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PODCAST

Tortoise Investigates

Welcome to Tortoise Investigates from The Observer. It’s the home for the best of our podcast series, where you can find all our chart-topping, award-winning stories in one place.We’ve covered everything from extraordinary tales of deception to suspicious deaths to one mother’s decades-long fight against the police.Our journalists cover a wide range of stories but there is a thread that ties them all together – in every series, you’ll hear us going deep on a story, taking our time to investigate,

society & culture documentary

All Episodes

38:31

The Tavistock - Episode 5: The noise

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/18

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 thepremium

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34:04

The Tavistock - Episode 4: The enemy within

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/18

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the

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35:38

The Tavistock - Episode 3: Thin ice

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/18

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the

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40:27

The Tavistock - Episode 2: The broom cupboard

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/18

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

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39:09

The Tavistock - Episode 1: A verdict

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/18

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated

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3:07

Introducing: The Tavistock

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/18

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 thepremium Tortoise

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45:17

Pig Iron - Episode 7: Out there

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d like to

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45:26

Pig Iron - Episode 6: The rope

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess

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40:36

Pig Iron - Episode 5: Kaya

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d

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36:47

Pig Iron - Episode 4: The kaleidoscope

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on

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46:00

Pig Iron - Episode 3: The lonely impulse

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly

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38:50

Pig Iron - Episode 2: Spring break

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the

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34:39

Pig Iron - Episode 1: White rebel

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and

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2:28

Introducing: Pig Iron

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/11

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

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45:14

Hoaxed - Episode 6: Bonnie and Clyde

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/04

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a

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27:18

Hoaxed - Episode 5: The Healer

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/04

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind of newsroom, do consider donating to

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26:45

Hoaxed - Episode 4: Infiltration

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/04

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d like to further

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43:15

Hoaxed - Episode 3: The Avengers

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/04

The perpetrators of the Hampsteadhoaxmeet 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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different

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41:01

Hoaxed - Episode 2: Ella's list

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/04

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d like to further support slow

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36:32

Hoaxed - Episode 1: Secrets and lies

Tortoise Investigates ·

2023/09/04

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 thepremium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists,download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-freeaccess to all our investigative series and daily and weekly shows,subscribeto Tortoise+ on ApplePodcasts.If you’d like to further support slow journalism and help us build a different kind

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109 results

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