Unauthorized Disclosure

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)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

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 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou to the podcast. He is a writer and the host of the "Loud and Clear" radio show. Kiriakou briefly recounts how he blew the  whistle on the Bush administration's use of waterboarding and was the target of a leak prosecution. He was in prison for nearly two years.  He addresses some of the whistleblower's allegations, as well as whether it actually shows that President Donald Trump wouldn't provide military aid to Ukraine if the government didn't help him investigate Joe Biden's son.  We get into the issue of impeachment and what led Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to do an about-face and allow an inquiry to begin.  Later in the episode, Kiriakou responds to the New York Times' to publish information that outed the whistleblower as a CIA employee, who worked in the Trump White House.  We raise the issue of the military aid to Ukraine and how it is aimed at potentially provoking Russia, as well as how Democrats like Adam Schiff  have not been supportive of whistleblowers. In the final part of the interview, Kiriakou discusses the case of Daniel Hale, an alleged drone whistleblower, and how the government uses his case to ensure whistleblowers cannot put on a defense when they face Espionage Act charges.Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Host Rania Khalek, along with journalists Max Blumenthal and Anya Parampil, were condemned for traveling  to Damascus, Syria, to report on recent developments in the country. Both Rania and Max have been targeted before by these individuals who have forced or  attempted to force the cancellation of their speaking events. They have rendered them toxic to publishers so their journalism does not reach a wider audience. Previously, on "Unauthorized Disclosure" we've talked about this relentless unending campaign that Rania must confront. Rania responded, "All the bullying and intimidation is meant to stifle attempts at  reporting the reality of the government areas where the overwhelming majority of Syrians live. If Americans saw the reality, the regime change narrative would collapse right away.” This is a 37-minute segment where host Kevin Gosztola leads listeners through what unfolded. It includes comments from Rania, but she was unable to participate in the production of this segment because she is busy producing videos and interviews that feature what she learned from her recent trip. Oh, and she's working to make sure this faction does not succeed in shutting her down. Kevin goes through that documents who attacked Rania and Max and why their attacks have no merit. It synthesizes various streams from Twitter that reflect the meltdown. We have to defend Rania and support the critical work she does, especially on conflicts and political developments in the Middle East. If you want to challenge this faction that obsesses over Rania and diminish the effect of their smear campaign(s), become a patron .

For this week's episode, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend the episode answering questions and discussing comments from patrons. The show's hosts begin by talking about books. They share some of their favorites and talk a bit about what they they're reading currently. They get into whether it matters if you get your analysis of issues or politics from books or podcasts. Later in the show, they discuss how Twitter has impacted their work as radical independent journalists. Rania responds to a question about the similarity between those who attack people for opposing regime change against Iran and those who attack people for opposing regime change against Syria. The show concludes with further discussion of journalists and what leads them to be driven by narratives over more objective facts. And then there's a few minutes on Stephen King and horror films.Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

*The episode was made available early for patrons. Thank you for making this show possible. The backdrop for this week's episode is especially grim. Forests are burning throughout the global south from the Amazon to the Congo basin. Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss our burning planet. But the episode is far from depressing. In the latter part of the episode, they discuss the media plan put out by Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign, which gives them hope because the collapse of journalism should be a political issue during the 2020 primary. And in the first half of the show, the hosts talk about Dave Chappelle's Netflix special. They both laughed and enjoyed it and push back on much of the outrage while having a larger conversation about politics in comedy.Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/