Unauthorized Disclosure

Please enjoy free access to a full and uncut episode of the Unauthorized Disclosure weekly podcast typically available for only subscribers.   Ben Norton, editor for Multipolarista, returns to the podcast to discuss the United States-backed coups and lawfare in Peru and Argentina. Peru President Pedro Castillo, who came from a background as an indigenous peasant, was removed from power by the right-wing legislature and arrested. A show trial was held, and he has been sentenced to 18 months of "preventative detention."   In Argentina, Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner was barred by the judiciary from running for president again. The political charge against her bears a lot of similarity to the political charge that was leveled by the right-wing in Brazil against President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.   Ben challenges several misconceptions about Castillo and the coup in Peru while also recounting events that led up to the third impeachment against him that created the conditio

Todd Miller is a journalist and editor for The Border Chronicle, who lives in Tucson, Arizona. He consistently has documented life at the United States-Mexico border. And he returns to the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast this week. Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk with Todd about how President Joe Biden's Justice Department is fighting for a Trump-era border policy, progress on the "smart" border wall, and "wall sickness"—the psychological impact that people living in communities near the border experience.

NOTE: This interview was not produced as part of the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast, but it is shared here to help give Stefania and her book some additional exposure. Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi partnered with WikiLeaks and covered military reports on the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars and US diplomatic cables related to Italy and the Vatican. She met WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange multiple times. She saw firsthand how WikiLeaks worked on publications, even as the United States government ramped up its efforts to target and suppress the media organization.    Now, the English-translation of Stefania's book, "Secret Power: WikiLeaks and Its Enemies," is out from Pluto Press, and she joins Shadowproof's Kevin Gosztola to discuss this chronicle centered on her time as a media partner. The book also details her efforts to pursue freedom of information lawsuits against the US, United Kingdom, Sweden, and Australia for denying her access to documents related to the prosecution of Assange.  

Joshua Frank, journalist and co-editor of CounterPunch, joins the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast to discuss his book, Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America. It examines the Hanford nuclear waste site in Washington state and all the dangers that the site poses to humanity, despite the fact that numerous whistleblowers have risked their lives to warn us of potential catastrophes.   ***ENJOY THE INTERVIEW? Become a subscriber at TheDissenter.org***   In the interview, Joshua recounts the role that Hanford played in the development of the US atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He describes how Hanford is part of the "permanent disaster economy" and the corruption that surrounds the US Energy Department's contracts for cleanup and maintenance of the nuclear site.

Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CODEPINK, recently co-authored the book, "War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict," and is touring the United States. She joined the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast to discuss the missile incident in Poland and obstacles to pursuing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.   ***BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Go to TheDissenter.org*** Later in the interview, Medea highlights the work that CODEPINK did on COP27, the climate conference which was held in Egypt. They challenged Egypt's repression and jailing of activists of like Alaa Abd El-Fattah and urged world leaders to pay more attention to how wars fuel climate change. She also addresses how the Biden administration has continued to invoke "state-sponsored terrorism" to strangle Cuba and why that must end.

Carey Shenkman is a constitutional lawyer and recognized expert on the United States Espionage Act. He joins the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast this week to discuss the book A Century of Repression: The Espionage Act and Freedom of the Press, which he co-authored with Ralph Engelman.   ***BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Go to TheDissenter.org*** Co-host Kevin Gosztola asks Carey to outline the origins of the Espionage Act and how President Woodrow Wilson's administration developed it as a tool that could suppress antiwar dissent, labor organizers, and socialist and communist groups.

Hadas Thier is an activist and socialist in New York and the author of A People’s Guide to Capitalism: An Introduction to Marxist Economics. She is a regular contributor to Jacobin Magazine, and Hadas recently wrote a feature story for In These Times magazine called, "A Left Answer To Inflation." ***BECOME A SUBSCRIBER. Go to TheDissenter.org. *** Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcomed Hadas to the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast to discuss inflation and what working class people should support as a response to rising prices. Hadas outlined the ways that inflation is the site of class conflict and how it is used as a tool by wealthy executives and ruling elites to suppress labor organizing.

Asa Winstanley, associate editor for Electronic Intifada and co-host of the website's podcast, appeared on "Unauthorized Disclosure" to discuss The Labour Files, a bombshell documentary series from Al Jazeera English based on an unprecedented leak of files from within the UK's Labour Party. Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola pay particular attention to the second part of the series that delves into the manner in which Labour Party officials manufactured an "antisemitism crisis" and weaponized the issue to purge the party of left-leaning members, including Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and Jewish members who oppose Israeli apartheid against Palestinians. The documentary series that outlines clear corruption has been virtually ignored by the British establishment media. The Labour Party is hoping the series just fades away. By highlighting a few clips and highlighting some of the damning revelations in the Labour Files, we are doing what little we can do to challenge the media blackout. For more from Asa, s

Zoe Alexandra is a journalist for People's Dispatch, who has been in Brazil covering the elections, including the race between far-right Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro and leftist former Brazil President Lula da Silva.   In this free edition of the show, Zoe shares her insights on the election results in Brazil and other developments in Latin America, including renewed resistance among leaders to US meddling in their countries. *FOR FULL EPISODES, subscribe at TheDissenter.org

Jared Ware, journalist and co-host of the "Millennials Are Killing Capitalism" podcast, stops by the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast to discuss a major prison strike that unfolded in state facilities throughout Alabama over the past week.   ***For as little as $3/month, get access to all the full episodes and premium content from the Unauthorized Disclosure podcast. Subscribe and get a free trial: https://thedissenter.org/subscribe-to... ***    We begin with an overview of the strike, which was on its fifth day when the interview was recorded. Jared describes why the work stoppages were organized now and what the response of the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC) has been to the organized prisoners.   Jared outlines the demands of prisoners, including a call to release prisoners who should be eligible for parole but have been denied.  Prison authorities have tried several tactics to break the strike. Meals have been degrading. Lead organizers have been assaulted and thrown

