Whistleblowers

Kathryn Bolkovac arrived in Bosnia in 1999. The nation still bore scars from the recent war, and as a new member of the UN’s Police Task Force, she was keen to help the country heal. Before long, though, she realized that some of her colleagues had different priorities. When she discovered evidence of abuse and child trafficking at their hands, she spoke up, and paid the price.

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Dazzling young entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes had a big idea. She claimed to have developed a new healthcare diagnosis technique that could change lives. But when junior lab employees Erika Cheung and Tyler Shultz joined her company, they realized that something was very wrong. Eventually, they exposed one of the biggest scandals in Silicon Valley's history.

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When Vladimir Bukovsky was arrested in 1961, he braced himself for a violent stint in prison. But his punishment turned out to be much worse. Vladimir, like many other Soviet dissidents, was diagnosed with ‘symptomless schizophrenia’, force-fed drugs and sent to a psychiatric hospital. He spent many of the next 15 years of his life locked up, until he found a way to tell the world about his country’s secret weapon: political psychiatry.

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When David Shayler and Annie Machon became British MI5 intelligence officers in the 1990s, they were excited to make a difference in the world. But just a few months into their new roles, they began to lose faith in their government. They believed the security services were spying on politicians, failing to stop terrorists and even plotting assassination attempts. Frustrated, they took drastic action, and spent the next three years on the run.

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In the late 1960s, detective Frank Serpico discovered widespread corruption in the New York Police Department. But when he blew the whistle, his fellow officers turned on him. He was even the victim of a shooting at work that he believes was a set-up. Miraculously, Serpico survived and continued his efforts, eventually transforming the NYPD.

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Monica Lewinsky first met colleague Linda Tripp at the Pentagon, and the pair quickly became close friends. So close that Monica felt comfortable sharing her biggest secret: she was having an affair with the President of the United States. When Linda blew the whistle on the relationship, Clinton was left facing impeachment and Monica Lewinsky ended up in court. Her last words on the stand? "I hate Linda Tripp.”

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Just weeks into Michael Woodford's new job as president of Olympus, he made a worrying discovery. The company was embroiled in a billion dollar fraud scandal. He tried to investigate the claims, but his colleagues quickly turned on him. And when he learned the Yakuza could be involved, Michael began to fear for his life.

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This is the mysterious story of Mark Felt, the high-ranking FBI agent who took on U.S. President Richard Nixon. Mark put his own career and reputation on the line in order to help reveal one of the biggest cover ups in U.S. history: Watergate.

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When Mark Whitacre turned informant against his own company in 1992, he helped the FBI expose international, multi-million dollar fraud. Most people would be praised as heroes for such a service, but when the investigation unearthed Mark’s own dark and bizarre secrets, he was sentenced to nine years in jail.

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On May 20th, 2013, U.S. Intelligence Consultant Edward Snowden called in sick to work. He then packed up his belongings, kissed his girlfriend goodbye, and boarded a plane to Hong Kong. Within a few days his face was all over the news. Overnight, he became famous for leaking highly classified information to the press, exposing illegal mass surveillance programs.

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