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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

34:33

Myths and monsters | The Lab Detective Ep4

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/08/05

Rachel Sylvester travels to Greece to investigate whether genetic science could change the story in the case of Roula Pispirigou – a mother who was convicted of killing her three young children just last year.Our thanks toThe Francis Crick Institutefor sharing recordings and insights.Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design:Rowan BishopPodcast artwork:Lola WilliamsExecutive producer:Basia CummingsThis episode is sponsored by The Life of Chuck. Join

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33:32

Science versus the law | The Lab Detective Ep3

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/07/29

Scientist Carola Vinuesa and her team test their extraordinary genetic discovery in a court of law.Our thanks toThe Francis Crick Institutefor sharing recordings and insights.Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design:Rowan BishopPodcast artwork:Lola WilliamsExecutive producer:Basia Cummings Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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38:29

The eureka moment | The Lab Detective Ep2

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/07/22

Kathleen Folbigg is just trying to survive. She’s a grieving mother, sentenced to life in jail for killing her four infant children. That is, until a small group of people start to question whether she might be the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice.Our thanks toThe Francis Crick Institutefor sharing recordings and insights.Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design:Rowan BishopPodcast artwork:Lola WilliamsExecutive producer:Basia Cummings

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40:09

Three is murder | The Lab Detective Ep1

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/07/22

Journalist Rachel Sylvester investigates the case of 'Australia's worst serial killer'. And discovers, in a story about mothers who have been accused of murdering their own children, there is one man who connects them all: a doctor called Roy Meadow.Our thanks toThe Francis Crick Institutefor sharing recordings and insights.Reporter: Rachel SylvesterProducer: Gary MarshallMusic supervisor: Karla PatellaSound design:Rowan BishopPodcast artwork:Lola WilliamsExecutive producer:Basia Cummings Hosted on

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4:08

Introducing...The Lab Detective

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/07/15

Introducing...The Lab DetectiveKathleen Folbigg experienced unimaginableloss. All four of her infantchildren died suddenly, over a 10-year period. Their deaths were unexplained. Until a police detective turned up at her door, and arrested Kathleen on suspicion of murder.She was labelled ‘Australia's worst female serial killer’, convicted, and was destined to spend most of the rest of her life in jail.Until a different type of detective entered her life. A scientist working in a lab who uncovered the

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3:38

Introducing...The Wargame

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/06/12

Introducing...The WargameA bunker. A scenario. A group of former senior ministers, military chiefs and other experts. Russia knows our weaknesses – but do you?Sky News' security and defence editor Deborah Haynes presents The Wargame. From Sky News and Tortoise, it imagines how a Russian attack on the UK could play out... and how military chiefs and politicians might try to defend the country.Episodes will be released weekly - search for The Wargame wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on

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3:06

An update on the story | Lucky Boy

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/06/06

When Lucky Boy launched back in March, there was an important detail thatdidn't make it into the podcast,for legalreasons: the team had discovered that they weren’t the only people who had been investigating the allegations made by Gareth -the Metropolitan Police had been too.Now, reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou has an update.To find out more about The Observer: Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content head to our websiteobserver.co.ukDownload the Tortoise app –

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5:39

Introducing...Oceans: Life Under Water

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/05/19

We are partnering with Greenpeace and Crowd Network, so that we can continue to bring our listeners brilliant investigations on The Slow Newscast. You can join Tortoise as a member to get early and ad-free access to new series and support our investigations atwww.tortoisemedia.com/inviteWhat does it sound like at the bottom of the ocean?In this new podcast from Greenpeace and Crowd Network, you can find out. Join Wildlife Filmmaker Hannah Stitfall as she embarks on a journey across the planet and

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5:39

Introducing...Oceans: Life Under Water

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/05/06

We are partnering with Greenpeace and Crowd Network, so that we can continue to bring our listeners brilliant investigations on The Slow Newscast. You can join Tortoise as a member to get early and ad-free access to new series and support our investigations atwww.tortoisemedia.com/inviteWhat does it sound like at the bottom of the ocean?In this new podcast from Greenpeace and Crowd Network, you can find out. Join Wildlife Filmmaker Hannah Stitfall as she embarks on a journey across the planet and