Brian Nam-Sonenstein, co-host of the "Beyond Prisons" podcast and publishing editor of Shadowproof, appears on "Unauthorized Disclosure" to help the show outline the issue of censorship in United States prisons and jails.   **BECOME A SUBSCRIBER at TheDissenter.org for as little as $3/month**    Censorship is not limited to banning books. Nor is it only retaliation against an incarcerated individual who wants to write a letter for publication.  He describes why free speech advocates should absolutely care and how censorship has intensified as facilities move away from physical mail.     (Note: This is a free version of this week's episode. For the full episode, subscribe to the podcast at TheDissenter.org.)

This week, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend some time expressing their amusement at the right-wing response to the Justice Department investigation into former President Donald Trump's possession of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. They laugh at a comment from Trump's attorney that the Espionage Act is some "mundane" statute.    Rania and Kevin highlight Amazon's harassment of union organizers and cover one recent example involving Amazon whistleblower Christian Smalls, who played an instrumental role in organizing the union at Amazon's Staten Island warehouse.   Finally, Kevin shares some clips from a recent Callin episode that he recorded, where he explored the question of what we all think is the left. Rania responds and adds her own insights.

On this week’s “Unauthorized Disclosure” episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by journalist and MintPress News senior staff writer Alan MacLeod. Alan has spent the past few months digging through LinkedIn profiles to expose the revolving door between United States security agencies (CIA, FBI, etc) and social media companies. In particular, his reporting calls attention to the sheer number of people from the CIA who are at Facebook, including one notable former agent who is developing content moderation policies for the corporation. Facebook, as Alan points out, is “the most important news source around the world. Around 3 billion use Facebook every month for news, which means that something like forty percent of the world’s population is dependent on their news feeds. And that gives Facebook an enormous amount of leverage and influence.” We also asked Alan to break down his coverage of the so-called fact checking organizations that Facebook relies upon, particularly to moderate content relat

Returning to the show, Ben Norton, journalist and editor of Multipolarista.com, discusses the FBI raiding former President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate and some responses from people who are part of the left. BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Sign up for the Unauthorized Podcast for $4/month here — https://thedissenter.org/#/portal/signup Ben also responds to an attack against his reporting by a neoconservative think tank that is funded by several Western governments, and he comments on the backlash among African countries to the US telling them what they can and can't import from Russia, when they are struggling and may have nowhere else to turn for particular goods.

In this free edition of the weekly Unauthorized Disclosure podcast, Matthew Hoh returns to the show. He's a former Marine, whistleblower, and Green Party candidate for the US Senate in North Carolina. Matthew provides an update on his Senate campaign. The Green Party was certified by the State Board of Elections, which means candidates may appear on the ballot in November. But the Democratic Party filed a lawsuit to stop the Green Party that was condemned by a major local newspaper. Later in the show, Matthew reacts to Speaker Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan and also comments on the US drone strike against Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and what that signified.

On this week's episode, Andrea Ritchie joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola for a conversation about organizing for abortion decriminalization in a post-Roe United States. Andrea is a Black lesbian immigrant, and the author of the book Invisible No More: Police Violence Against Black Women and Women of Color. She is the co-author of the forthcoming book No More Police: A Case For Abolition, as well as the book Queer (In)Justice. And Andrea is the co-founder of Interrupting Criminalization. First, Andrea assesses the terrain for abortion decriminalization as it exists now that the US Supreme Court abolished federal rights to reproductive health care. She comments on the brewing threat of prosecutions against women and medical providers. Planned Parenthood in Montana announced they would no longer provide abortion medication to out-of-state patients. Andrea expresses her disgust and frustration with this decision. Later in the show, Andrea describes what people can do. Many of the ideas outlined stem from

Kit Klarenberg, a contributor to The Grayzone, joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola to discuss his series of reports that show a right-wing intelligence plot in the UK to target antiwar academics, journalists, politicians, environmentalists, and other figures.    It all connects to an increasingly popular brand of information warfare by elites to target those who make it more difficult for them to spread their preferred narratives about particular current events free from counterpoints and accountability.   BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the steady overturning of rights by courts in the United States judiciary system, including the Supreme Court. They spend time talking about a decision by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold a law requiring contractors in Arkansas to pledge their loyalty to Israel if they want to be given a contract.    BECOME A SUBSCRIBER at Patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure for access to the full episode.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Stefania Maurizi, who is an Italian journalist with the daily Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano. She is also the author of the book, Secret Power: WikiLeaks and Its Enemies, which is being translated into an English version. BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure Stefania reacts to the decision by United Kingdom Home Secretary Priti Patel to approve the US government's extradition request against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Later in the interview, Stefania describes how she was surveilled and had her rights violated by a private security company's spying operation against the Ecuador embassy when she visited Assange. She discusses the criminal case that is pending in a Spanish court. Both the US and UK are obstructing this investigation. BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Rokfin.com/UnauthorizedDis Stefania concludes by describing what happens next in the case and stating why it's important to be clear in our conversations that Assange is a

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss all the action at the Summit of the Americas this past week. Rania's BreakThrough News team and attendees of a competing grassroots summit, the People's Summit For Democracy, were on the ground protesting and confronting officials, like US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. ***WANT EPISODES RIGHT WHEN THEY POST? Patrons get access to episodes on Friday. Become a patron at Patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure***