Unauthorized Disclosure

The panic over fake news has reached another peak, especially in the run-up to Election Day on November 3. Media scholar Nolan Higdon, who recently authored The Anatomy Of Fake News, joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola to discuss the problem of fake news. Nolan has an expansive definition that implicates much of the establishment media. It singles out political propagandists, and it highlights state-funded outfits in and outside of the United States, recognizing there is an information war. In our conversation, Nolan addresses some of the history of fake news and how the government typically responds to fake news when it is a perceived problem. He describes whether the problem of fake news is worse than ever before. Nolan suggests ways in which the public can detect fake news in the mass media. Later in the discussion, we have a conversation about journalist Glenn Greenwald's resignation from The Intercept. And as a kind of case study, Nolan assesses what happened with the New York Post and their stori

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk with Ollie Vargas, a reporter for Radio Kawsachun Coca who was in Bolivia to report on the election. On October 18, Luis Arce of the Movement Toward Socialism Party won 55 percent of the vote against six candidates, avoided a runoff, and claimed victory over leaders of a coup that was backed by the United States. This means Bolivians can begin to reclaim their country from right-wing extremists. They can end the violence that has run rampant against activists opposed to the regime, and eventually President Evo Morales will be able to return to the country. In our interview, Ollie describes how the US-backed regime tried to shut down his outlet in Bolivia. He offers his reaction the election outcome and what lies ahead for Bolivians. Ollie also addresses the neoliberal constraints that could still be imposed via an IMF loan that the coup government took out in April. He recounts how state projects aimed at ensuring Bolivia controlled its own resources (e.g. lithiu

OPCW whistleblower Ian Henderson and former OPCW director José Bustani, who testified before the UN Security Council, were attacked by the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany during two UN Security Council meetings in which they provided testimony. Bustani was from reading his prepared statement on the OPCW's cover-up of what they uncovered when investigators examined the scene of an alleged chemical attack in Douma, Syria, in April 2018. Henderson was accused of being part of a "disinformation exercise," even though he was personally involved as an investigator, and physicist Ted Postol and journalist Aaron Maté, host of "Pushback" and a contributor to The Grayzone, faced smears as well as they shared testimony. For this week's episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk with Aaron about what he experienced and his reaction to the attacks on Henderson and Bustani. Aaron calls out U.S. media, in particular progressive media, that have totally ignored the OPCW scandal exposed by whistlebl

For this week's show, journalist , who was at the Old Bailey Criminal Courthouse to cover WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition trial, joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola. Richard shares his experience reporting on proceedings and why it was so important to him to be there in person to see what unfolded at the courthouse in September. Since Richard and Kevin committed themselves to following the trial for four weeks (unlike numerous establishment and progressive media journalists), Rania asked them both to provide highlights from the extradition trial. The conversation concludes with a conversation about the actions of United States empire that were effectively put on trial by Assange's legal team. They kept the focus on war crimes and torture committed by the U.S. government, which documents WikiLeaks published exposed. And the legal team also detailed abuses of power and cruel conditions in U.S. prisons that should discourage any British court from allowing extradition, if they claim

Kevin Gosztola interviewed Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, who testified during the second week of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's extradition trial.   In the interview, a parallel is drawn between Dan's case and the mental health evidence that was presented by the defense in the third week. He has Dan comment on the questions he received from lead prosecutor James Lewis.    Later, Dan addresses the U.S. Espionage Act, how far the Trump Justice Department thinks they can go in prosecuting Assange, and how the law was deployed against him nearly 50 years ago.   Kevin and Dan conclude with some discussion on the political nature of this unprecedented prosecution.

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend this week's episode discussing some of the latest developments in the extradition trial against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange—primarily because Kevin is covering proceedings every weekday from 4 am to 10 am. It is expected to wrap by the end of September, and each week has been fairly intense with witnesses important to Assange's effort to convince a British court not to approve extradition to the United States for trial on charges of violating the Espionage Act. Kevin describes the testimony CIA torture and rendition survivor Khaled El Masri submitted in support of Assange. Also, there has been a lot of discussion lefty independent media about the media silence around Assange's extradition trial. Rania criticized The Young Turks' Ana Kasparian after she said the outlet "would look into" covering the case. Both Rania and Kevin discuss establishment media and progressive media that are ignoring this case, and Kevin has an admittedly biased viewpoint that he shares a

