Unauthorized Disclosure

Writer Alexander Reid Ross produced an article for the Southern Poverty Law Center's blog, "Hatewatch," that was headlined, "The multipolar spin: how fascists operationalize left-wing resentment." It mentioned Rania Khalek, Ben Norton, and journalist Max Blumenthal, who has been a guest on this show multiple times. The article, which equates left-wing antiwar and anti-imperialist journalism and commentary with fascism, was taken down from SPLC's site with little to no explanation. Journalist Ben Norton, a producer and reporter at The Real News, joined the show in this first part of our two-part episode to talk about the attacks on Rania, Max, and him, which have escalated in the past week. Norton and Khalek dig into the origins of vitriol against journalists whose work counters support for the international war on Syria. Later in Part 1, Norton and Khalek address socialist factions in the United States and their positions on Syria and what animates their politics. Both pivot to the Middle East to examine left

Host Kevin Gosztola was in Augusta, Georgia, during the past week to cover a hearing in NSA contractor Reality Winner's case. It was his first time in the city, and he describes the setting as an unintentionally appropriate backdrop for the government's prosecution. So, host Rania Khalek interviewed him. The downtown area is an example of what towns look like in late-stage capitalism. There are also several Confederate monuments (Gosztola talks about one that shocks Khalek.) Then, there is a Georgia Cyber Training And Innovation Center that will be a hub of private and public partnerships between security corporations and the U.S. security apparatus, including the NSA. Gosztola also shares some of what he witnessed at the hearing, like how the Federal Justice Center is very fortified compared to other courthouses. He addresses the lack of national media coverage of what unfolded at her hearing to suppress statements she made to FBI agents. Later in the show, Khalek and Gosztola highlight the teachers strike i

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Aaron Maté to counter the media frenzy around Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation into alleged election interference by Russia. Maté addresses how politicians and commentators are comparing the information operation described in Mueller's indictment of 13 Russian nationals to Pearl Harbor or the 9/11 attacks. He recounts how Facebook investigated ads purchased by Russians during the 2016 Election but Democrats disapproved of the company's conclusions. Much of the alleged scandal started with claims that Russians hacked the election, but now, it has shifted to Russians meddled by abusing social media to sway voters. Maté talks about the narrative and how U.S. media advances this narrative around Russia and the 2016 Election with extremely thin evidence. Later in the show, Maté discusses how Democrats decided to pin their hopes of opposing Donald Trump to blaming Russia for Hillary Clinton's loss. He contends one of the consequences is supp

Host Kevin Gosztola interviews whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg about his recent book, "Doomsday Machine: Confessions Of a Nuclear War Planner." Ellsberg, who is most known for leaking the Pentagon Papers, worked as a consultant for the Defense Department, and he even drafted a set of nuclear war plans for Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in the early 1960s. His book recounts his journey as he discovered how close a nuclear strike by the United States government or a war between the U.S. and Soviet government could bring the Earth's population to near-extinction. In the interview, Ellsberg highlights how he came to learn the military's estimate for how many hundreds of millions of people would die if a nuclear attack was launched. He describes how there was no way to call back pilots if an execute order was given. He shares how his father refused to be part of the production of the H-bomb and talks about how he had classified documents on nuclear matters, which he planned to release until they were tragic

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola address a Daily Beast piece claiming to "expose" the Russian-funded Redfish, a grassroots media project where Khalek briefly worked. Khalek talks about the sheer disingenuousness nature of this attack.  Later in the show, Khalek and Gosztola discuss recent airstrikes by the United States against pro-government forces in Syria and how the U.S. media went along with the idea that this was "self-defense." They also talk about President Donald Trump's desire to hold a gaudy and lavish military parade, as well as another news story about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 Election.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola pay tribute to investigative journalist Robert Parry, who founded Consortium News and died recently.  They also address President Donald Trump's plans to develop more nuclear weapons and the latest developments in NSA whistleblower Reality Winner's case. And with great distress, they talk about Devin Nunes' goddamn stupid fucking memo — because they suppose they had no choice but to mention it.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Karen Smith, an organizer with the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC). She is also part of the Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons. She joins the show to provide an update on Operation PUSH, which is a prison strike that is currently ongoing at several facilities in Florida. Following Smith's interview, we speak to Marbella Chavez, an organizer with the Coalition Against the Elkhart County Immigration Detention Center. CoreCivic, a private prison contractor, planned to build a center in Elkhart County, Indiana. However, as Chavez describes, several from the community came together to build opposition to CoreCivic and stopped the company from building a new facility.

