From the team that brought you Sweet Bobby, and over three years in the making, Tortoise introduces Into The Dirt – a story about truth, spies and the stories we tell ourselves.

Rob Moore had a successful career in television until one day he ran out of ideas. After a stint as a gardener, a more enticing door was opened for him. He was offered a job in the shadowy world of corporate intelligence - he became a spy.

Tasked with working undercover to extract information from an environmental campaign group, Rob Moore says he eventually became sympathetic to the campaigners’ aims. He decided to turn on his employers and support the group he was meant to be infiltrating. Only it wasn’t that straightforward. He never told the campaigners who he really was and he never told his spymasters what he was really doing. Neither side knew the whole truth. 

Was Rob a misunderstood whistleblower or a traitor to a cause? Our latest six-part podcast series explores the extraordinary story of private spy, Rob Moore.

For the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access, 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.

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 world fell apart. And it all played out in the opaque world of corporate intelligence.

Since then, journalist Ceri Thomas has been asking who Rob Moore really is and what his motivations were.

This is a six-part series from Tortoise with new episodes being released every Tuesday and Thursday. To get early access to the first 5 episodes and for the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access, 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.

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 forever.

This is a six-part series from Tortoise with new episodes being released every Tuesday and Thursday. To get early access to the first 5 episodes and for the premium Tortoise listening experience, curated by our journalists, download the free Tortoise audio app. For early and ad-free access, 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.