Spiral | Tortoise Investigates
by The Observer
Latest episode
Known risks | Spiral Ep 3
Known risks | Spiral Ep 3
About this podcast
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.
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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Episodes
The newest 50 of 104 episodes
- Known risks | Spiral Ep 3 · 46 min · Season 24 Episode 3After 23-year-old Zane Shamblin dies by suicide, his parents uncover the chat logs detailing his final months talking to ChatGPT. And Patricia meets the lawyer now taking on…
- Model behaviour | Spiral Ep 2 · 44 min · Season 24 Episode 2OpenAI extends the memory of a ChatGPT model with startling consequences for a screenwriter in California. Patricia traces what went wrong and hears from Google and OpenAI…
- Spiral: Video Bonus · 2 min · Season 24When The Observer’s Technology Editor, Patricia Clarke began investigating a new phenomenon initially dubbed ‘AI psychosis’, she found lives upended by long, intimate…
- The dials of belief | Spiral Ep 1 · 42 min · Season 24 Episode 1Jim asks an AI chatbot a simple question about how to earn some extra cash. He ends up in a psychiatric ward. Patricia Clarke investigates how design choices made by AI labs can…
- Introducing... Spiral · 5 min · Season 24When The Observer’s Technology Editor, Patricia Clarke began investigating a new phenomenon initially dubbed ‘AI psychosis’, she found lives upended by long, intimate…
- Live event | Careless · 1 min · Season 23To culminate Careless, a new investigative series from The Observer, we invite you to join actor Nkechi Simms, broadcaster and Careless reporter Ashley John-Baptiste, and…
- Bag For Life | Careless Ep 1 · 43 min · Season 23 Episode 1Journalist Ashley John-Baptiste joins actor Nkechi Simms as she returns to Camden to untangle the truth about her childhood and find out why she was taken into state care when…
- Introducing...Careless · 3 min · Season 23Nkechi Simms is a successful actor who’s had parts in Top Boy and the BBC comedy PRU. Outwardly life is good and she’s got everything going for her, but this hasn’t always been…
- Gareth | Lucky Boy Ep1 · 38 min · Season 22 Episode 1Gareth spent years believing he was a lucky boy. He was the 14-year-old who got the attention of the attractive young science teacher. Now, decades later, he wants the truth to…
- A Flying Start | The Mandelson files Ep1 · 27 min · Season 21 Episode 1When 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…
- Diana of Damascus | We call her Emma Ep2 · 46 min · Season 20 Episode 2When Asma arrives in Syria, there’s a palpable sense of hope. People in the country and around the world dare to believe that she is a force for good. Chloe hears from people who…
- The girl from Acton | We call her Emma Ep1 · 41 min · Season 20 Episode 1Emma is a high achieving, middle class woman from West London - she’s destined for a successful career and a comfortable British life. But in 2001 she makes a decision that will…
- Introducing...We call her Emma · 4 min · Season 20Emma is a high achieving, middle class girl from west London. She seems destined for a successful career in banking and a comfortable British life. Until she makes a decision…
- Under one roof | Foundling Ep 2 · 45 min · Season 19 Episode 2Jess does a DNA test. And she and Lucy travel to visit a house where Jess’s birth mother once lived, and try and work out how nobody noticed a thing. Foundling is a 6 part…
- On the verge | Foundling Ep 1 · 40 min · Season 19 Episode 1Journalist Lucy Greenwell goes in search of Jess following rumours and unanswered questions about where she was born and who gave birth to her. Foundling is a 6 part original…
- Introducing... Foundling · 4 min · Season 19On 6th October 1987, a newborn baby is found on the verge of a remote country lane in Suffolk. Police comb the area for clues and appeal for witnesses, but the mother is never…
- The Missing Book | The Walkers Ep7 · 42 min · Season 18 Episode 7The Salt Path was the supposed bestseller debut book by Raynor Winn, selling millions worldwide. So when two more sequels came along with increasingly bold claims on reversing a…
- The Letters | The Walkers Ep6 · 48 min · Season 18 Episode 6At a motorway service station, Chloe meets someone close to Raynor Winn who’s nervous about coming forward. It turns out she’s another character from The Salt Path…and she’s…
- The French Quarter | The Walkers Ep5 · 27 min · Season 18 Episode 5In the aftermath of her initial investigation, Chloe hears from a close family member of Moth’s. The story is one of deep divides…and another theft. But it takes her one step…
- The Miracle | The Walkers Ep4 · 39 min · Season 18 Episode 4Moth is suffering from a rare and terminal illness: corticobasal degeneration. Life expectancy rarely extends beyond eight years. But almost two decades after his diagnosis, Moth…
- Cider at Haye | The Walkers Ep3 · 43 min · Season 18 Episode 3When the television cameras come to a heritage cider farm in Cornwall, Moth and Raynor Winn take centre stage. Within weeks, they vanished. The farm’s owner, their friend, is…
- On the path | The Walkers Ep2 · 36 min · Season 18 Episode 2With question marks now raised over how The Salt Path began, Chloe Hadjimatheou starts to track down other characters from the book. Did Raynor Winn and Moth ever walk the path…
- The Missing Money | The Walkers Ep1 · 41 min · Season 18 Episode 1In a small town in north Wales, an alleged theft at a local estate agents plants the seeds for a global blockbuster. Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to…
- Introducing... The Walkers: The real Salt Path · 3 min · Season 18Raynor Winn’s memoir The Salt Path was a bestseller and literary phenomenon with millions of people captivated by this true story of financial ruin, terminal illness, and healing…
