In the 1980s Special Agent Dennis Bass received a tip-off that changed the course of his career. 30 years on reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou sets out to solve the mystery of how an international fugitive got away with his crimes – and why he's still on the run. 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 member and get access to all of...

Introducing...The Gas Man It starts with a tip-off.  It’s the late 1980s and US Special Agent Dennis Bass is warned about a shipment of suspicious chemicals headed to a secret destination. So he follows the lead – and ends up stumbling into a global plot helping fuel a war. The main suspect? The Gas Man.  In the decades since, Special Agent Bass has been locked in an international game of cat and mouse with the man who supplied a dangerous regime with the chemicals to make weapons. Every...

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: 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...

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: 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...

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: 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...

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

 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: 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...

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. 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 Become a member and get access to all of...

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...

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...

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...

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 the free Tortoise audio app, and...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...