Unauthorized Disclosure

Unauthorized Disclosure

By Kevin GosztolaNewsNews Commentary
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Unauthorized Disclosure episodes

  • S6: Episode 14 - Max Ajl

    Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Max Ajl, who is a doctoral student in development studies at Cornell University. He speaks to them from Tunisia, where he is conducting research on the environment and agriculture as it relates to decolonization and post-colonial development. Ajl discusses the Green New Deal, backed by numerous progressives, and offers a constructive critique that takes into account the impact of climate change on the global south. During the interview, Ajl describes the origins of the Green New Deal and the limits of what Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are proposing. But Ajl notes that many issues like climate debt and developmental aid for countries is missing in this America-focused plan. Ajl addresses how the Green New Deal fails to deal with the massive pollution from the U.S. military industrial-complex and contends that this represents a larger issue with much of the U.S. left, which can be Eurocentric in their support for global policies. And Ajl assesses the impact of US policies that have exacted an impact on countries in the global south and then outlines the kind of considerations that need to be made so that a collective response to climate disruption is inclusive and internationalist in its goals. Overall, Ajl maintains we should not fight the Green New Deal. We should struggle to put issues on the table and seize an opportunity to develop a much stronger plan for dealing with global climate change.


    Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    56 min
  • S6: Episode 13 - Political Case Against Julian Assange

    Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend the full episode going through parts of the indictment against WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Julian Assange. They react to his expulsion from the Ecuador embassy in the United Kingdom and how British police entered the embassy to drag him out to a police van. Kevin, who has covered Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange, and WikiLeaks since 2010, addresses how much of the indictment makes the case that Assange "aided" and "abetted" "espionage," even though what was charged is a computer crime. Contrary to what much of the U.S. establishment press contended, the Justice Department is targeting the publication of information. This case has troubling implications for world press freedom. Later in the show, Rania and Kevin talk about whether the US will succeed in extraditing Assange and Ecuador's betrayal. The country granted Assange asylum, as well as citizenship, and then discarded him to be snatched up by the United States. Clearly, they are no longer an independent state. Their rulers are serving U.S. interests and not the Ecuadorian people or global human rights.


    Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/


    1 hr 20 min
  • S6: Episode 12 - Biden, Chelsea Manning, Max Blumenthal Censored
    In one of their more free-ranging episodes of the year, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss censorship against Max Blumenthal by owners of the Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. They talk about the latest developments involving Chelsea Manning, who has now been in jail for nearly a month as she continues her resistance against a grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks. Chelsea was in prolonged solitary confinement but released into general population this past week. Rania and Kevin also comment on Joe Biden, including commentary from an Atlantic writer who attacked one of the latest people to accuse Biden of inappropriate touching by pointing out she loves Russia. And during the middle of the show, they read a few comments and questions from patrons. Note: There will be a break next week, but the show will be back after this short break.
    1 hr 1 min
  • S6: Episode 11 - Aaron Maté
    Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by journalist Aaron Maté to talk about the end of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into President Donald Trump's campaign. Mueller was unable to establish that "members of the Trump campaign conspired or coordinated with the Russian government in its election interference activities.” Maté, a contributor to The Nation, was one of the few journalists who consistently questioned the Trump-Russia narrative, and he made the rounds this past week to several shows to discuss the death of Russiagate. We're very grateful that he stopped by "Unauthorized Disclosure." This week he wrote, "," for The Nation. During the show, Maté talks about what it was like to be one of the few journalists in the United States media to cover the Mueller investigation responsibly. He highlights some of the media reaction to the end of the investigation, particularly among pundits desperate to keep the conspiracy alive. We discuss how Russiagate will probably never go away entirely and why it was dangerous for Democrats to push it. Maté addresses how Democrats, especially staff from Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, were so in pushing the Trump-Russia narrative. And Maté reminds us that it was not only CNN and MSNBC that fueled this panic. To some degree, various progressive media outlets had journalists who bought into Russiagate as well.
    1 hr 21 min
  • S6: Episode 10 - Ben Norton

    Journalist Ben Norton, who helps run , was in Venezuela for nearly 4 weeks from early February to early March. He talks with us about what he saw on the ground and how what he witnessed compares to what is reported in Western establishment news media. Ben describes some of the enthusiasm among Venezuelans for political engagement in democracy. He also addresses some of the myths surrounding colectivos, which are self-defense organizations in communities in Venezuela. Later in the show, Ben outlines "Regime Change Inc," which are the forces that are deployed inside and outside Venezuela pushing for the overthrow of President Nicolas Maduro. He discusses what Venezuelans would like the government to do with members of a right-wing opposition that are intent on destabilizing the country. We wrap the show with some conversation about what may have happened with Venezuela's electric grid and the major power outages that occurred.


    Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    1 hr 17 min
  • S6: Chelsea Manning In Jail, CNN Doesn't Want To Hear About 'Regime Change Wars'
    In this week's episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend the first half of the episode replying to patrons, who suggested topics for discussion, including strikes by teachers unions and the Ethiopian Airlines crash. Then they talk about CNN and how they spent multiple days attacking Tulsi Gabbard after her town hall—all because she strays from the script provided to them by officials in the US foreign policy establishment, particularly when it comes to what she calls regime change wars. And in the final part of the episode, they highlight how Chelsea Manning has been in a county jail for a week because she refused to testify before a grand jury investigating WikiLeaks.
    1 hr 1 min
  • S6: Episode 8 - Ilhan Omar Survives Another Round Of Political Smears
    In this discussion episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola react to how the Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives singled out Ilhan Omar this past week. Many politicians and commentators spent several days attributing words to Omar that she did not say, all so they could attack her for anti-Semitism and discourage her from speaking out against the influence of AIPAC. Later in the show, Kevin talks about attending Bernie Sanders' kickoff rally in Chicago for his 2020 presidential campaign. Rania asks if the powers that be would ever let someone like Sanders be president.
    51 min
  • S6: Episode 7 - Dan Cohen (Part 2)
    This is the second part our interview with Dan Cohen, a reporter for RT America who recently returned from Colombia, where he covered the forced aid delivery at the Venezuela border. We talk to Dan about "Killing Gaza," a documentary film that he worked on with journalist Max Blumenthal. It was censored by the Bluestockings Bookstore in New York because a small group of people complained to the bookstore about Max's work on the war in Syria. Later, we talk about state-funded media, and Dan highlights the report he co-authored for the Grayzone Project, "."
    1 hr 3 min
  • S6: Episode 7 - Dan Cohen

    Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Dan Cohen, a reporter for RT America who was at the Colombia-Venezuela border to cover the U.S. government's forced delivery of so-called humanitarian aid on February 23. Cohen describes what he witnessed. He also talks about Venezuela Aid Live, the concert put on by billionaire Richard Branson the day before the confrontation over aid.  Later in the episode, Cohen recalls his interactions with poor and working class Venezuelans in Cucuta, which spoke to him about why they left their home country. He recounts his attempt to question Elliott Abrams, special envoy to Venezuela, when Abrams walked by him in Washington, D.C. Cohen specifically outlines why the U.S. government is intent to deliver aid—getting it across the border likely will mean the "political death" of President Nicolas Maduro, since it will show he no longer has sovereignty over the country.


    Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
    Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/


    59 min
  • Exclusive: CNN Correspondent's Full Interview With Rania Khalek And J. Ray Sparks
    As a special presentation from "Unauthorized Disclosure," here is the full interview CNN correspondent Drew Griffin conducted with J. Ray Sparks, the chief operating officer of Maffick Media, and Rania Khalek, a contributor to In The Now, which is owned by Maffick Media. On February 11, the interview took place in Berlin, where Maffick Media is based. Short clips from the interview were used in a video report, and several quotes were included in a print report that appeared on CNN.com on February 15 under the headline: “Russia backs a viral video aimed at American millennials.”Maffick Media management became aware that CNN was contacting associates of Maffick. They reached out on February 5 to Curt Devine and Donie O’Sullivan, two reporters that were trying to uncover dirt on Maffick Media. Sparks indicated they would be willing to make individuals available to CNN and shared facts with CNN that related to their funding from the Russia government and the editorial structure of In The Now. The interview offers a rare window into the mind of a US establishment journalist, who only is able to see the world through the framework of "Russia must be responsible for pockets of dissent in the country" or "the Kremlin must be behind whatever is wrong with America's current politics." We expect this to become an important artifact of the "Russiagate" era in US history.
    45 min

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