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52:00

Lucky Boys | Lucky Boy Ep4

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/03/10

Sally Anne Bowen doesn’t want to speak about her relationship with Gareth, but it turns out there is a way of hearing her version of events. And after months of searching, Chloe gets a message from another ‘lucky boy’.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you

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41:07

The school | Lucky Boy Ep3

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/03/04

Chloe hears from a former teacher who seems to support what Gareth believes - that there was a cover-up. And it’s still going on today.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the

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44:47

The relationship | Lucky Boy Ep2

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/02/25

Gareth is convinced that his memories are true and that there are plenty of witnesses who can corroborate his story, so why will no one help him?You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more

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37:27

Gareth | Lucky Boy Ep1

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/02/25

Gareth spent years believing he was a lucky boy. He was the 14-year-old who got the attention of the attractive young science teacher. Now, decades later, he wants the truth to come out about the damage it’s caused him. But his story is not straight forward.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's

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3:03

Introducing...Lucky Boy

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/02/25

Gareth’s whole life has been defined by a relationship he had 35 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolboy, he fell in love with an attractive young teacher at his school. He spent most afternoons in her bedroom and thought he was the luckiest boy in the world. But when she walked out of his life everything started to unravel.Lucky Boy is a new four-part series in which Chloe Hadjimatheou asks who gets to be a perpetrator and a victim.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app -

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4:32

Introducing... Rogue Russia: Agents of mayhem

Tortoise Investigates ·

2025/01/14

Introducing... Rogue Russia: Agents of mayhemLast October, the head of MI5 said Russia was on a mission to cause "sustained mayhem" on European streets. It might be hard to spot at first, but it is there in plain sight. This is the unpredictable, violent world of the modern Russian intelligence services. You can listen to the episode on the Slow Newscast here.Be the first to hear episodes of the Slow Newscast ad-free by subscribing to Tortoise+ or by becoming a Tortoise member. To find out more

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8:15

Introducing..Crime Junkie - MURDERED: JonBenet Ramsay

Tortoise Investigates ·

2024/12/16

We are partnering with Audiochuck, so that we can continue to bring our listeners brilliant investigations like Elon's Spies. You can join Tortoise as a member to get early and ad-free access to new series and support our investigations atwww.tortoisemedia.com/invite.Introducing...Crime Junkie - MURDERED: JonBenet Ramsay The morning after Christmas Day 1996, six-year-old JonBenét Ramsey was reported missing... only for her body to be discovered hours later in her family’s home. Nearly three decades

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29:38

A star is born | Elon's Spies Ep4

Tortoise Investigates ·

2024/11/12

When Donald Trump declared victory in the US presidential election, he told an adoring crowd that "a star is born". He was referring to Elon Musk.After months of reporting on the billionaire's use of private investigators, Alexi asks whether the insights he gained from that investigation reveal how Musk will operate in his new political era, and what that means for everything in his orbit.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our

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40:34

Amber | Elon's Spies Ep3

Tortoise Investigates ·

2024/10/22

To his surprise, Alexi finds himself speaking to a local reporter at the Gold Coast Bulletin in Australia. It’s not where he thought the story would take him but it reveals a new case involving Elon and his spies.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want

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37:16

Horrible human being | Elon's Spies Ep2

Tortoise Investigates ·

2024/10/15

When Martin Tripp worked at Tesla, he took the advice of his boss Elon Musk - if you discover a problem, tell me about it. But when Martin shares his concerns, his world begins to spiral out of control.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in

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38:49

Pedo guy | Elon's Spies Ep1

Tortoise Investigates ·

2024/10/08

In 2018, Vernon Unsworth is at the centre of a global news story. He plays a crucial role in rescuing a young football team who became trapped in a flooded cave system. Overnight, he is a hero. But there’s a darker side of his story that’s less well known. That’s where Elon Musk and his private investigators come in.You can find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and

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109 results

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