Unauthorized Disclosure

Co-host Rania Khalek, who is currently in Lebanon, returns to the show to reflect on the panic, fear, and uncertainty around the presidential election of Donald Trump. We discuss what we need to prepare to resist under Trump, like the approval of oil pipeline projects, the reinstitution of the CIA torture program, etc. We celebrate the wave of protests in response to Trump's election while at the same time acknowledging the powers expanded by President Barack Obama, which Trump will be able to take advantage of now.  We take the time to encourage people to donate to journalism, including our work. Rania Khalek currently has a GoFundMe page raising money to cover the war in Syria. Shadowproof has a membership program, which anyone interested in supporting the site's brand of journalism can join for $5/month (and we'll send you a tote bag).

Kevin Gosztola interviews Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein about what her campaign managed to accomplish with the campaign. She describes several initiatives she intends to be a part of pushing in the months ahead. She also talks about Donald Trump's victory and the denial of Democrats, who seem to blame everyone but themselves for Hillary Clinton's loss.  Following that interview, Gosztola interviews journalist Andy Worthington, who is one of the co-founders of the "Close Guantanamo" campaign. He regularly covers Guantanamo, and we discuss the future of Guantanamo now that Trump is the president-elect. He also is a musician, who wrote a song about closing Guantanamo. We play part of it on the show. And, finally, Worthington is from the United Kingdom so we discuss the rise of far-right forces in both the United States and the UK.  Rania Khalek is in Lebanon. She will return to the show next week.

Guest Fabio Andres Diaz Pabon, a Colombian who is a research associate for the Department of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University in South Africa. He is also a contributor to Warscapes. Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk to Pabon about why Colombians, who voted, rejected a peace deal by a very slim margin. He addresses some of the points he made in a piece for Warscapes titled, "Uncertainty, Peace Agreements, and Public Participation in Colombia." Pabon also reacts to the decision to give Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos the Nobel Peace Prize. The co-hosts spend the latter part of the episode on the backlash to reporting by journalist Max Blumenthal, who published reporting on the Syrian rebels for the "Grayzone Project" at AlterNet and received threatening phone calls, emails, and messages on social media. Multiple individuals, who hold themselves as advocates for the liberation of Syria, sought to incite Arabs and Muslims to demonize Blumenthal for his work. Khalek, who co

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the ongoing bloodshed and war in Syria, not limited to Aleppo. They also talk about the latest unsettling development with Chelsea Manning, who the U.S. Army punished with two weeks in solitary confinement. Finally, Kevin reads a piece of election-themed satire he wrote, which many mistakenly thought was a serious column.  No guest this week.

Gareth Porter, independent investigative journalist, discusses his recent piece, "Al Qaeda's Ties to US-Backed Rebels," on the Syria ceasefire deal. During the discussion, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk about the massive aid package to Israel, the closing of Camp 5 at Guantanamo, and Oliver Stone's "Snowden."

Donna Murch, an associate professor at Rutgers University, joins hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola to talk about her report for Boston Review, "Paying for Punishment." We talk about "criminal justice debt" and how black Americans are more likely than whites to face municipal court judgments for debt collection. Murch also addresses the rise of the electronic monitoring industry as a form of "offender-funded justice."  In the discussion portion of the show, Murch stays with us and shares her views on Lena Dunham, the protesting by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick and other NFL players, and the need among Hillary Clinton's campaign and her supporters to connect all things they despise to Russian President Vladimir Putin somehow.

Azzurra Crispino, the media co-chair for the Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (IWOC), talks with us about a nationwide labor strike planned by prisoners. It will coincide with the rebellion by Attica prisoners, which took place 45 years ago. Crispino describes why prisoners are striking and the stakes for prisoners, who take the risk to engage in resistance. During the discussion portion, host Rania Khalek discusses the re-branding of an al Qaeda group in Syria and how multiple journalists have fallen for it. Kevin Gosztola talks about the New York Times' yellow journalism on WikiLeaks.

Robbie Martin, co-host of Media Roots radio and creator of the three-part documentary, "A Very Heavy Agenda," joins the show to talk about Hillary Clinton's alliance with neoconservative Republicans. We discuss the wild allegations around the DNC being hacked by Russia, which the Democrats have promoted. We highlight former CIA director Mike Morell's endorsement of Clinton his suggestion that Donald Trump is some kind of Manchurian candidate. Host Rania Khalek and Martin also talk about what they witnessed at a fundraiser for Clinton, which featured neocon Robert Kagan.

Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant from the Socialist Alternative joins the show this week to talk about the walkouts of Bernie Sanders delegates at the Democratic National Convention, as well as how she has successfully defied the Democratic Party establishment to achieve reforms like the $15 minimum wage in Seattle.  Sawant addresses Sanders' view on third party politics and the need for citizens to build independent political power. She also confronts the issue of "lesser evilism" in electoral politics, which she says is the most important in the next three months.  During the discussion portion, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk about their coverage of the DNC this past week, particularly how the Democratic Party worked to enforce conformity so they could make it appear delegates had successfully unified around Hillary Clinton.

