Unauthorized Disclosure

Returning to the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast, CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou helps Kevin Gosztola what will happen next to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Many believe extradition to the United States could be imminent.

John also reflects on his mentor and friend Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, who died last week. John shares an incredible story about Ellsberg from 2016. It involves a PEN America awards ceremony in Beverly Hills and acclaimed director Francis Ford Coppola.

Kevin and John also highlight a remarkable example of media malpractice from US media pundits David Brooks and Jonathan Capehart, who used the death of Ellsberg to further their attacks on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. 

Corporate armies. Corporate cities. Corporate justice. Corporate welfare.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola speak with journalist Matt Kennard about the new book that he co-authored, "Silent Coup: How Corporations Overthrew Democracy." Kennard (and co-author Claire Provost) traveled to five different continents and visited several countries to investigate and document the sheer extent to which corporations now influence and control governments.

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Journalist and author Antony Loewenstein joins the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast to discuss his new book, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World.

The book from Verso Books will be published on May 23, and it comprehensively documents how Israel's military industrial complex uses the occupied Palestinian territories as a testing ground for the development of weapons and surveillance technology.

In our interview, Antony describes the impact Israeli military support and weapons have had on populations in Latin America, Africa, and Asia. He specifically highlights the alliance Colombia formed with the Israeli military in a brutal war against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or the FARC.

Social media companies, as Antony details, do not like Palestinians. He tells us about some of the ways in which Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc, censor Palestinians.

For this week's episode of the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by human rights and environmental attorney Steven Donziger.
Steven was the target of a political case sponsored by Chevron. The super-major oil corporation hijacked the judiciary to stop Steven from standing up for the indigenous people of Ecuador, who had their land destroyed by Chevron.
Rania and Kevin talk with Steven about post-prison life and corruption in the U.S. judicial branch. They discuss how President Joe Biden has allowed the fossil fuel industry to expand more oil drilling projects on federal land than President Donald Trump. And they also call attention to the Willow and Alaska LNG projects that Biden has greenlit.
Later in the episode, Steven addresses the use of a "domestic terrorism" law in Georgia to try and stop the #StopCopCity protest against the construction of a police compound that would destroy forested land. He comments on the case of Manuel "Tortugita" Teran, a forest defender who was executed by police.

In this free clip from the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss how a spokesperson for the US State Department responded when asked why Cuba is designated a state sponsor of terrorism. They also read from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's letter to King Charles about prison conditions at Her Majesty's Prison Belmarsh, where Assange is detained.

In this free clip from the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss a report on the U.S. military industrial-complex, particularly the revolving door between the government and military contractors.

Eugene Puryear, host on BreakThrough News, joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola to discuss the violence that has unfolded this past week in Sudan.
Fighting has escalated between General Abdel Fattah Burhan and Sudan's military and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo (also known as Hemedti) and a paramilitary force known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
During the conversation, Eugene describes who the players are and how the people of Sudan are caught in between their jostling for power. He also addresses the widespread claim that somehow Russia must be behind the skirmishes.
Later, Kevin asks Eugene and Rania to comment on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and their partnership with the Sesame Workshop on programming for children in Iraq. Samantha Power, a warmonger and poser for human rights who leads USAID, characterized the project in a very nauseating way.
The show concludes with Eugene reacting to the U.S. Justice Department indicting Chairman Omali Yeshitela of the African People's Socialist Party and at least two other members affiliated with the Black liberation group. In 2022, the FBI targeted them in raids.
Yeshitela spoke at an antiwar rally in Washington, D.C., on the 20th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. The demonstration, which was livestreamed by BreakThrough News, also called for diplomatic negotiations instead of further escalation in the war in Ukraine.

Brian Becker, national director for the ANSWER Coalition and host of BreakThrough News' "Socialist Program," joins the "Unauthorized Disclosure" podcast to discuss the 20th anniversary of the war in Iraq and a major antiwar rally planned for March 18 in Washington, D.C.  

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