In the season 5 premiere of "Unauthorized Disclosure," hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola interview Mickey Huff, who is the director of Project Censored. He is co-host of "The Project Censored Show" and works on an annual book that includes the Top 25 Censored Stories each year. Huff describes the work of Project Censored for those unfamiliar the effort. He discusses the issue of Facebook, Google, and these massive conglomerates that control technology we depend on to get news and information. He addresses the prevalent issue of "fake news" but notes it has existed for decades as propaganda. We dive deeper into how the media continues to move the goalposts in its allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election and why it has such a stranglehold over political discussions. Later in the show, Khalek and Gosztola highlight two examples of from the 2016-2017 book that was released last year.

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola bid farewell to 2017 in the season's finale. During the show, the hosts talk about Donald Trump's foreign policy and what liberal imperialists and neoconservatives disliked about Trump's first year. We celebrate what parts of Trump's agenda grassroots resistance was able to stall while addressing where opposition really faces an intense struggle. At one point in the show, Rania takes a true-false quiz based on the Trump administration's environmental policy. Happy New Year!

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola interview Todd Miller, the author of Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security. It was published by City Lights Books in September and was praised by Bill McKibben, Christian Parenti, and Dahr Jamail, who has appeared on this podcast multiple times. Miller traveled to the Philippines, Honduras, Guatemala, the Mexico-Guatemala border, the United States-Mexico border, and Paris. There he observed and met individuals witnessing the escalating impacts of climate change on their communities. He also attended multiple expos or conventions, where people from the security-industrial complex spoke about how they are preparing for climate change—in order to control borders and make profits off future calamities. During the hour-long interview, Miller discusses the "21st Century Border," as well as the concept of "Prevention Through Deterrence"—how countries deter migration by increasing the potential for death. He highlights what he observed in the Phili

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss President Donald Trump and his administration's plans to move the United States Embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. They also comment on the tax bill and react to Senator Al Franken's resignation over sexual harassment allegations. Khalek, who is involved in a new project called Redfish, is currently based in Berlin. She talks about what she is working on for the project and the culture shock she is experiencing as she adjusts to Germany. Finally, the show's hosts raise the issue of Patreon's changes, which will shift the fees creators were paying to patrons. It is outrageous, and they mention a way patrons will be able to support the show without going through Patreon.

Dan Berger, author of Captive Nation: Black Prison Organizing In the Civil Rights Era, is our guest on the show this week. He joins the show to talk about his contribution to Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work Of Grief. This is the second interview in a current series on grief and loss in organizing. Berger describes prison as a "grievous institution" and talks about the AIDS organizing that went on in prisons in the 1980s. It was revolutionary and saved countless lives and contains many lessons for a political moment in which grief and loss seems to surround us all to a greater extent every day. In the discussion portion, Kevin Gosztola talks about the tax bill that passed through the Senate and how we should be mindful of the fact that Democrats have been in this situation before. They could not stop corporate tax cuts under President George W. Bush, and most of what passed was never repealed.

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola start the show talking about the Keystone XL pipeline, which gushed 210,000 gallons of oil into South Dakota because, who knew that was probably going to happen? It is a rather bleak open that leads into a conversation about Russia Today and the Justice Department coercing the foreign media outlet to register as a foreign agent. Then, they talk about the frenzy around Donald Trump Jr's correspondence with WikiLeaks that was terribly overblown and dominated by what the CIA would like the public to think about the media organization. Finally, the show's hosts address the rising flood of sexual assault allegations but begin with the cautionary example of Jordan Chariton of Young Turks, who was falsely accused of rape this past week. The Huffington Post did a story based upon vindictive allegations that they later had to take down from their site.

