Mar 4, 2023 05:
Hale blows the whistle on the US drone wars

Daniel Hale released documents that came to be known as The Drone Papers once published in The Intercept. These showed during one five-month period in 2012 that nearly 90% of those killed in drone strikes were not the intended targets. Rather, they were civilian bystanders, innocent people killed and classified as “enemies killed in action,” unless proven otherwise. He was fired and put in a “SuperMax” prison with the worst terrorists and criminals. On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with Ray McGovern, a former senior CIA officer and Co-founder of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity about the whistleblower Daniel Hale.

Mar 1, 2023 06:09
Havana syndrome

In 2016, American diplomats began complaining of a variety of medical symptoms that included things from physical pain to ringing in the ears to cognitive difficulties. These symptoms were largely ignored at first. And then the term Havana Syndrome was coined. Dr. Leonid ‘Len’ Ber joins John Kiriakou to discuss his own case of Havana Syndrome and why the FBI is blaming crickets.

Feb 25, 2023 07:00
UK espionage laws

Most people convicted of espionage receive 10 to 20 years. In extreme cases, the Espionage Act carries the death penalty. But what does it look like when a country – in this case, the UK – tries to pass a law that’s even tougher than the Espionage Act? In this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with journalist Mohamed Elmaazi about the UK’s Official Secrets Act.

Feb 22, 2023 05:56
Racism in the CIA

In this episode of The Whistleblowers, we speak with an accomplished CIA operations officer and expert on Iranian affairs. He also happens to be African-American. After going through all of his training, he was told the promotion he wanted wasn’t going to him – simply for the color of his skin. So, he complained. But instead of giving him his original assignment, apologizing, or trying to settle things quietly, the CIA used its nuclear option. John Kiriakou walks you through the story of one of the most resilient whistleblowers we know, Jeffrey Sterling.

Feb 18, 2023 06:37
The crimes of MI5

Annie Machon quit working for MI5 and fled the country when her fellow coworker and lover went to the media about the crimes they had seen inside the organization. These crimes included maintaining secret files on the government ministers responsible for overseeing intelligence services, illegal phone taps, making false statements to government overseers, failing to prevent bombings by the Irish Republican Army, failing to prevent the 1994 bombing of the Israeli Embassy in London, and the attempted assassination of then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. On this episode of the Whistleblowers, Machon joins John Kiriakou to discuss why she blew the whistle on MI5 and the tragedies they could have prevented.

Feb 15, 2023 06:10
Australian war crimes in Afghanistan revealed

Countries around the world treat their national security whistleblowers harshly, especially when those whistleblowers reveal evidence of war crimes. One of the best—and most recent—examples is from Australia. David McBride, a former Australian army attorney, is facing criminal charges for revealing Australian soldiers committed war crimes and crimes against humanity in Afghanistan. McBride, a decorated combat veteran, now faces the prospect of spending much of the rest of his life in prison. In this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou sits down with David to discuss his ongoing case.

Feb 11, 2023 06:45
Organization creating laws to protect whistleblowers

Blueprint for Free Speech was founded in 2014 and it almost immediately became one of the most important repositories in the world for research, draft legislation, and international activism on behalf of whistleblowers. In this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with the Blueprint for Free Speech founder, Dr. Suelette Dreyfus.

Feb 8, 2023 07:02
The murder of whistleblower Babita Deokaran

Babita Deokaran was the acting chief financial officer at the Gauteng Provincial Government Department of Health and blew the whistle on corruption and lack of protection afforded to her by the state. She was then murdered outside her home. John is joined by renowned Greek-South African whistleblower Ari Danikas to talk about the story.

Feb 4, 2023 06:44
NSA surveillance of American citizens after 9/11

In many whistleblowing cases, the highest stakes are for national security whistleblowing. It takes a great deal of fortitude to take on the power and authority of the FBI, CIA, NSA, and in some cases, the White House itself. Oftentimes, whistleblowers pay with their career, and in some cases, their freedom. In this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks to Tom Drake, who was a senior NSA officer. Drake blew the whistle on the NSA’s dragnet surveillance of Americans in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks.

Feb 1, 2023 07:05
Anonymous whistleblowers: Trying to stay out of prison

What do you do if you want to blow the whistle on waste, fraud, abuse, or illegality, but you know if you do, your life will be changed forever? You try to do it anonymously. Sometimes that works. Sometimes you end up in prison. In this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks to Jesselyn Radack, an attorney and whistleblower herself, about anonymous whistleblowers.