Rob got tough treatment from these podcasters. He did ultimately do the right thing and paid a very high price for it. I wish there had been more coverage of the international asbestos industry, especially in Vietnam.

Global Witness is an NGO and this is about spying involving NGOs, but they act as if they have the moral high ground without establishing that they actually do. Then this story gets laundered through Tortoise as some form of hit job on the main participant who withdrew consent. This podcast is icky and underhanded and feels like dressed up bullying. Ethically all of this seems questionable and leaves a bad taste.

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.

Everything these people produce is excellent.

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.

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.

Great journalism! Amazing podcast!

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.

incredible production and storytelling as per usual . very fascinating story

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.