Careless | Tortoise Investigates artwork

Documentary · The Observer

Careless | Tortoise Investigates

by The Observer

When she was 12, the actor Nkechi Simms' mother handed her over to Camden Council and she was placed in foster care. Now she wants to find out what happened to her and why. The only way she can do this is by getting hold of her care records. But that’s easier said than done. And will those records answer her questions? The home of investigative podcasts from Tortoise, from Sweet Bobby to Lucky Boy. Listen to the latest original series from Tortoise, including We call her Emma and The Mandelson files. To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 for 50% off an annual digital subscription. You'll get access to: This series and all our podcasts before anyone elseAd-free listeningA daily edition, curated by our editors 7 days a weekPuzzles from the inventors of the cryptic crosswordRecipes for every occasionFree tickets to join Observer events in our newsroom or online Or subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for access to this series and ad-free listening to Observer podcasts. Reported by Ashley John-Baptiste and Madeleine Parr Produced and written by Madeleine Parr Sound design by Simon Panayi Artwork by Jon Hill The editor is Jasper Corbett Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Latest episodes

Showing 20 · updated from the feed

Bag For Life | Careless Ep 1

Journalist 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

Sep 22
42 min

Introducing...Careless

Nkechi 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 alway

Sep 16
3 min

A verdict | Lucky Boy update

For the last three weeks, reporter Chloe Hadjimatheou has been following the trial of Sally Anne Bowen, the teacher at the centre of Tortoise Investigates’ podcast series

Aug 27
4 min

Gareth | Lucky Boy Ep1

Gareth 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 tr

Aug 27
38 min

A Flying Start | The Mandelson files Ep1

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 pla

Aug 18
27 min

Diana of Damascus | We call her Emma Ep2

When 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 pe

Jul 14
45 min

The girl from Acton | We call her Emma Ep1

Emma 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 th

Jul 7
40 min

Introducing...We call her Emma

Emma 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 deci

Jul 1
3 min

Under one roof | Foundling Ep 2

Jess 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 pa

Mar 24
44 min

On the verge | Foundling Ep 1

Journalist 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 or

Mar 24
39 min

Introducing... Foundling

On 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

Mar 17
3 min

The Missing Book | The Walkers Ep7

The 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 reve

Feb 17
42 min

The Letters | The Walkers Ep6

At 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 sh

Feb 10
47 min

The French Quarter | The Walkers Ep5

In 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

Feb 3
27 min

The Miracle | The Walkers Ep4

Moth is suffering from a rare and terminal illness: corticobasal degeneration. Life expectancy rarely extends beyond eight years. But almost two decades after his diagnos

Jan 27
39 min

Cider at Haye | The Walkers Ep3

When 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

Jan 20
42 min

On the path | The Walkers Ep2

With 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 th

Jan 13
35 min

The Missing Money | The Walkers Ep1

In 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

Jan 13
41 min

Introducing... The Walkers: The real Salt Path

Raynor 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

Jan 7
3 min

In good faith | Deep Water Ep6

After weeks of chasing him, Lydia finally speaks to Vitomir Maričić, the Croatian freediver at the heart of the scandal – and he tells his side of the story. Subscribe t

Dec 16 2025
38 min

Chart trend

Position in the Documentary chart (US), last 90 days.

#1
all-time peak
33
days in the top 3 since Nov 2024

Chart positions

Where Careless | Tortoise Investigates ranks today in each Apple Podcasts chart (US, Sep 30, 2026).

#52 ▼ 10 Documentary US

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

Brilliant storytelling. My heart breaks for the victim. Many people failed him that should have intervened. He is brave for standing up to Ms. Bowen after a lifetime of grief and confusion around his experience. Despite her denials, I believe him.

SmokeyCat007 · Apr 2025

Gareth’s story is heartbreaking. Even if it was a “different” time and may seem harmless to some the effects of this relationship with an obvious power dynamic and age gap are long lasting. I’m happy that Gareth got the justice he deserves and hopefully is able to slowly start to put this behind him. What happened to him was wrong even if he was too young at the time to realize it. Great storytelling.

!GG18! · Mar 2025

Terrific topics and concise reporting. Many podcasts have so much “extra”that takes away from the story and drags the series on and on…I love these shows!! Well done. 👏👏👏👏 👏

GracieJoy66 · Dec 2024

These seasons choose topics people are generally too scared to talk about. Responsible, thorough, thoughtful, and interesting. Good balance of fact finding and humanity

TheRecruitBuyer · Dec 2024

To the season 4 host - you did so much virtue signaling to avoid acknowledgment of your transphobia in this season, but it was still very obvious and harmful. You treated the transphobic sources with kindness and compassion, but you were critical and deliberately lacking in understanding with those speaking up for trans rights. Why would you amplify such hateful sources? You claimed rounded journalism as your motivation, but you clearly started with and further leaned into transphobia throughout the episodes. Is transphobia just ok to you? What other kinds of oppression are you willing to amplify? Please do some self reflection.

jo86no · Oct 2024

Lucky Boy: gave it a charitable listen. Liked 50% of it but the compassion of the narrator for Gareth is contradicted by the terms she uses. At one point in Ep 3, the narrator calls him Bowen’s “15 year-old lover.” Gross. Also, it’s not sex, it’s statutory rape of a minor. Even *with* consent. The narrator problematizes the consent by talking about Garett not understanding his desires and being taken advantage of. A good amount of time is spent on how it traumatized him, while simultaneously not calling it rape. If it were a 15 year-old girl and a teacher, she would not be called a lover.

suspendedisbelief · Apr 2025

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