Introducing... Hoaxed, the new series from Alexi Mostrous and Tortoise, who brought you Sweet Bobby.
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. The story was a lie. But on the internet, that didn't matter.
Hoaxed is an investigation into one of Britain's most serious-ever conspiracy theories. A story about a modern-day Satanic panic; about the victims whose lives were destroyed and about the conspiracists who spread the lie around the world. Oh, and it's about our hunt for the perpetrators - the people who forced the kids to lie - the ones who started it all.
All 6 episodes are available now to listen for free. You can listen to the full series ad-free and get access to exclusive bonus content by downloading the Tortoise audio app (https://tortoisemedia.onelink.me/Cx9d/c770bd87) or subscribing to Tortoise+ on Apple podcasts. Or join Tortoise as a member, where you can access more of our reporting, live events and support our work. Just visit the Tortoise website (https://torto.se/3cxu7yf) and use the code Alexi50 for half price membership.
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Restaurateur Ali shares his unsettling experience of being targeted and hacked, exploring who is behind the attacks and how to stop them in this interview.
22 Jul 2025TRANSCRIPT
Introducing ... The Lab Detective
Introducing...The Lab Detective
Kathleen Folbigg was known as ‘Australia's worst female serial killer’ - she’d lost all four of her infant children and was convicted for killing them.
Until, after spending decades in jail, a scientist working in a lab uncovered the truth behind the deaths.
The Lab detective is the story of a shocking miscarriage of justice, and an investigation into why Kathleen’s story might not be the last.
This is episode one of four. You can listen to the entire series today by subscribing to The Observer+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or by downloading the Tortoise app. To listen, search for The Lab Detective wherever you get your podcasts.
To find out more about The Observer:
Subscribe to TheObserver+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free episodes.
Head to our website observer.co.uk
Download the Tortoise app – for a listening experience curated by our journalists
Reporter: Rachel Sylvester
Producer: Gary Marshall
Music supervisor: Karla Patella
Sound design: Rowan Bishop
Podcast artwork: Lola Williams
Executive producer: Basia Cummings
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
10 Oct 2024TRANSCRIPT
Introducing...Elon's Spies
Introducing...Elon's Spies
Elon Musk is one of the most powerful men in the world. He's a billionaire, the founder of SpaceX, Tesla and more. To his followers, he's a hero; to his critics, a far-right rabble rouser.
But for someone so public, there’s one part of his life that’s less well known.
Elon’s Spies investigates how this free-speech champion uses private investigators and surveillance to target everyone from whistleblowers at his companies, to online critics and people in his own life.
This is episode one of three. You can binge the entire series today by subscribing to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or Spotify or by downloading the Tortoise app. To listen, search for Elon's Spies wherever you get your podcasts.
To find out more about Tortoise:
Download (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/tortoise/id1441428990) the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists
Subscribe (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/channel/tortoise/id6442666997) to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content
Become a member (https://www.tortoisemedia.com/join-us/) 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 hello@tortoisemedia.com
Reporter: Alexi Mostrous
Producer: Gary Marshall
Sound design and original composition: Tom Kinsella
Podcast artwork: Jon Hill
Executive producer: Ceri Thomas
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
5 Sept 2024TRANSCRIPT
Introducing...What's Wrong With Democracy?
Introducing...What's Wrong With Democracy?
By the end of this year, countries making up half the world’s population will have held elections. But not all of them will have been free and fair. In ‘What’s Wrong with Democracy?’ Professor Ben Ansell of Oxford University will, with the help of academics, journalists, activists and writers, figure out whether democracy is working and how best to preserve democratic freedoms, equality and rights.
What’s Wrong with Democracy? (https://lnk.to/WWWDFD!paid) is produced by Tortoise Media and supported by The Open Society Foundations.
To find out more about Tortoise:
Download (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/tortoise/id1441428990) the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists
Subscribe (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/channel/tortoise/id6442666997) to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content
Become a member (https://www.tortoisemedia.com/join-us/) 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 hello@tortoisemedia.com
Host: Professor Ben Ansell
Producers: Katie Gunning and Ada Barume
Editor: Jasper Corbett
Original artwork: Jon Hill | Emma O’Neil
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23 May 2024TRANSCRIPT
Introducing...Pretendians
We have an exciting new investigation coming up next week and you can join Tortoise as a member to get early and ad-free access to the new series and support our investigations at tortoisemedia.com/invite (http://tortoisemedia.com/invite). While you're waiting, we wanted to tell you about a new podcast from our friends at Canadaland.
