Into The Dirt

22
Business News #23

Listen to all six episodes today.


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. 


That was until 2016, when after years of being in control of these two disparate worlds he was unexpectedly outed. Now, the campaigners see him as a traitor who betrayed their trust. He sees himself as a misunderstood whistleblower.


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


The six-part series launches Tuesday 27th June. To get early access to the first 3 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.


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  • Mhobart
    Another gem
    Everything these people produce is excellent.
  • 0O4kb2a
    Intriguing story but with some gaps
    Overall I enjoyed this series a lot. I learned about corporate espionage, asbestos, and appreciated the nuanced exploration of what truth is. The one aspect I felt this series fell short is delving further into Rob’s side of the story. I didn’t really get to hear the perspectives of people who view Rob positively, such as his Buddhist friends. Unless I missed it, there didn’t seem to be any explanation for what Rob thought he actually uncovered (what was his theory, even if it’s a conspiracy theory). The narrative seems to be that Rob is deluding himself on the importance and impact of his actions, but I would’ve appreciated being given more specific details of what is it that he thought he achieved to decide for myself if he’s claims hold water.
  • Tlön Uqbar
    Less Moore
    Beautifully produced and well worth a listening, but I’m left wondering why so much time is devoted to one flawed man’s (Moore’s) complex and self-aggrandizing response to a (partly self-created) moral quandary, and so little time is devoted to the underlying systems in which that man was entangled (entertainment, corporate espionage, activism, and the asbestos industry). This is a story about Moore, first and foremost, and I’m not sure it’s quite worth six episodes to demonstrate the flaws of a man whose flaws (and virtues) are more or less evident from the start.
  • LJ N
    Loved it!
    Great journalism! Amazing podcast!
  • Glassforshoes
    A bit unfair to Rob
    Actually, I think the podcast is a bit unbalanced. As listeners we don’t hear much about Rob’s friends perspective. I don’t think Rob is a saint but I do think his side deserves more or a voice so readers could decide for themselves rather than almost be told his decisions were naive. We get plenty from the people harmed by him and little that he says absolves him. I am not interested in listening to abuser’s excuses, if that’s what he is but I need more info to make that decision. What was the corruption he claimed to uncover? That doesn’t feel fleshed out to me.
  • Elbybara
    Some missed opportunities
    I’m a big fan of Tortoise but I had some issues with this show. I found the first several episodes very hard to follow. I also wish there had been an explanation for how Tortoise was able to publish this podcast if Rob Moore withdrew his consent partway through. Finally, and in my view, the biggest missed opportunity was having some sort of conversation/expertise introduced about Mr. Moore’s mental health. For nearly the whole show, I found myself thinking that there is likely some (undiagnosed?) mental health issue(s) that’s creating an inability to have true empathy for the impact of his actions as well as an inability to reconsider his perception of himself. I wish him peace. You can hear how distressed he is by the experience of doing this podcast, especially in the last couple episodes. Lots of ethical dilemmas here, in both the original story and the choice to tell this story.
  • milastie78
    another great show from tortoise
    incredible production and storytelling as per usual . very fascinating story
  • scottpmcg44
    Bummer.
    I was excited about this one. But when you say that most of the Steele dossier turned out to be true, you showed your bias. That’s simply untrue. Had to unsubscribe.
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