The co-editors of Verso's book, "Policing The Planet: Why the Policing Crisis Led to Black Lives Matter," join the show this week to help us apply a much-needed analysis to the police executions of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling, as well as the tragedy which unfolded with the Dallas Shooting.  Christina Heatherton, assistant professor of American Studies at Trinity College, and Jordan T. Camp, a postdoctoral fellow for the Institute of International Affairs at Brown University, highlight the policy of "Broken Windows" and its relationship to the neoliberal present. They address how many of the actions of police are a part of a "class project that has displaced the urban multiracial working class worldwide." The limitations of liberal frameworks for reforming police are also discussed. The two also talk about the "War on Terrorism" and its effect on policing, like for example, how the Dallas police used a "bomb robot" this past week to kill the shooter.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola recap what unfolded with the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee, where individuals appointed by Hillary Clinton and DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz rejected key progressive policies from inclusion in the platform.  Gosztola shares reporting on the New York state meeting, where a Clinton delegate hit a Sanders delegate and young woman of color with his cane. Khalek talks about the latest Republicans and neoconservatives to endorse Clinton.

Palestine Legal founder and director Dima Khalidi joins the show to talk about Governor Andrew Cuomo's executive order against the BDS movement, which includes a provision to blacklist companies or groups which boycott or divest from Israel. Khalidi breaks down the constitutional and free speech concerns created by this order and also places it within the context of a broader trend in state legislatures to crack down on the BDS movement. She also highlights recent cases where students have been criminalized for their Palestinian solidarity activism.

This part of the episode opens with discussion about the Orlando massacre, especially how Senate Democrats responded with a filibuster and push for legislation that included a provision to expand the terrorism watch list in order to enforce gun control. The show's hosts pivot to the People's Summit, a gathering of two to three thousand Bernie Sanders supporters in Chicago. Host Kevin Gosztola attended shares observations from the summit.

Vice News reporter Jason Leopold joins the show to talk about new CIA documents he obtained as a result of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. The documents contain revelations related to the case of Gul Rahman, who was tortured and died in his cell at the Salt Pit black site in Kabul, Afghanistan. Leopold highlights the implications and also shares how he was able to pry the documents loose from the grip of the United States government.

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign and identity politics is a recurring topic on the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast. This week, in a mega episode, we talk with our guest, Katie Halper, about the media anointing Clinton the nominee before the California primary last week. Halper addresses some of the latest absurd identity politics in the election, such as a New York Times reporter asking if it was sexist for Bernie Sanders to stay in the race.  The episode runs quite a bit longer than other shows produced previously. However, the extra 30 minutes is Rania Khalek, Kevin Gosztola, and Katie Halper reading some of awesomely atrocious and marvelous writing or arguments put together by Clinton boosters. Gosztola reads a piece from Slate that makes Khalek want to vandalize her room. Halper reads an exchange she had on Twitter with Jeffrey Wright. And Khalek reads a glorious piece from Blue Nation Review, a truly award-winning pro-Clinton project now owned and driven by David Brock.

Challenging the dominant narratives, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola return from a weeks-long break to highlight the hypocrisy of Hillary Clinton's foreign policy speech against Donald Trump. The hosts talk about the tragedy of refugees drowning as they flee for Europe. U.S. Army whistleblower Chelsea Manning's appeal is briefly discussed. Finally, the hosts talk about the upcoming California primary and the Democratic Party's disdain for independent voters.

Matt Karp, who is an assistant professor of history at Princeton and a contributing editor of Jacobin, appears on the show to talk about a story he co-authored with Shawn Gude on the Sanders campaign, class politics of the campaign, and how—despite the dominant narrative—it is not driven by white male angst. Karp wrote a piece that relied upon a survey, which shows white Sanders supporters are not only more class conscious than white Clinton supporters but are also less racist than white Clinton supporters. We spend the interview breaking down this survey, discussing why it is important, and what Karp has learned from writing about the Sanders campaign for Jacobin.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola highlight the U.S. military's decision to charge no officers with crimes for the bombing of a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz and the storming of parliament by Iraqis. We discuss Donald Trump's foreign policy speech, and the next phase of Bernie Sanders' campaign for president.

Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, the author of "From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation" joins the hosts, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola, to talk about her book. She talks about the Congressional Black Caucus, solidarity in the Black Lives Matter movement, poverty among Black Americans, and the Democratic Party and what kind of obstacle it presents to Black liberation, and more.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the Democratic presidential debate in Brooklyn, including the extraordinary part where Bernie Sanders went after Hillary Clinton for ignoring the plight of Palestinians in her defense of Israel. The hosts talk about Clinton's latest laughable answer for why she cannot release transcripts of her speeches to Goldman Sachs. They also talk about the Daily News editorial board meeting Clinton did, where she defended her role in the military coup in Honduras and argued it was legal.