Robert Moore is a British TV producer turned private spy, and the subject of a new podcast from Tortoise Media called Into The Dirt. In 2012, K2 Intelligence hired Moore to spy on activists who were campaigning to ban the use of asbestos, the dangerous construction material. Posing as a journalist and documentary filmmaker, Moore spent four years secretly tape-recording activists, monitoring their strategy sessions, and sharing much of what he learned with K2 and its client. But in 2016, Moore decided he’d had enough. He approached Global Witness, an organization working to end environmental and human rights abuses worldwide, and set up a meeting with co-founder Simon Taylor. At a restaurant inside London’s St. Pancras train station, Moore then told Taylor what he’d really been doing all those years. And he proposed becoming a double agent. Global Witness rejected the proposal, urging Moore to alert the activists he’d spied on. When Moore balked, Global Witness contacted a law firm, which in turn sued K2 Intelligence, Moore, and his boss on behalf of several activists. Throughout the podcast, Moore insists he did not cause harm to anyone. In fact, he seems certain that the people he betrayed will come to see him differently if he has a chance to tell his story properly. Some activists have rejected Moore’s story–that he’s switched sides–arguing that you cannot trust a word of what he says. Others, while disliking his tactics, believe his intentions were genuine. K2 Intelligence settled the lawsuit in 2018, agreeing to pay “substantial damages” to a group of prominent anti-asbestos campaigners.