Arab American professor and activist Rania Masri joined the show from Lebanon to talk about Saudi Arabia and how they are holding Saad Hariri, the Lebanese Prime Minister, captive. In the interview, Masri, a guest for the full episode, breaks down what has unfolded, briefly outlines political responses in Lebanon, what King Mohammed bin Salman may be seeking to accomplish, and how media is whitewashing the regime by treating Salman as a "reform king." She also addresses the blaming of Iran by the Saudis, Israel, or the United States to justify the escalation of tensions among countries. Later in the show, she recaps the first year of Donald Trump's presidency and how the administration has reinforced the agenda of the Saudi regime.

Host Rania Khalek has mostly finished a transition to a new journalism project and returns to the show. On this week's episode, hosts Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss 2016, a year that seemingly will never end. The election remains a constant conversation, with the past week dominated by allegations against the Democratic National Committee from Donna Brazile. They both talk about the anniversary of Donald Trump's election or Hillary Clinton's miserable failure. Later in the show, Khalek discusses Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's resignation in Saudi Arabia and what that may mean. She also addresses the CIA's dump of Osama bin Laden files so it could propagandize people into believing al Qaeda is tied to Iran. The show concludes with talk about the EPA, climate change, and Joe Ricketts, a vulturous billionaire who shut down DNAinfo.com and The Gothamist because staff at one of the offices successfully unionized.

Cindy Milstein, the editor of Rebellious Mourning: The Collective Work Of Grief, joins the show for an interview on why we should not bury or make private our pain when we are grieving from death or loss as a result of injustice or systemic oppression. She talks about creating space for open grieving, as well as the authoritarian manners in which many citizens are expected to grieve. Milstein contends that grief can open cracks in the walls of the system and create possibilities for contestation and reconstruction, intervulnerability and strength, empathy and solidarity." It is the first in a series of interviews from contributors to the collection of essays available from .

Max Suchan, a director of operations and co-founder of the Chicago Community Bond, joins the show to talk about the fund's latest work. Cook County recently adopted reforms to money bond. Bond, like most parts of the United States, disproportionately affects poor black people. During the interview, Suchan describes how judges are failing to properly execute an order issued by Chief Judge Timothy Evans that was supposed to help individuals who cannot afford bond. Suchan later highlights how the fund decides who to help and the kind of cases that are typical when it comes to money bond. In the discussion part, Kevin Gosztola addresses President Donald Trump's phone call to Sgt. La David Johnson, which consumed media during the past week. He puts the focus on the issue of why U.S. troops are even in Niger in the first place.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss reports that Russia is behind racism, xenophobia, and all other topics that divide Americans and stem from systemic oppression. They also talk about the referendum for independence in Kurdistan, the #TakeAKnee protests by NFL players, St. Louis police waging war on protesters, and more.

In a discussion, posted in addition to a conversation with host Rania Khalek about her reporting in Iraq, hosts Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk about Hillary Clinton's incredible persistence (she just won't go away), Bernie Sanders' introducing a "Medicare For All" bill with the support of 16 Democratic senators, and The Intercept's coverage of Syria.  We also introduce a new segment, where we roast someone on social media.

Host Rania Khalek of the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast spent a week with the Yezidi Yezidi Popular Mobilization Forces in newly liberated south Sinjar in August. She learned many Yezidis join the PM to protect their families, defend their towns, and save those in their family captured by ISIS. Khalek wrote about the stories she heard from Yezidis for "The Grayzone Project." Those she spoke with described tales of genocide and conflict to her, sometimes in utterly horrific detail. We talk about her time in Iraq with the Yezidi PMF.