Rania Khalek talks about her trip to Venezuela, including how she was called on by Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro to give a comment during a meeting she attended. She describes visiting Hugo Chavez's tomb and then breaks down the many ways you can clearly see that there are two Venezuelas—one for upper class communities, which the US supports, and one for the poor, which don't have that much support from the US.



Then Rania and Kevin go through a letter from former US intelligence officials, who pleaded with Congress to not regulate monopolistic Big Tech companies because it will hamper their ability to help the US counter Russia.

Rania Khalek's Trip To Venezuela—Plus, Former US Intel Officials Defend Big Tech

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"Unauthorized Disclosure" is a weekly podcast hosted by Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola. It focuses on issues and topics that are overlooked or pushed aside by the more mainstream media.

The hosts champion adversarial journalism. Guests featured are often rarely heard or unheard voices. Or they are voices who we think can benefit from a space to have conversations, which allow for dissent and the unpacking of unpopular ideas.

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News

News Commentary

On this week's "Unauthorized Disclosure," Kevin Gosztola interviews Greek economist and author Yanis Varoufakis about his new book, "Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism." 

Yanis argues that "Big Tech has replaced capitalism's twin pillars—markets and profit—with its platforms and [cloud] rents. With every click and scroll, we labor like serfs to increase its power." 

Later in the show, Yanis outlines the impact this economic transformation has had or may have on geopolitics. He discusses China, the only country with cloud capital capable of rivaling the United States, and what the rivalry between China and the U.S. may mean for the Global South. 

*This is the free edition of the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast. For full episodes and access to exclusive content, subscribe to the podcast at thedissenter.org/#/portal/signup

**Become a patron at patreon.com/unauthorizeddisclosure

***Donate to support the show at thedissenter.org/donate

We Are All Cloud Serfs Now: Yanis Varoufakis On The Rise of 'Technofeudalism'

For this week's episode, journalist Patrick Winn, who has lived in Bangkok for 15 years, joined the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast to discuss his new book, "Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Survived the CIA."
Patrick is a correspondent for NPR's The World and specializes in reporting on black markets and rebellion in Southeast Asia. He gained special access to the Wa people, who are "among the most vilified people in Asia if not the world." The Wa established a nation state in Myanmar. The nation state exports billions of dollars of heroin and meth every year, and it is controlled by the United Wa State Army (UWSA).
But as Patrick outlines in the interview, the United States has its fingerprints all over this narco-army. "Not only did the CIA create the conditions for its inception, but one of its foremost leaders was also a DEA asset."


*For the full episode, become a subscriber at TheDissenter.org or a patron at Patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure

Patrick Winn: Incredible Story Of The Asia Drug Cartel That Survived The CIA

Former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou returns to the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast to discuss President Joe Biden's administration making an example out of IRS whistleblower Charles Littlejohn, the "terrorism enhancement" applied against "Vault 7" leaker Joshua Schulte, and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's appeal hearing on February 20.


*Full episode available by becoming a subscriber at TheDissenter.org or a patron at Patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure

John Kiriakou: The War On Whistleblowers Under Biden—Plus, Assange's Appeal Hearing

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We kick the year off with a show regular, Matthew Hoh, who is a former Marine, former State Department official, and the associate director for the Eisenhower Media Network, discusses the US government's attacks on Yemenis and how the Israeli government's war on Gaza is expanding to a wider regional conflict. 





Matthew Hoh: US-Backed Israeli War On Gaza Sparking Wider Violence In Middle East

Each year, Project Censored puts out a yearbook called "State of the Free Press" that contains a list of the top censored stories of the past year. It also assesses prevailing and troubling trends in the United States news media

Mickey Huff, the director of Project Censored, and Andy Lee Roth, the associate director, join the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast to discuss their latest yearbook, which is available from their website at Project-Censored.org


BECOME A SUBSCRIBER: Support the show and get access to exclusive content at patreon.com/unauthorizeddisclosure

Rania Khalek's Trip To Venezuela—Plus, Former US Intel Officials Defend Big Tech

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