Unauthorized Disclosure

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola, hosts of the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast, discuss what unfolded in the Democratic presidential debate in Las Vegas, Nevada, days before the Nevada Caucuses.   

This is the show's first video broadcast, and we're excited to be able to do this. We plan to do more videos, particularly for patrons, in the future.

During the episode, Rania and Kevin focus attention on the final question of the debate, where Senator Bernie Sanders was the only one who mentioned superdelegates and endorsed democracy—the idea that if a candidate has the most delegates they should be the Democratic Party's nominee.   

They share hare how delighted they were to see all the candidates absolutely hammer former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg. His debate performance certainly undermined the "electability" argument for him.   

Later in the broadcast, Rania and Kevin highlight Bloomberg's answer on his role in racist stop-and-frisk policing. They also lay out the way in which a "feud" between the Culinary Workers Union leadership and the Bernie Sanders campaign was manufactured by interests, which want to maintain the status quo for health care.

Direct download: S7E7.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:19pm EDT

It was only about a month ago that it seemed President Donald Trump's administration was going to escalate tension and take the United States into an all-out war in Iran.

Joining the show this week is CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, who is the co-author of a new book, The CIA Insider's Guide To The Iran Crisis: From CIA Coup To The Brink Of War, which he co-authored with journalist Gareth Porter.

Our wide-ranging conversation with John veers into discussion of Israel's influence over U.S. foreign policy and what struggles a possible President Bernie Sanders administration would have in challenging The Blob—the foreign policymaking elite in Washington, D.C.

We conclude with John's thoughts about the upcoming one-week extradition hearing in WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's case that will take place in the final week of February.

Direct download: S7E6edit.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 11:10am EDT

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Nomiki Konst, who is the host of the recently launched, "The Nomiki Show."

Nomiki was part of the Unity Reform Commission that reformed several processes in the Democratic primary. She also is involved in a PAC called Matriarch that was founded to help working class women get elected to Congress.

We begin the show with some background on the Unity Reform Commission and how recommendations changed the Iowa Caucuses. She addresses the changes that affected superdelegates. Nomiki talks about what unfolded with the Iowa Caucuses and how states determine whether to hold a caucus or a primary. She highlights one particular smear campaign that was fueled by Neera Tanden and Joy Reid.

Throughout our conversation, Nomiki consistently emphasizes that Democrats are fighting over conflicts of interests. They are fighting over the budget. They are fighting over who gets money and who doesn't. Battles over money carry more significance than ensuring superdelegates have influence on the party.

Later in the show, Nomiki discusses what fractures the centrist wing of the Democratic Party. What policies proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders terrify them the most? We talk about DNC Chair Tom Perez and how he lobbied for the Iowa Democratic Party to use the app from Shadow.

We dig into the cronyism plaguing our elections, and we look ahead to New Hampshire and the rest of the primary, getting Nomiki's views on Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg, and Mike Bloomberg. 

Direct download: S7E5-Nomiki.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:53am EDT

Days away from the Iowa Caucuses, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola spend this week's episode talking about evidence that indicates elites in the Democratic National Committee are working to rig the primary against Senator Bernie Sanders (again).

Kevin reported for The Grayzone on the corporate lobbyists, Wall Street consultants, regime-change agents, think tank board members, and former campaign staff for Hillary Clinton that were appointed by DNC Chair Tom Perez to convention committees.

A viral thread from Kevin featured bios on each of the individuals in this cartoonishly neoliberal cast. Only one of the people appointed to committees is a prominent Sanders supporter. Several are known for their open hostility to a presidential candidate, who has surged into first place in multiple state polls.

"The Jimmy Dore Show" read through this thread, trying to joke as they made sense of how these ghouls were elevated by the DNC this week. But even they were struggled to joke, as they were stunned at the brazenness of a political party that still engages in acts which are a slap in the face to working class people.

We now see the DNC changed rules for debate qualifications to help Mike Bloomberg make the stage for the next debate. Bloomberg donated the maximum to most of the party's state committees. The DNC is allowing a Republican billionaire to hijack their party to stop Sanders.

Even so, the Sanders campaign has a lot of strength going into the Iowa Caucuses on February 3, and Rania and Kevin spend the episode digging into these developments and what is at stake. 

Direct download: S7E4.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 8:42pm EDT

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