness out Rob in 2015, things quickly fall apart. He loses everything that matters to him but to this day he believes that if his voice had been heard, it would have all worked out differently. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob is adamant that in all the years he was undercover, he never sent information back to his spymasters that harmed the campaigners. But when you're the only one in control of the decisions, can you always get it right? 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob Moore says he can justify going undercover among anti-asbestos campaigners because he was following a Buddhist principle, turning poison into medicine. To this day he believes that if the people he infiltrated would really listen to his story they'd understand him differently. But does his story really stand up to scrutiny?

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 2012 and Rob Moore goes 'into the dirt', undercover, to infiltrate a group of campaigners fighting for a ban on deadly asbestos. None of them knew they had a private spy in the camp. But it's hard to stay hidden forever.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Three years ago a former private spy came to our newsroom at Tortoise. He told an incredible story about infiltrating a campaign group, deceiving people for years but all the while being a 'double agent', before his world fell apart. And it all played out in the opaque world of corporate intelligence. 

Since then, journalist Ceri Thomas has been asking who Rob Moore really is and what his motivations were. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over three years in the making, Tortoise introduces Into The Dirt – investigating the extraordinary story of private spy, Rob Moore and the shadowy world of corporate intelligence. Rob was tasked with working undercover to extract information from an environmental campaign group but he ended up turning on his employers and supporting the group he was meant to be infiltrating. Only it wasn’t that straightforward. Neither side knew the whole truth. 

Was Rob a misunderstood whistleblower or a traitor to a cause?

Into the Dirt is a wild story about truth, spies and the stories we tell ourselves.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Polly Curtis returns to investigate the world of private trans healthcare, and speaks to Gender GP and its founder Helen Webberley, labelled by one newspaper as one of Britain’s most controversial doctors. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Polly Curtis investigates why NHS England accelerated the closure of GIDS and what the future of the service could look like for children and young people. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The public debate around the work of the Tavistock is getting louder. Kiera Bell wins a landmark ruling at the High Court which halts all new referrals for puberty blockers for under 18s on the NHS in England and Wales. She was prescribed puberty blockers at 16 but later decided she wants to detransition. The Tavistock appeals and the ruling is overturned. But for many people the narrative of the Gender Identity Development Service is now set in stone. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The internal divisions at GIDS and the wider Tavistock centre spill out into the open. Whistleblowers are publicly critical of GIDS. One accuses the service of fast tracking young people onto puberty blockers after just one meeting with clinicians. The senior leadership team at GIDS desperately tries to hold the team together. Meanwhile the numbers on the waiting list tick up and up. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the increase in referrals to the Gender Identity Development Service increases, the profile of the young people seeking treatment changes too. There are now two natal girls for every natal boy, a complete reversal of what it had been a decade before. Polly Curtis tries to make sense of this change and goes to Blackpool which has the highest referral rate of anywhere in England. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Polly Carmichael became the director of the Gender Identity Development Service at the Tavistock in 2009. “I remember our office was literally a room that had probably been a broom cupboard at one stage”, she recalls. But the decision in 2011 to start offering puberty blockers to under-16s, and in 2016 to widen the professionals who could refer a child to GIDS had a major impact. The numbers of people on the waiting list ticked inexorably up, until the clinic felt it could barely cope. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the summer of 2022 the NHS announced it was winding up the Gender Identity Development Service for children and young people at the Tavistock. Critics of the service celebrated, its supporters were left in despair. Journalist Polly Curtis has spent months trying to understand what happened. Why has it attracted such criticism and what is the best way going forward of treating young people with gender dysphoria? 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is the story of the Gender Identity Development Service for children and young people at the Tavistock. The Tavi, as it’s known is the only clinic in England and Wales which has treated children suffering from body dysphoria. Its critics have accused it of fast-tracking young people into changing gender. Its supporters argue it has provided help and support, even a lifeline. Now, the clinic will close. This is the story of what happened.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the last episode of the series, the team finally hears from a man they’ve been chasing for months. And they return to Maine, to tell Christopher’s parents what they have discovered about their son's life and death.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The team tries to understand the connection between Chris's trip to South Sudan, and one taken by a group of American fighters just weeks before. Could this explain why Chris was called a white rebel? And after months investigating, Basia finally speaks to the fighter who fascinated Chris, and she asks – how close really were you? 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Months after Jeremy first approached Basia, the team fly to Nairobi to sit down with the mysterious essay writer. And it turns out that he is not the only person ready to share what he knows about who killed Christopher Allen.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There is a new layer of horror to Chris's story – and in trying to understand it, Basia investigates the evidence that Chris was killed on purpose. The team figures out how to get to South Sudan – and how to finally meet the essay-writer.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Basia traces Chris's career as a young freelancer. By now, it's clear his death is tied to his life as a reporter. But who was he trying to be? Just how close was he to a group of fighters? And after years in Ukraine, how did he end up in a remote corner of South Sudan?

