Unauthorized Disclosure

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Margaret Kimberley, who is an editor and senior columnist for . One of Kimberley's most recent pieces, which we discuss, is "." Kimberley talks with us about how the United States empire navigates a citizenry that increasingly opposes deploying troops to intervene in countries and how propaganda seeps into our popular culture. She explores how Democrats almost universally support American imperialism, along with Republicans, as well as the limits of liberal opposition to wars launched by the United States. Kimberley comments on Bernie Sanders' foreign policy stances, including his latest comments on the coup in Bolivia.    Later in the show, Kimberley highlights a piece she contributed to an anthology published by , "In Defense of Julian Assange." (It appears right after Kevin's contribution on WikiLeaks and Democrats.)

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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For this week's episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend the full hour on the coup in Bolivia. The military and right-wing opposition forced President Evo Morales to resign after he won a fourth term. The first half of the episode features Kevin Cashman, a senior associate for the Center for Economic Policy and Research (CEPR), who worked on a that analyzed the October 20 election returns and tallies. The analysis concluded there were no irregularities or fraud that affected the outcome. As Cashman describes, the Organization for American States (OAS) put out a preliminary report that Western media relied upon to report there was "electoral fraud," when in fact it failed to prove there were “widespread or systematic irregularities." The second half of the episode is spent highlight some of the figures who are seizing power through violence and the promotion of anti-indigenous hatred. The woman who appointed herself president of Bolivia, Jeanine Añez Chavez, believes indigenous ceremonies are "satanic." She is a religious zealot. Luiz Fernando Camacho, as The Grayzone , is a Christian fascist. He stormed Morales' presidential palace. He held a Bible in his hand and a Bolivia flag in his other hand then pledged to purge the government of its native heritage. Morales and several other government leaders from the Movement Toward Socialism Party were threatened and forced to resign. They managed to flee after Mexico agreed to grant them asylum. In the final part of the show, Rania and Kevin how the United States Capitol Police showed up to Code Pink activist Medea Benjamin's home and attempted to arrest her for "assaulting" Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz at a press conference held to promote congressional support for the coup attempt in Venezuela. The police did not even know if the allegation against Medea was true or not, and they did not have a warrant.

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome journalist Max Blumenthal back to the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast. Max is the editor of The Grayzone and co-host of the "Moderate Rebels" podcast. In the first part of the interview, Max recounts how he was arrested by D.C. police essentially out of the blue. He was shackled and in jail for around two days before he was arraigned. He faces a charge of "simple assault" stemming from a baseless allegation from around five months ago when the Venezuela embassy in D.C. besieged by Venezuela opposition supporters. Max talks about what unfolded in May of this year, as Code Pink and various other antiwar activists attempted to protect the embassy from being taken over by supporters of Juan Guaido, who mounted a coup attempt in Venezuela. He also describes the political cases that four embassy protectors face. They were arrested in a raid against a diplomatic building that violated the Vienna Convention. Later in the show, Max and Rania talk about the familiar faction of people who enjoy seeing them attacked for engaging in journalism. They mention their recent trip to Syria and dissect the culture among reporters, who work for establishment media.

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Renato Velez, a leftist academic in Chile. He has been involved in the protests and talks with us about how they were sparked. Renato addresses the way in which the military police cracked down on demonstrations and highlights the ties that President Sebastian Pinera's administration has to the regime of Augusto Pinochet. "This is the first time since the end of the dictatorship that the military has been involved in cracking down on protest. We haven't seen military on the streets after an earthquake or a natural disaster. But this is the first time that you have actual army cracking down on protesters," Renato states. Later in the show, Renato describes the role of Chilean students in the uprising and their grievances against the neoliberal policies promoted by the government. He also details how people are pushing for a new constitution in the country. And Renato outlines how the government has responded to political developments in Venezuela (Juan Guaido) as well as Brazil (Jair Bolsonaro).

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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In the first half of the show, Rania Khalek reports on the protests in Lebanon. She describes what sparked them and highlights what she has seen in the streets of Beirut. Khalek also addresses the false idea in the press that somehow Hezbollah might turn the protests violent. Later in the show, Kevin Gosztola provides an update on Julian Assange and Rania and Kevin discuss how Hillary Clinton attacked Tulsi Gabbard by labeling her a Russian asset.

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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For this week's episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola interviewed Matt Taibbi, a Rolling Stone reporter and author of the recently released , Hate Inc: Why Today's Media Makes Us Despise One Another. Taibbi is also a host of the new hit podcast from Rolling Stone called "Useful Idiots." He co-hosts the show with Katie Halper, and it often has more listeners (per week) than "Pod Save America." He starts by describing some of his experience in journalism and what led him to write this insightful and enjoyable polemic about the media. Taibbi agrees that cable news is terribly grating on our nerves, and he talks about why that's the case. He also describes how the media sells us an identity. Later in the show, we discuss what happens when media elites decide someone is or should be viewed as a pariah (like Tulsi Gabbard). We speculate on how Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren might do against President Donald Trump. And Taibbi shares his opinion on the media's lack of solidarity with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is the first journalist to be charged with violating the Espionage Act.

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Carl Zha, the host of "," which is a weekly podcast on the history, culture, and current events of China and the Silk Road. Zha provides a primer on what has unfolded with the protests in Hong Kong. He describes how they started, the role an extradition bill has played, the poverty and inequality fueling protests, and the protesters' demands. He also provides a thumbnail history of the colonial history around China and Hong Kong. He goes on to recall some of the incidents and flashpoints that have occurred, including violence that has been committed by Hong Kong protesters. The National Endowment for Democracy and the Oslo Freedom Forum have provided tactical support. Zha addresses the way in which the U.S. government and U.S. groups are aiding Hong Kong protesters and what that means for the protests. Later in the episode, Zha discusses the nativism inherent in the protests that is directed against mainland Chinese people, and he also highlights the controversy that erupted around the NBA in the past week.

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
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Rania Khalek is back after a break. She talks about her trip to Damascus and the backlash that ensued. We name names, and Rania pointedly replies to some of the worst attacks against her. Many of these were spread with the intent to make further toxic to publications and isolate her so she cannot make a living doing journalism. Rania grapples with what it is like to endure this vitriol from the left. It is much harder when it comes from people who should be on our side. This is highly destructive to building solidarity within progressive or left-wing media.

Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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