Podcasts · Society & Culture · True Crime

Careless | Tortoise Investigates

The Observer

117 episodes · in order

When The Observer’s Technology Editor, Patricia Clarke began investigating a new phenomenon initially dubbed ‘AI psychosis’, she found lives upended by long, intimate conversations with chatbots. But as she followed the evidence from a psychiatric ward in Bristol to the safety teams in Silicon Valley, a far darker story emerged.

More about the show

Guided by AI industry whistleblowers, grieving families and hundreds of pages of chatbot transcripts, Spiral exposes how big tech is running an unprecedented experiment on the human mind.

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Reported by Ashley John-Baptiste and Madeleine Parr

Produced and written by Madeleine Parr

Sound design by Simon Panayi

Artwork by Jon Hill

The editor is Jasper Corbett

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Episodes page 1 of 3

  1. Introducing ... Tortoise Investigates

    · 1:02 · Trailer

    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…

  2. Introducing: Sweet Bobby

    · 1:29 · Trailer

    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. All 6 episodes are available to listen now. To get…

  3. Sliding doors | Sweet Bobby Ep 1

    · 32 min · S1 E1

    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…

  4. Witness protection | Sweet Bobby Ep 2

    · 42 min · S1 E2 · Explicit

    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. To listen to all 7 episodes of…

  5. Introducing: Hoaxed

    · 1:18 · Trailer

    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.…

  6. Secrets and lies | Hoaxed Ep 1

    · 37 min · S2 E1

    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…

  7. Ella's list | Hoaxed Ep 2

    · 42 min · S2 E2

    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…

  8. Introducing: Pig Iron

    · 2:28 · Trailer

    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…

  9. White rebel | Pig Iron Ep 1

    · 35 min · S3 E1

    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,…

  10. Spring break | Pig Iron Ep 2

    · 39 min · S3 E2

    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…

  11. The lonely impulse | Pig Iron Ep 3

    · 46 min · S3 E3

    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,…

  12. The kaleidoscope | Pig Iron Ep 4

    · 37 min · S3 E4

    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…

  13. Kaya | Pig Iron Ep 5

    · 41 min · S3 E5

    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…

  14. The rope | Pig Iron Ep 6

    · 45 min · S3 E6

    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…

  15. Out there | Pig Iron Ep 7

    · 45 min · S3 E7

    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.…

  16. Introducing: The Tavistock

    · 3:07 · Trailer

    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…

  17. A verdict | The Tavistock Ep 1

    · 39 min · S4 E1

    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.…

  18. The broom cupboard | The Tavistock Ep 2

    · 40 min · S4 E2

    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.…

  19. Thin ice | The Tavistock Ep 3

    · 36 min · S4 E3

    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…

  20. The enemy within | The Tavistock Ep 4

    · 34 min · S4 E4

    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…

  21. The noise | The Tavistock Ep 5

    · 39 min · S4 E5

    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…

  22. The real scandal | The Tavistock Ep 6

    · 40 min · S4 E6

    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…

  23. Gender GP | The Tavistock Ep 7

    · 44 min · S4 E7 · Bonus

    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…

  24. Introducing: Into the Dirt

    · 3:16 · Trailer

    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…

  25. The truth | Into the Dirt Ep 1

    · 39 min · S5 E1

    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…

  26. Project Spring | Into the Dirt Ep 2

    · 33 min · S5 E2

    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…

  27. Poison into medicine | Into the Dirt Ep 3

    · 30 min · S5 E3

    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…

  28. Chicken feed | Into the Dirt Ep 4

    · 40 min · S5 E4

    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…

  29. The verge | Into the Dirt Ep 5

    · 34 min · S5 E5

    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…

  30. The whole truth | Into the Dirt Ep 6

    · 47 min · S5 E6

    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…

  31. Introducing: Three doors down

    · 2:15 · Trailer

    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…

  32. Missing | Three Doors Down Ep 1

    · 25 min · S6 E1

    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…

  33. Rumours | Three Doors Down Ep 2

    · 31 min · S6 E2

    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…

  34. Confession | Three Doors Down Ep 3

    · 29 min · S6 E3

    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,…

  35. Conviction | Three Doors Down Ep 4

    · 23 min · S6 E4

    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…

  36. Inquiry | Three Doors Down Ep 5

    · 22 min · S6 E5

    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…

  37. Trump and Rudy | Ep 1

    · 38 min · S7 E1

    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…

  38. Trump and Rudy | Ep 2

    · 30 min · S7 E2

    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…

  39. Trump and Rudy | Ep 3

    · 41 min · S7 E3

    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…

  40. Introducing: Dr Anti-vax

    · 2:30 · Trailer

    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…

  41. The fall | Dr Anti-vax Ep 1

    · 29 min · S8 E1

    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…

  42. The rock star | Dr Anti-vax Ep 2

    · 33 min · S8 E2

    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…

  43. The movement | Dr Anti-vax Ep 3

    · 33 min · S8 E3

    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…

  44. Introducing: Walter's War

    · 3:00 · Trailer

    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…

  45. An English gentleman | Walter's War Ep 1

    · 31 min · S9 E1 · Explicit

    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.…

  46. The secret life of Walter Mitty | Walter's War Ep 2

    · 33 min · S9 E2 · Explicit

    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…

  47. The rebellion | Walter's War Ep 3

    · 38 min · S9 E3 · Explicit

    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…

  48. The confidence game | Walter's War Ep 4

    · 37 min · S9 E4 · Explicit

    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…

  49. Introducing: Who Trolled Amber?

    · 2:58 · Trailer

    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…

  50. Missing evidence | Who Trolled Amber Ep 1

    · 37 min · S10 E1

    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.…

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