Home Podcasts Foundling | Tortoise Investigates
Foundling  | Tortoise Investigates

Foundling | Tortoise Investigates

The Observer 119 Episodes Jul 21, 2026

On 6th October 1987, a newborn baby is found on a remote country lane in Suffolk. The baby, Jess, is adopted. Journalist Lucy Greenwell, who lived nearby at the time, tracks Jess down decades later and uncovers a story of long-held secrets and unintended consequences. This six-part series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer explores what drove a mother to leave her child and the impact on Jess's life.

Episodes

Asma’s choice | We call her Emma Ep3
Asma’s choice | We call her Emma Ep3 Jul 21, 2026 43:24 In 2011, the Arab Spring hits Syria and Asma has a decision to make: speak out in favour of the popular revolution or stay loyal to the regime. But what choice did she really have? We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.To binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual
Diana of Damascus | We call her Emma Ep2
Diana of Damascus | We call her Emma Ep2 Jul 14, 2026 45:51 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 people who worked with her in the early years who - despite everything that’s happened - still believe her intentions were genuine but that she became trapped by the regime.We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise
The girl from Acton | We call her Emma Ep1
The girl from Acton | We call her Emma Ep1 Jul 7, 2026 40:58 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 that will come to define her - she marries the son of a dictator and becomes Asma al-Assad, the first lady of Syria.We call her Emma is a 6 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The Observer.To binge listen to all epis
Introducing...We call her Emma
Introducing...We call her Emma Jul 1, 2026 3:45 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 decision that will come to define her. In 2001 Emma marries Bashar al-Assad - the now infamous dictator of Syria.In the early days, people inside and out of Syria dared to hope. Alongside his beautiful, progressive wife, Bashar p
Under one roof | Foundling Ep 2
Under one roof | Foundling Ep 2 Mar 24, 2026 44:16 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 part original series from Tortoise Investigates and The ObserverTo binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.You'll get access to:This serie
On the verge | Foundling Ep 1
On the verge | Foundling Ep 1 Mar 24, 2026 39:15 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 original series from Tortoise Investigates and The ObserverTo binge listen to all episodes today, ad-free, subscribe to The Observer and use the code AUDIO50 to get 50% off your annual subscription.You'll get access to:This serie
Introducing... Foundling
Introducing... Foundling Mar 17, 2026 3:52 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 never found. The baby, Jess, is adopted. Journalist Lucy Greenwell has never forgotten the day when Jess was discovered. She was a child and lived nearby. For decades Lucy has wondered; what happened to Jess, and what could have d
The Missing Book  | The Walkers Ep7
The Missing Book | The Walkers Ep7 Feb 17, 2026 42:25 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 reversing a terminal illness, why did the publisher Penguin not question it more? Chloe also goes on the hunt for Raynor Winn’s fourth  book…her true debut written years before The Salt Path.Credits:Reporter - Chloe Had
The Letters  | The Walkers Ep6
The Letters | The Walkers Ep6 Feb 10, 2026 47:54 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 she’s Raynor Winn’s niece. And she’s not turned up empty handed…Credits:Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouProducer - Matt RussellArtwork - Observer design with acknowledgements to Angela HardingMusic supervision and sound design - K
The French Quarter | The Walkers Ep5
The French Quarter | The Walkers Ep5 Feb 3, 2026 27:13 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 step closer to understanding who Moth and Raynor Winn really are.Credits: Reporter - Chloe HadjimatheouProducer - Matt RussellMusic supervision - Karla PatellaSound design - Rowan BishopExecutive Producer - Jasper CorbettSubscribe
The Miracle  | The Walkers Ep4
The Miracle | The Walkers Ep4 Jan 27, 2026 39:20 Moth 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 is still defying the odds. Has he discovered the secret to a medical miracle?Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series.To find out more about The Observer:Subscribe to TheOb
Cider at Haye  | The Walkers Ep3
Cider at Haye | The Walkers Ep3 Jan 20, 2026 42:38 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, is left to piece together the disparity between what he’d witnessed…and what Raynor Winn had written about.Subscribe to Observer+ on Apple Podcasts and Spotify to binge listen to the entire series.To find out more about The Obse

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