Documentaries and investigations

Our weekly investigative show

Kathleen Folbigg experienced unimaginable loss. All four of her infant children died suddenly, over a 10-year period. Their deaths were unexplained. Until a police detective turned up at her door, and arrested Kathleen on suspicion of murder.

She was labelled ‘Australia's worst female serial killer’, convicted, and was destined to spend most of the rest of her life in jail.

Until a different type of detective entered her life. A  scientist working in a lab who uncovered the truth behind the deaths.

This is the story of a shocking miscarriage of justice, and an investigation into why Kathleen's story may not be the last. 

Journalist Polly Curtis tells the story of the Tavistock – the only NHS clinic in England and Wales which treats children suffering from gender dysphoria. Critics accuse it of fast-tracking young people into changing gender. Supporters argue it has provided a lifeline.

Who gets to be a perpetrator and who gets to be a victim?

The allegations against the author Neil Gaiman

A healer and the women who wanted to be healed

How the world’s richest man targets his enemies

What comes to mind when you think of Amber Heard? Liar? Survivor? Narcissist? Millions of us watched the celebrity trial of the century, Depp v Heard, in 2022. Amber Heard lost and Johnny Depp was vindicated. But what if Amber was actually the victim of an organised trolling campaign? What if the online hate against her was manufactured? Alexi Mostrous investigates what happened to Amber and who might have been responsible. It’s a story about how our own thoughts and opinions can be moulded without us even realising.

It starts with a tip-off. It’s the late 1980s and US Special Agent Dennis Bass is warned about a shipment of suspicious chemicals headed to a secret destination. So he follows the lead – and ends up stumbling into a global plot helping fuel a war. The main suspect? The Gas Man. 

A dashing diplomat and a young graduate meet and fall in love. With Oliver’s encouragement, Charlie applies for a job in British intelligence. Then she receives a text message that turns her life – and her relationship – upside down. From the team behind British Podcast Award-winning series Pig Iron, Walter’s War is an investigation into what happened next.

The Iranian state is trying to assassinate people on British soil. Paul Caruana Galizia investigates a growing threat.

Misunderstood whistleblower or traitor to a cause? Into The Dirt explores the story of private spy, Rob Moore.

Shortly before Vladimir Putin was reelected for a fifth term as Russia's president he eliminated his last possible rival for power, Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in an Arctic labour camp. The deaths, often in mysterious circumstances, of dozens of Putin's opponents have been a hallmark of his time in office. Tortoise's Giles Whittell sets out to find out why so many of Putin's enemies have met an early end.

Christopher Allen was trying to make it as a war reporter when, aged just 26, he was shot and killed on the frontline. As news of his death spread, suspicion grew. Was he killed deliberately?

How did the anti-vax movement go from the fringes of public life to the centre of the culture wars that divide so many? From the team behind Sweet Bobby and Hoaxed, Tortoise’s latest investigation charts the disturbing fall and rise of Dr Andrew Wakefield, the British doctor who sparked a global panic about vaccines 25 years ago.

Donald Trump is the first former US president to face a criminal trial. He is accused of falsifying his business records by saying a hush money payment to a porn star was for legal fees. He’s facing 34 counts of fraud under campaign finance laws, and has pleaded not guilty to all of them.

The trial, which is expected to last eight weeks, is being held in a New York court and Donald Trump has to appear every day.

This is the story of that trial, told using the transcripts of what is said in court.

How can we fix a world designed for men? Best-selling author Caroline Criado Perez is on a mission to find the answers

Kirat is a successful radio presenter. On Facebook she meets Bobby, a handsome cardiologist. He’s a catch. Soon, they get tangled up in a love affair full of lies and manipulation. Then... Kirat discovers a deception of almost unimaginable proportions.

An investigation into one of the most serious British conspiracy theories of all time, from the team who brought you Sweet Bobby.

A mother. A murder. An innocent man wrongly convicted. And a 30-year search for justice.