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At just 22 years old, Chris travels to Ukraine for his spring break, keen to see war up close. For the first time, he experiences the thrill and horror of the frontline. He's hooked. Five years later, Basia, along with Chris's cousin, Jeremy, visit Chris's parents in America to piece together who he really was. There they learn a troubling new detail about Chris's time in Ukraine.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Five years after his death on a distant frontline in South Sudan, the truth about what happened to Christopher Allen is still a mystery. Was he a reckless freelancer? A mercenary? Or a young and ambitious reporter, caught in the crossfire? Approached by a family member looking for answers, journalist Basia Cummings begins investigating.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christopher Allen was trying to make it as a war reporter when, aged just 26, he was shot and killed on the frontline in South Sudan. But as news of his death began to spread, suspicion grew. Some claimed he was really there as a mercenary, a fighter. Others said he was a reckless freelancer, in over his head. And there was another question: was he killed on purpose, or was this another accident of war? From Tortoise and the team behind Sweet Bobby, Pig Iron is a dark adventure in war and journalism – and into what really happened to Christopher Allen. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of Hoaxed, Alexi confronts Abraham and Ella. about what they. did in Hampstead - and why. And the police give Alexi some surprising news.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alexi and his producer fly to Morocco to confront Abraham Christie - and learn dark secrets about his past.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For a conspiracy to spread, important people need to be listening. Alexi discovers that the perpetrators of the Hampstead hoax have friends in high places, while he and the team close in on Abraham's location. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The perpetrators of the Hampstead hoax meet their match in an unassuming mystery novelist, who is determined to expose their lies and bring them to justice.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Seized upon by conspiracy theorists, Ella’s list of alleged cult members spreads like wildfire across the Internet. Hampstead parents start receiving death threats and lives are torn apart.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Two young children make horrific allegations in a London police station, lighting the fuse on the most serious British conspiracy theories in decades.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2014, two children told police a shocking story: that they were being abused by a Satanic cult; a cult headed by their father and by parents and teachers at their school in the wealthy London suburb of Hampstead. The story was a lie. But on the internet, that didn't matter. 

From the team who brought you Sweet Bobby, Hoaxed is an investigation into one of Britain's most serious-ever conspiracy theories. A story about a modern-day Satanic panic; about the victims whose lives were destroyed and about the conspiracists who spread the lie around the world. 

Oh, and it's about our hunt for the perpetrators - the people who forced the kids to lie - the ones who started it all. 

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Tortoise Investigates, where we curate the best of our chart-topping investigative series in one place. Over the last three years we’ve covered everything from extraordinary tales of deception to suspicious deaths to one mother’s decades-long fight against the police. There's Sweet Bobby, Hoaxed, Pig Iron and more. Keep an eye on the feed, we’ll be updating it regularly with all of our best and most ambitious stories. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of Sweet Bobby, Kirat’s case against the catfisher takes an unexpected turn. As Alexi is putting the finishing touches to the series, he gets a phone call that changes everything.

Listen to the full series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the confession, Kirat goes to the police. But their reaction to her case isn’t what she’s expecting. Plus: Alexi tries a new approach with the catfisher...

Listen to the full six-part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirat deals with the fallout from the confession. Alexi’s investigation reveals the startling true beginnings of the scam, as he tries to unravel the catfisher's motivation.

Listen to the full six-part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bobby is now closer than ever – and yet he keeps slipping through Kirat's grasp. After being pushed to breaking point, she makes the life changing decision to confront him – and discovers the truth...

Listen to the full six-part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bobby finds his way back into Kirat's life, and their relationship grows closer – with devastating consequences. Meanwhile, Alexi investigates the sophistication of the catfishing scam. 

Listen to the full six-part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kirat is a successful marketer and radio presenter. Online, she’s contacted by a man she vaguely knows called Bobby, and they start chatting. Slowly, they become close… and she’s reeled in to a scam of epic proportions.

Listen to the full six-part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How much do you know about the person you love? Sweet Bobby is the #1 award-winning investigative series in search of the world's most sophisticated catfishers.

Listen to the full six-part series today. For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app.For early and ad-free access to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows, subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts.

If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to Tortoise at tortoisemedia.com/support-us. Your contributions allow us to investigate, campaign and explore, and to build a newsroom that is responsible and sustainable.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.