- Fair Play | Deep Water Ep2 · 26 min · Season 17 Episode 2Lydia travels to Kalamata, Greece, a renowned freediving spot to investigate the doping allegations. What substances are athletes meant to be taking? And what are the risks – to…
- Depth Wish | Deep Water Ep1 · 26 min · Season 17 Episode 1Three years ago, travel writer Lydia Gard discovered freediving. An extreme and beautiful sport defined by one objective: to dive as deep as you can on one single breath. It soon…
- Introducing ... Deep Water · 4 min · Season 17Three years ago travel writer Lydia Gard discovered freediving almost by accident. It’s an extreme and beautiful sport defined by one simple objective: to dive as deep as you can…
- Three is murder | The Lab Detective Ep1 · 41 min · Season 16 Episode 1Journalist Rachel Sylvester investigates the case of 'Australia's worst serial killer'. And discovers, in a story about mothers who have been accused of murdering their own…
- Introducing...The Lab Detective · 4 min · Season 16Introducing...The Lab Detective Kathleen Folbigg experienced unimaginable loss. All four of her infant children died suddenly, over a 10-year period. Their deaths were…
- Introducing...Lucky Boy · 3 min · Season 15Gareth’s whole life has been defined by a relationship he had 35 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolboy, he fell in love with an attractive young teacher at his school. He…
- A star is born | Elon's Spies Ep4 · 30 min · Season 14 Episode 4When Donald Trump declared victory in the US presidential election, he told an adoring crowd that "a star is born". He was referring to Elon Musk. After months of reporting on…
- Amber | Elon's Spies Ep3 · 41 min · Season 14 Episode 3To his surprise, Alexi finds himself speaking to a local reporter at the Gold Coast Bulletin in Australia. It’s not where he thought the story would take him but it reveals a new…
- Horrible human being | Elon's Spies Ep2 · 37 min · Season 14 Episode 2When Martin Tripp worked at Tesla, he took the advice of his boss Elon Musk - if you discover a problem, tell me about it. But when Martin shares his concerns, his world begins…
- Pedo guy | Elon's Spies Ep1 · 39 min · Season 14 Episode 1In 2018, Vernon Unsworth is at the centre of a global news story. He plays a crucial role in rescuing a young football team who became trapped in a flooded cave system…
- Introducing...Elon's Spies · 3 min · Season 14Elon 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…
- The lawsuit | Master Ep 7 · 28 min · Season 13 Episode 7Neil Gaiman faces a lawsuit in the United States. The first woman to come forward and accuse the best-selling author of sexual assault has filed a complaint against him and his…
- The phone calls | Master Ep 6 · 55 min · Season 13 Episode 6A fifth woman comes forward with allegations against the author Neil Gaiman. Reporter: Paul Caruana Galizia and Rachel Johnson Producer: Matt Russell Additional reporting: Jess…
- The NDAs | Master Ep 5 · 40 min · Season 13 Episode 5Almost a month since the investigation where two women came forward with allegations that the author Neil Gaiman sexually assaulted them - allegations he strenuously denied…
- The fan | Master Ep 4 · 43 min · Season 13 Episode 4The second woman to allege Neil Gaiman sexually assaulted her first met him as an 18-year-old fan. They began a consensual sexual relationship two years later. She alleges he was…
- The pond | Master Ep 3 · 35 min · Season 13 Episode 3New Zealand police tell the former nanny there isn’t enough evidence to actively pursue her sexual assault complaint against Neil Gaiman. He says he offered himself up for an…
- The Whatsapps | Master Ep 2 · 49 min · Season 13 Episode 2The former nanny who alleges Neil Gaiman sexually assaulted her shares her WhatsApp messages with him. The messages appear friendly and affectionate. He says they’re evidence…
- The bath | Master Ep 1 · 57 min · Season 13 Episode 1Neil Gaiman is one of the world’s most successful authors. And one of the most loved. His works have been adapted for film, TV and the stage. Now two women, a former nanny and a…
- The Seagull | Dangerous Memories Ep 2 · 44 min · Season 12 Episode 2Fipsi starts to question what really happened in the soft pink room, and how to help her friends who are still on their journeys with Anne Craig. But for one of them it’s already…
- That amazing healer lady | Dangerous Memories Ep 1 · 39 min · Season 12 Episode 1A group of well-heeled young English women hear about an intriguing therapist figure, who describes herself as a ‘teacher of personal development’. One by one they start to visit…
- Introducing...Dangerous Memories · 3 min · Season 12Introducing...Dangerous Memories When Sarah watched her 23 year old daughter cycle away from her in Chelsea - a well-off corner of London - she had no idea it would be the last…
- Devil's breath | The Gas Man Ep 6 · 38 min · Season 11 Episode 6In the final episode of the series, is the 40-year game of cat-and-mouse nearly over? To find out more about Tortoise: Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience…
- Truth serum | The Gas Man Ep 5 · 40 min · Season 11 Episode 5In this episode, Chloe looks into what happened to The Gas Man when he arrived back in Germany as a fugitive – and investigates whether his trade with Iran ever really ended To…
- The other Gas Man | The Gas Man Ep 4 · 47 min · Season 11 Episode 4Chloe makes a startling discovery about another chemical trafficker that has consequences for her investigation. A Kurdish survivor of mustard gas shares her story. To find out…
- The escape | The Gas Man Ep 3 · 42 min · Season 11 Episode 3The team persuades The Gas Man to step out from the shadows. He reveals the first big clue in the investigation to how he got away with it – and makes a surprising claim about…
- The sting | The Gas Man Ep 2 · 33 min · Season 11 Episode 2Special Agent Bass has his target in his sights but he’s on another continent. If he wants him to talk he’ll need a clever plan – and maybe a bit of luck To find out more about…
