Unauthorized Disclosure

On the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Sarah Smith, a Democratic Party candidate running for Congress in Washington's 9th District. She recently beat the Republican to qualify for the general election against the incumbent, Democratic Representative Adam Smith. Sarah Smith is both a member of the local Democratic Party and Democratic Socialists of America. She's run that consists of all volunteers. She also has garnered a reputation as a rare antiwar candidate in the 2018 midterm elections because she views foreign policy as a top issue. For Part 2 of our interview with Sarah Smith, she discusses her views about the Democratic Party, what she thinks about Democrats who claim corporate money does not influence them, and how she views the Democratic National Committee's recent decision to encourage donations from the employer political action committees of fossil fuel companies. Later, she shares what she thinks about Democrats, who believe in climate change but will not act meaningfully to combat disruption to the climate. She also talks about why disability rights is a top issue for her campaign.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 Sarah Smith, a Democratic Party candidate running for Congress in Washington's 9th District. She recently beat the Republican to qualify for the general election against the incumbent, Democratic Representative Adam Smith. Sarah Smith is both a member of the local Democratic Party and Democratic Socialists of America. She's run that consists of all volunteers. She also has garnered a reputation as a rare antiwar candidate in the 2018 midterm elections because she views foreign policy as a top issue. In Part 1 of our interview with Sarah Smith, we talk about why she decided to run, why foreign policy is so important to her campaign, and what she thinks about the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel for its occupation of Palestine. Later, the show's hosts get her thoughts about the war economy, Puerto Rico, and the head tax proposal in Seattle to raise funds for affordable housing, which Amazon defeated. *Part 2 will be posted on August 22.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the latest bloodshed caused by Israeli military forces and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition backed by the United States, which continues to wage war on Yemen. They wonder if there's some kind of competition. The episode highlights the assassination attempt against Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, as well as the media coverage of the attempt. Later in the show, the hosts talk about Alex Jones and the several platforms that banned him and the recent round of primaries, which much of the media treated as a signal that socialism was rejected by voters. In the final minutes, Rania and Kevin review the August 5 episode of Sacha Baron Cohen's "Who Is America?".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 journalist Max Blumenthal, the editor of the Grayzone Project and co-host of the podcast, Moderate Rebels. He recently returned from a reporting trip in Nicaragua. Nicaragua has experienced violence over the past months, as opponents of President Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas launched an insurrection back in April. The U.S. government, as Blumenthal reported, laid the for . He also Ortega. Blumenthal describes how he was shocked by the "extent of sadistic violence that was meted out against average supporters of the Sandinistas during the period in which the national police were ordered to stay in their barracks." He recalls meeting one person after another who was tortured, beaten, or kidnapped and how their stories were overwhelming. Blumenthal also outlines what he found out about the students who Western media have treated as leaders of democratic uprising, when that is not really the case. Later in the interview, Blumenthal breaks down how opposition groups set up roadblocks to establish zones of control and strangle the country economically. Blumenthal goes on to discuss how right-wing Republicans, like Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, have helped meddle in Nicaragua, and the impact that U.S. sanctions have had.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola interview journalist Tim Shorrock, who recently returned from a trip to South Korea. He was in Singapore to cover the summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un He has covered Korea since the 1970s. He is a contributor for the Nation and a correspondent for the Korea Center for Investigative Journalism. He has a new piece recently published at the Nation: "." In the interview, Shorrock describes his background covering North and South Korea, as well as the U.S. military presence in South Korea and the surrounding region. He contextualizes the diplomatic negotiations between Trump and Kim.   Shorrock provides a history of the armistice that was signed in 1953, which could potentially be used to establish peace. He addresses why South Koreans would not want U.S. troops—30,000 of them—to remain in their country and how South Korea is really responsible for most of the progress toward peace so far. Later in the show, Shorrock offers a brief history going all the way back to the Korean War,  which highlights the impact of the U.S. war and the ramifications it has had for Koreans seeking peace and democracy in the past decades.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 Aaron Maté, a host and producer for The Real News. He has regularly covered Russiagate and all the media coverage around President Donald Trump and Russia for well over a year. And he was a guest on the show five months ago. During the show, Maté addresses the reaction to the summit with Trump and Vladimir Putin in Helsinki. He describes what from the summit does matter and then breaks down what led up to the summit and why there is such a frenzy over it now. Later, Khalek and Gosztola read multiple tweets and share quotes from liberal Democrats, who have totally lost it. They also wonder what it will take to defeat Trump if this is where Democrats continue to focus.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 discuss how MSNBC gave Jonathan Chait a platform to promote a wild conspiracy theory about President Donald Trump being a Russian asset. They also get into how the network encourages attacks on journalists like Glenn Greenwald, who are skeptical of certain allegations about Russia and the Trump administration. Later in the show, they talk about media by highlighting the introduction to journalist Seymour Hersh's memoir, "Reporter." They also spend a bit of time talking about Boots Riley's "Sorry To Bother You."

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's incredible victory in New York over a 10-term corporate Democrat, Joe Crowley. They also address the news of Justice Anthony Kennedy's resignation from the Supreme Court. Gosztola provides an update on Reality Winner's case after traveling to Augusta, Georgia, to cover a hearing, where she pled guilty.Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Matthew Hoh, a former Marine and diplomat from the State Department who resigned in protest over the Afghanistan War, joins the show this week. During our interview, he talks about how the U.S. government is dropping a bomb every 12 minutes. He discusses the military industrial-complex under President Donald Trump, as well as under President Barack Obama. He addresses the ongoing war in Yemen. Later in the show, Hoh describes what it is like for someone to endure post traumatic stress disorder and outlines the scope of the issue for military veterans, especially those with moral injuries. He also comments on news that NSA whistleblower Reality Winner accepted a plea deal.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the massacre of dozens of people in Gaza by Israeli military forces. Khalek talks about the reaction to it and why it may have been different than what typically happens after Israeli violence. Gosztola and Khalek also talk about the milestone for women in the CIA who have tortured and are pro-torture. Men have been able to run the agency and be pro-torture. But now, after the help of six Democrats, Gina Haspel is CIA director and women will never have to wonder if they can escape accountability for torture like their male counterparts ever again. Finally, Gosztola highlights the Venezuela elections and a segment on HBO's "Last Week Tonight" with John Oliver that was done very poorly.Shaving Mirror Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/