The Slow Newscast21 Nov 2023

Walter's War: An English gentleman

To listen to the full series subscribe to the Tortoise Investigates feed.

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. A few months into the relationship, and with his encouragement, Charlie applies for a job in British intelligence. She's feeling optimistic, the interview goes well. Then, she receives a text message that turns her life - and her relationship - upside down.

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 hucksterism, where anyone who can tell a good story can go far. But how much is true?

This is episode one of four. To continue listening to Walter's War just search for Tortoise Investigates. 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.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(433)

My father, the vampire hunter

After a spate of paranormal sightings in 1970s London, debate raged over the existence of a vampire in Highgate Cemetery. Fifty years on, the legend has been taken on by a new generation, fuelled by t...

25 Aug 36min

What does a mass shooter’s chatbot history reveal?

After a 2025 mass shooting on Florida State University’s campus, investigators found a year’s worth of chat history between the shooter and ChatGPT. MotherJones’ Mark Follman has been investigating wh...

21 Aug 25min

Ctrl Alt Restore

Rupert Lowe is the MP for Great Yarmouth, and the leader of Restore Britain, a right-wing political party which launched in February this year. So, how did the leader of such a young, fringe party end...

18 Aug 35min

What next for Reform and Nigel Farage?

Nigel Farage has been re-elected as MP for Clacton. But that also means a Parliamentary investigation into Farage resumes. So what's next for Reform and their leader? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/p...

14 Aug 22min

The Mandelson files

When Peter Mandelson was sacked as the UK’s ambassador to the United States over his links with Jeffrey Epstein people wondered how he ever got appointed in the first place.Eventually Keir Starmer’s g...

11 Aug 28min

Is mountaineering getting more dangerous?

On Thursday 30th July, an avalanche hit the world's twelfth highest mountain. Ten experienced climbers were caught by it, among them one of the world's most famous and experienced mountaineers Nirmal ...

7 Aug 29min

Hard knocks: the cost of courage

When World Cup Winner Phil Vickery retired in 2010, he thought his toughest physical battles were behind him. Today, like hundreds of former players, he lives with memory loss and the looming threat ...

4 Aug 40min

Who owns our water?

What are companies extracting British spring water, companies like Coca Cola and Nestle, paying for that water? The answer is extraordinary. And with the threat of nationalisation, what does the futur...

31 Jul 25min