Sun, 29 September 2019
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' decision 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. |
Wed, 11 September 2019
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. |
Sun, 8 September 2019
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. |
Sat, 31 August 2019
*The episode was made available early for patrons. Thank you for making this show possible. |