Introducing...Pretendians.
Why do people pretend to be Native? Hosts Robert Jago (Kwantlen First Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe) Angel Ellis (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) begin their journey by asking someone who has been doing just that. He’s not just your average imposter – "Grand Chief" Guillaume Carle is the king of the “pretendians", a French Canadian who made a small fortune creating his own fake First Nation and issuing phony Indian Status Cards to thousands of other identity thieves.
Follow Pretendians on your podcast app.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
8 Apr 2024
Introducing...To Die For
Introducing...To Die For
Imagine you were a fly on the wall at a dinner between the mafia, the CIA, and the KGB. That’s where this unprecedented story begins. A journey through the dark world of Russian intelligence where, for the first time, a professed “sex spy” tells her story. All of it.
Host Neil Strauss (Rolling Stone, The New York Times) brings listeners into the dangerous world of sexpionage, where enemies of the State are not the only victims. So too are the spies themselves, brainwashed to believe that their bodies belong to Russia and meticulously trained to become “the perfect weapons.” From the creators of the #1 hit podcast series To Live and Die in LA, this is To Die For.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
27 Feb 2024TRANSCRIPT
Introducing...Who Trolled Amber?
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 (https://podfollow.com/tortoise-investigates)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 (https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/tortoise/id1441428990) the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalists
Subscribe (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/channel/tortoise/id6442666997) to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free content
Become a member (https://www.tortoisemedia.com/join-us/)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 hello@tortoisemedia.com
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
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27 Oct 2022
Episode six: Bonnie and Clyde
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 the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app (https://tortoisemedia.onelink.me/Cx9d/c770bd87). 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 (http://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 (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
20 Oct 2022
Episode five: The Healer
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 the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app (https://tortoisemedia.onelink.me/Cx9d/c770bd87). 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 (http://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 (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
13 Oct 2022
Episode four: Infiltration
All 6 episodes are available to listen for free today. You can listen to the full series ad-free and get access to exclusive bonus content coming soon by subscribing to Tortoise+ on Apple podcasts or joining Tortoise as a member where you can support the investigation and get tickets to exclusive events. Just visit the Tortoise website (https://torto.se/3cxu7yf) and use the code Alexi50 for half price membership.
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.
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6 Oct 2022
Episode three: The Avengers
The perpetrators of the Hampstead hoax meet 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 the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app (https://tortoisemedia.onelink.me/Cx9d/c770bd87). 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 (http://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 (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
29 Sept 2022
Episode two: Ella's list
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 the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app (https://tortoisemedia.onelink.me/Cx9d/c770bd87). 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 (http://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 (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
22 Sept 2022
Episode one: Secrets and lies
Two young children make horrific allegations in a London police station, lighting the fuse on the most serious British conspiracy theories in decades.
All six episodes are now available to listen for free. You can listen to the full series ad-free and get access to exclusive bonus content coming soon by subscribing to Tortoise+ on Apple podcasts or joining Tortoise as a member where you can support the investigation and get tickets to exclusive events. Just visit the Tortoise website (https://torto.se/3cxu7yf) and use the code Alexi50 for half price membership.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
3 Sept 2022
Introducing: Hoaxed
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.
The story was a lie. But on the internet, that didn't matter.
From the team who brought you Sweet Bobby, Hoaxed is an investigation into one of Britain's most serious-ever conspiracy theories. A story about a modern-day Satanic panic; about the victims whose lives were destroyed and about the conspiracists who spread the lie around the world.
Oh, and it's about our hunt for the perpetrators - the people who forced the kids to lie - the ones who started it all.
New episodes of Hoaxed launch each week, but Tortoise members and Tortoise+ subscribers on Apple Podcasts get exclusive, early and ad-free access. To access the first 5 episodes now subscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts or join Tortoise as a member, where you will also get invites to exclusive events. Visit the Tortoise website (https://torto.se/3cxu7yf) and use the code Alexi50 for half price membership for £50 per year.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
Inside a recent episode
Introducing... One-star review
Published 30 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt
[…] So the actual weekend that he came home, my other son rang me. He said, oh mum, Ali's coming home for a few days. And I was always excited. I'm lovely, lovely. And they came through the door and my first reaction was their father has died. It took Ali a long time to confide in his family, especially his mother. He was so distressed and he couldn't get words out because he was sobbing. And I said, Ali, whatever it is, mummy loves you unconditionally. We'll get through it. I can't imagine what has happened to make you be the way you're presenting yourself to me. Don't worry, we'll get through it. […]
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