Ricardo Vaz, an editor and writer for , joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola to talk about censorship his media organization is dealing with on Twitter. For nearly two weeks, Twitter locked out Ricardo and other Venezuelanalysis staffers from their account, which they use to distribute reporting and analysis of the latest political developments in Venezuela. (Their access was restored on September 6.) Anyone who went to @venanalysis, the organization's Twitter page, saw the following: "Caution: This account is temporarily restricted. You’re seeing this warning because there has been some unusual activity from this account. Do you still want to view it?" What is unusual is that Venezuelanalysis consistently publishes content that challenges the United States government's policy of regime change in Venezuela. During the latter part of the episode, Ricardo discusses the impact of COVID-19 on Venezuela and how U.S. sanctions have worsened the Venezuelan government's ability to deal with the pandemic. He shar

For this week's episode of "Unauthorized Disclosure," Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Lee Camp to the show. Lee is a stand-up comedian who is the host of "Redacted Tonight." He has a new comedy , "Not Allowed on American TV." He also has a book, Bullet Points & Punch Lines. Stand-up comedy has become near impossible or extraordinarily difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask Lee what the the last months have been like then quickly pivot to a conversation about deterioration of political comedy in the era of President Donald Trump. Lee talks with us about social media platforms that label your content as "dangerous." Rania and Kevin talk about satire being interpreted more and more as fact or truth. And Lee discusses how he covers United States-backed coups and wars through his comedy, unlike the vast majority of stand-up comedians who delve into politics.

The show was relieved that co-host Rania Khalek survived the Beirut blast and did not suffer any severe injuries. That unfortunately cannot be said for more than 150 people, who were killed, and over 5,000 who were wounded. For this week's episode, Rania recounts her experience during and after the explosion. She describes the widespread devastation in and around the port. She also addresses the criminal negligence on the part of the Lebanese government that led to this tragedy. What happened will have lasting impacts, especially since Lebanon was already in the middle of a massive economic crisis. During the latter portion of the episode, which was recorded exclusively for patrons, Rania provides further clarity on who was responsible and why it could not be Hezbollah or Israel. Both Rania and Kevin Gosztola move on to discuss how Twitter labeled media accounts "state-affiliated," including In The Now, where Rania works. They outline the implications and continue a conversation that took place last week

For this week's episode, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk about President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr deploying federal police squads to cities, like Albuquerque, Chicago, and Kansas City. Rania and Kevin also spend some time discussing Democrats in the House and Senate, who voted against a very modest 10 percent cut to the United States military budget. Several showed how they are captives of the military industrial-complex. The final portion of the episode features a tribute to journalist Michael Brooks, who tragically died on July 20. They reflect on the mark that he left on independent media. To unlock the full episode, go to patreon.com/unauthorizeddisclosure and become a subscriber of the show.

Jen Perelman has had the same representative in the United States Congress for nearly 16 years—Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat in Florida’s 23rd congressional district. Now, Perelman is mounting a primary challenge against Wasserman Schultz. For this week's show, we share this interview with Jen about her campaign. She discusses her platform, which includes Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, student loan debt forgiveness, eliminating policing where it is not needed, and dismantling the military-industrial complex. Jen confronts key issues like regime change wars and U.S. meddling in Venezuela.  She also talks about the state of the Democratic Party and what Florida Democrats are doing to protect Wasserman Schultz from her campaign.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by journalist Gareth Porter to discuss the media malpractice surrounding "Bountygate," which was manufactured to extend the war in Afghanistan. Gareth has covered national security policy since 2005 and was the recipient of the Gellhorn Prize for Journalism in 2012.  His most recent book, The CIA Insider’s Guide to the Iran Crisis, was co-authored with John Kiriakou and published in February. For the Grayzone, Gareth how the Pentagon "failed to sell the Afghan government's bunk 'Bountygate' story" United States intelligence agencies. The New York Times published a report that was like a bad spinoff to the Russiagate stories they churned out. As it turned out, the Afghan intelligence service known as the National Directorate Security (NDS) was the source of unsubstantiated claims that Russia offered Afghan militants bounties to kill U.S. troops. "This is absolutely the worst so-called intelligence, not real intelligence, scandal of modern history," Gareth c

The following is a preview clip. If you enjoy what you hear, become a patron at patreon.com/unauthorizeddisclosure and support the show.  *** During a live broadcast of "Unauthorized Disclosure," hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the obstacles that stand in the way of ending the war in Afghanistan. Democrats recently made common cause with neoconservative Republicans to ensure President Donald Trump could not withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan. This was tied to dubious reports of Russian bounties for militants who killed U.S. soldiers.

