Sweet Bobby

We are partnering with the Center for the Advancement of Infrastructural Imagination, so that we can continue to bring our listeners brilliant investigations like Sweet Bobby. You can join Tortoise as a member to get early and ad-free access to new series and support our investigations at www.tortoisemedia.com/invite.

Introducing...A Sense of Rebellion

A Podcast Series by Evgeny Morozov.

Forget the military or Silicon Valley: we owe our smart technologies - from toothbrushes to beds - to a band of eccentric 1960s hippies. Hidden away in a secretive, privately funded lab on Boston’s waterfront, these visionaries developed intimate, personal technologies a decade before Steve Jobs. But their rebellion was fraught with obstacles: the military-industrial complex, corporate resistance, and the founders’ larger-than-life personalities. As Silicon Valley adopted their ideas, the lab's vision for more humane and diverse technologies was twisted into something entirely different. A decade in the making, this podcast unravels their captivating and often tragic tale. It's all here: Cold War psychiatry, Maoism, LSD, the Rockefellers, Scientology, CIA’s forays into extrasensory perception, and even the advent of tech libertarianism.

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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 time Bass thinks he’s got his hands on him… The Gas Man somehow manages to slip the net. And he’s still on the run today.

But after more than 30 years, could his past finally be catching up with The Gas Man?

The first two episodes of The Gas Man are available now, with further episodes released each week. To get ad-free and early access to more episodes today, become a Tortoise member or subscribe to Tortoise+.

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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 [email protected]

Reporter: Chloe Hadjimatheou 

Producer: Claudia Williams

Editor: Jasper Corbett

Narrative editor: Gary Marshall

Sound design: Hannah Varrall

Original theme music: Tom Kinsella

Original artwork: Jon Hill

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We are partnering with Campside Media, so that we can continue to bring our listeners brilliant investigations like Sweet Bobby. You can join Tortoise as a member to get early and ad-free access to new series and support our investigations at www.tortoisemedia.com/invite.

Introducing...The White Devil

Sharing something special this week: A show from our friends at Campside Media, called White Devil.

Late at night in May of 2021, a single gunshot shattered the silence along the beach at Belize’s luxurious Alaia resort. In White Devil, journalist Josh Dean dives into one of the biggest, splashiest, and most perplexing crime stories you’ve never heard of: The shooting death of renowned cop Henry Jemott, apparently by a Canadian property developer, connected to the family of one very influential billionaire: Lord Michael Ashcroft. In investigating, the craggy depths of Belize are brought to the surface: Its quirks, its corruption, and the all pervasive influence of several generations of one family in particular. You can binge the rest of White Devil at https://link.chtbl.com/tortoisewhitedevil.

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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.

The first two episodes of Who Trolled Amber are available now, with further episodes released each week. To listen to the whole series become a Tortoise member or subscribe to Tortoise+.

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 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 [email protected]

Reporter and host: Alexi Mostrous

Producer: 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.

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 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.