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In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner
speaks with Poornima Ramarao, the mother of OpenAI whistleblower Suchir
Balaji, who tragically passed away in November.
Balaji blew the whistle to the New York Times on alleged copyright violations by
OpenAI. He was found dead in his apartment months later.
In this episode, Turner and Ramarao discuss Balaji’s upbringing and courageous
whistleblowing, the questions Ramarao has surrounding his death and the
related police investigation, and why Ramarao hopes her son’s passing will help
lead to better protections for AI whistleblowers.
Ramarao has set up a GoFundMe: Justice for Suchir Balaji.
National Whistleblower Center has set up an Action Alert allowing supporters to
write to Congress demanding protections for artificial intelligence
whistleblowers.

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In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner
speaks with Ed Pierson, Boeing whistleblower and the Executive Director of The
Foundation for Aviation Safety.
Pierson served as a Senior Manager at Boeing’s Renton, Washington 737 Max
factory, overseeing the manufacturing of Boeing’s 737 Max airline and leading
the Industrial Engineering and Shipside teams in final assembly and P-8
Poseidon Shipside teams. He blew the whistle on safety issues he witnessed in
the manufacturing of 737 Max’s.
At National Whistleblower Day 2024, Pierson revealed that he had uncovered new
documents underscoring Boeing’s alleged shortcomings in the manufacturing of
737 Max planes.
During their wide-ranging conversation, Jane and Pierson discuss his upbringing,
why he felt compelled to come forward with his concerns, the response of
Boeing and the FAA to his whistleblowing, and why he does not feel comfortable
flying on Boeing 737 Maxes.
National Whistleblower Center is urging Congress and the White House to act
immediately and address the issues which are endangering airline safety
whistleblowers and having a chilling effect on other would-be-whistleblowers.

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In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner
speaks with former FBI special agent Zach Schoffstall. Schoffstall was a supervisory senior resident agent in the FBI’s Salt Lake City Division. He alleges that he was retaliated against by the FBI after refusing to sign a warrant for a white nationalist organization, the Patriot Front, when he believed there was not actionable evidence.
 
During their wide-ranging conversation, Jane and Schoffstall discuss his
upbringing, his career at the FBI and the similarities in their experiences facing retaliation from the Bureau.

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In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner
speaks with former FBI official Marcus Allen.

Allen was suspended by the FBI for 27 months after making a protected
disclosure and in 2023 the Bureau revoked his security clearance before he
testified before Congress. In 2024, the FBI reinstated Allen’s security clearance
and reached a settlement agreement with him for backpay for his suspension.

During their wide-ranging conversation, Jane and Allen discuss his upbringing,
his suspension from the FBI and what changes the Bureau needs to make to
better support whistleblowers. They are joined in conversation by Tristan Leavitt,
President of Empower Oversight.

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In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner
speaks with Samsung whistleblower June Bellamy.
In 2017, Bellamy blew the whistle on a director in the Service Division at the
Johannesburg Samsung Head Office. She was subsequently fired from Samsung
and has been fighting for her whistleblower rights in court ever since.
During their wide-ranging conversation, Jane and Bellamy discuss her upbringing,
her decision to blow the whistle, and her journey since coming forward.
For more information about June, or to her support her in her whistleblowing
journey, visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/june-battles-against-corruption-in-
samsung

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In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner speaks with oil industry whistleblower Jonathan Taylor. While serving as an in-house lawyer at SBM Offshore, a Monaco-based Dutch oil and gas services company, Taylor blew the whistle on a corruption scheme where the company offered bribes in order to obtain lucrative government contracts. His whistleblowing helped bring light to the massive Petrobras
scandal.
During their wide-ranging conversation, Jane and Mr. Taylor discuss his upbringing, his decision to blow the whistle, the severe retaliation he faced for doing so (including an arrest in Croatia), and his current advocacy work for whistleblowers.

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In this special episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner continues her talk with legendary Big Tobacco whistleblower Dr. Jeffrey Wigand. Dr. Wigand is the former Vice President of Research and Development at Brown and Williamson, a major tobacco company. He blew the whistle on Brown and Williamson’s deliberate misconduct, strategic cigarette engineering, and research manipulation that aimed to get, and keep, cigarette users addicted while concealing the truth of the product. His whistleblower story was portrayed in the 1999 movie The Insider.

In Part II of their conversation, Jane and Dr. Wigand discuss his whistleblower journey exposing the harmful practices of Big Tobacco, the retaliation he faced for doing so, and his life since his whistleblowing.

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this special episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner speaks with legendary Big Tobacco whistleblower Dr. Jeffrey Wigand. Dr. Wigand is the former Vice President of Research and Development at Brown and Williamson, a major tobacco company. He blew the whistle on Brown and Williamson's deliberate misconduct, strategic cigarette engineering, and research manipulation that aimed to get, and keep, cigarette users addicted while concealing the truth of the product. His whistleblower story was portrayed in the 1999 movie The Insider.

In Part I of their conversation, Jane and Dr. Wigand discuss his upbringing and his decision to blow the whistle after his startling discoveries about the practices of Big Tobacco.

Stay tuned next week for Part II of the Whistleblower of the Week interview with Dr. Jeffrey Wigand.

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, Jane speaks with Noel Engels. After spending over two decades working for the US government in intelligence, law enforcement, and military combat operations, Engels left his role as a Criminal Analyst at the Department of Homeland Security after filing a whistleblower complaint. Engels claims he was improperly removed from an investigation into human trafficking allegations against Utah County Attorney David O. Leavitt. He and Turner discuss the shocking details of that case and the retaliation he faced for speaking up.

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!