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Vincent Bevins, the author of The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World, to discuss his book. He was the Brazil correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and the southeast Asia correspondent for the Washington Post. As Bevins contends, United States-backed violence that occurred in Brazil and Indonesia in 1964 and 1965 "greatly reshaped the world." He examines the dark history and legacy of anticommunism in two of the most populous countries. Bevins offers a brief overview of the politics in Indonesia and the Third World and how there really wasn't any opposition or fear of communism until it was fueled by the U.S. and factions within the Indonesian military. Sukarno was removed from power in a CIA coup and replaced by Suharto. Bevins highlights who each of these figures were and describes the massacres that occurred. Later in the interview, Bevins offers his view on the parallels between the 1960s and now

For this week's show, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola present a conversation that was recorded several months ago on Angola history: Portuguese colonialism, Black anti-colonial resistance, United States imperialism, and the way in which this history reverberates during President Donald Trump's administration. "Unauthorized Disclosure" welcomed two guests: Prexy Nesbitt, who is a presidential fellow at the Peace Studies Department at Chapman University in Orange County, California where he teaches Southern African History, and Marissa Moorman, who is the author of the book, Powerful Frequencies: Radio, State Power, and the Cold War in Angola, 1931-2002. Prexy was one of Kevin's professors in college, and he wanted to introduce some more people to the history of southern African countries. (Plus, Kevin attributes a significant part of his political awakening in college to Prexy.) Our conversation begins with Marissa, who provides a brief background on Portuguese colonialism in Angola and the rise of black Ang

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Alex Vitale, sociology professor at Brooklyn College and a coordinator of of the Policing and Social Justice Project. He's also the author of The End of Policing, which is a best-selling book from Verso. E-book copies are available for FREE at . The conversation focuses on the limitations of police reforms, many which have been proposed for decades. Alex particularly highlights the reforms that were proposed by President Barack Obama's administration after Mike Brown, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Eric Garner, and Tamir and so many others were murdered. "It did nothing to change policing. It did nothing to save George Floyd's life, and people have had enough of it," Alex declares. "They understand that radical changes to our reliance on policing have to be enacted." According to Alex, the response to Floyd's murder caught the establishment media off guard because they were ignoring what communities were doing across the United States to shut down a gang uni

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the protests calling for justice for George Floyd. They highlight some of the positive developments from the past week while offering an overview of attacks from police departments against protesters. During the show, Rania highlights the issue of whether there may be a spike in the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of demonstrations. Both Rania and Kevin consider how the left may be blamed for a second wave. Later in the conversation, Kevin and Rania highlight the federal government's response to the protests. *Note* The first half of the show was recorded for everyone, and the last half is for only patrons.

*This episode was released early for patrons. Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Matt Kennard, the head of investigations for Declassified UK, to the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast.    is an investigative journalism organization that focuses on U.K. foreign, military, and intelligence policies. Matt describes why he founded Declassified UK and some of the obstacles the organization experiences when it comes to challenging the British national security state. He outlines how The Guardian has transformed into a media organization more beholden to security agencies. He highlights what he considers to be "third rail" subjects that "blue-check" progressives cannot "take a heterodox view" on and retain access to BBC shows or The Guardian.    Later in the discussion, Matt shares his views on how Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the UK have handled the coronavirus response.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Anya Parampil, Grayzone contributor and host of "Red Lines." She joins the show to discuss Silvercorp USA and the planned mercenary invasion against Venezuela that failed spectacularly. During the show, Anya highlights the players involved and what the United States government knew and/or should have known about former Green Beret Jordan Goudreau and his negotiations with right-wing opposition leaders, including Juan Guaido. Anya suggests Goudreau wanted Silvercorp USA to be the next Blackwater, and later in the conversation, she talks about a contract that was apparently inked between Goudreau and opposition leaders.   The conversation concludes with an update on how Venezuela is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

Last week's episode of "Unauthorized Disclosure" featured filmmaker Josh Fox, and Kevin Gosztola talked with Josh about the "Planet Of The Humans" documentary that Michael Moore posted to his YouTube. Our interview with Josh was scheduled before the documentary stirred controversy among the climate movement, and we did our best to engage in a constructive critique of the film, even as Josh essentially endorsed censorship of the film by demanding Films For Action take the film off of their website. There are a few problems we aim to address with this additional discussion. Rania Khalek had not seen the film so she was unable to join the conversation between Josh and Kevin. And in the past week, Josh has escalated his rhetoric and now contends the documentary features "fossil fuel talking points" and Michael Moore has essentially become the new flack for the oil and gas industry. Rania and Kevin object to this label that Josh and other voices seem intent to pin on Michael Moore.   In this discussion, Rania,