Unauthorized Disclosure

Last week's episode of "Unauthorized Disclosure" featured filmmaker Josh Fox, and Kevin Gosztola talked with Josh about the "Planet Of The Humans" documentary that Michael Moore posted to his YouTube. Our interview with Josh was scheduled before the documentary stirred controversy among the climate movement, and we did our best to engage in a constructive critique of the film, even as Josh essentially endorsed censorship of the film by demanding Films For Action take the film off of their website. There are a few problems we aim to address with this additional discussion. Rania Khalek had not seen the film so she was unable to join the conversation between Josh and Kevin. And in the past week, Josh has escalated his rhetoric and now contends the documentary features "fossil fuel talking points" and Michael Moore has essentially become the new flack for the oil and gas industry. Rania and Kevin object to this label that Josh and other voices seem intent to pin on Michael Moore.   In this discussion, Rania, who finally watched the film, offers her review, and Kevin adds some comments that he had difficulty expressing during the prior episode. We both believe censorship is not the answer. If there is misinformation, let's address it. If the framing and the way the movement is covered is problematic, let's have a debate. But acting as if the filmmakers are engaged in personal and vicious attacks against climate leaders, when they have not displayed any malice, only serves to undermine solidarity that we need to confront an ever-looming catastrophe. Or, as PEN America's Summer Lopez , "Calls to pull a film because of disagreement with its content are calls for censorship, plain and simple. Those who take issue with the film have every right to make their concerns and arguments heard, but first and foremost, the public also has the essential right to view Moore’s film and make their own judgements.”

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by filmmaker Josh Fox to discuss the coronavirus pandemic in the context of of the climate emergency we all face. Josh is the director of "Gasland," "Gasland: Part II," and "How To Let Go Of the World And Love All the Things Climate Can't Change." He collaborated on a documentary on resistance at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline that was called "Awake, A Dream From Standing Rock." He currently hosts a show called "Staying Home." In this interview with Josh, he talks about President Donald Trump's administration and the accelerated environmental deregulation occurring during the coronavirus pandemic. He describes how COVID-19 showed the climate is making us sick and by going on lockdown lives were saved. Later in the interview, Josh discusses what needs to happen in communities around the world after the outbreak. Kevin and Josh also have a bit of a debate on the documentary, "Planet Of The Humans." Josh led a campaign that removed the film from Films For Action, which was a distributor for the documentary.

For this week's "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast, Charles Derber, an activist and sociologist at Boston College, talks with Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola about responses to the coronavirus outbreak and how those responses further expose the nature of the United States' capitalist system. Charles begins by sharing his personal experience with his students, who he is teaching through virtual classes. He describes what he believes younger generations are going through. Rania asks Charles whether the pandemic may significantly alter the structure of the economy in the United States. Later in the conversation, Kevin asks Charles about the frontline workers, who are part of "essential services." They explore the question of who deserves safety and who does not deserve safety and the ways in which people are coming to realize society does not value these lives.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola recorded a live broadcast of the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast. The global coronavirus pandemic is bringing out the best at the grassroots level while further exposing who is truly the worst among elites. The pandemic is also making it abundantly clear whose lives people in power value and whose lives they don't.      Rania and Kevin spent the hour responding to questions and comments from patrons and listeners of the show. They discussed the disaster capitalism at the core of a so-called stimulus bill that passed in Congress, as well as racism stemming from those who label COVID-19 the "China virus."   They rundown the severity of the crisis that medical professionals at hospitals throughout the U.S. face.    Later in the show, Rania and Kevin highlight what they impact may be to Gaza and Yemen. They contemplate what the world may be like after the pandemic, given the sociopathic nature of the United States government's response so far.

Host Rania Khalek left Lebanon and traveled back to the United States while the global coronavirus pandemic intensifies in the U.S. and throughout the world. Host Kevin Gosztola is sheltering in place in Illinois. Both are healthy, fortunately. Rania and Kevin spend the show talking about the impact on them personally. That includes Rania highlighting what a relative who is a medical professional is enduring in this crisis. They contend that the dramatic measures to lockdown the United States are crucial, no matter how much one cares about civil liberties. This has to be done, and anyone who tries to defy and flout the measures is extremely selfish. Later in the show, Rania and Kevin talk about the . Democratic National Committee chair Tom Perez and the DNC sociopathically pushed onward with primaries in Arizona, Florida, and Illinois and put lives at risk. Kevin went out to vote during the pandemic, and he shares what he observed and why he organized against this criminal recklessness. The show concludes with some discussion of more global issues, in Venezuela and Iran, and some discussion of what can and must be done to help people in these tumultuous and uncertain times. *** We know these are highly stressful times and that some of you are just beginning to suffer from the uncertainty paralyzing our economy. We thank everyone of you who is able to remain a patron, and we will constantly find ways to show our appreciation for you as you keep this show going. Soon there will be an announcement about a live show that will stream next week in the evening either on March 25 or 26. We will let you know as soon as we have exact details. But we will be taking any questions or comments you have for us.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Nomiki Konst, who is the host of the recently , "The Nomiki Show." Nomiki was part of the Unity Reform Commission that reformed several processes in the Democratic primary. She also is 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.

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 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 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" 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.

For the first interview of 2020, Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by Mohammad Marandi, a Tehran University professor in Iran. We start the interview with Mohammad sharing his thoughts about the Iranian response to the U.S. assassination of Iran General Qassim Soleimani. Mohammad describes why Soleimani was and is so revered by Iranians. He talks about the critical role Soleimani played in ensuring the Islamic State did not seize control of Baghdad, Iraq, as well as Damascus, Syria. Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, a commander of the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq, was assassinated in the same strike that killed Soleimani. His assassination received minimal attention in the press. Mohammad talks about Muhandis and what he did for the people of Iraq. Later in the show, Mohammad recalls volunteering at the age of 16 to fight in the Iran-Iraq War. He also discusses the impact of economic sanctions, as well as how the "Resistance Axis" in the Middle East appears to grow stronger with each act of war launched by President Donald Trump's administration.

Our initial plan for this week's episode fell through. We also had limited time in our schedules to record, since Rania Khalek was traveling across the world for work and to get home for the holidays. So, to still give you all something, here is an episode from Kevin Gosztola's new show, the "Dissenter Weekly Update." It covers whistleblower stories as well as the most recent developments with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's case. In this preview, Kevin how the United States government won its lawsuit against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and can now confiscate proceeds he earned from his book, Permanent Record, as well as his speeches. The episode also highlights a on medical care in immigrant detention facilities and how a federal judge a prison psychiatrist whistleblower in California. Later in the episode, he talks about doctors who urged the Australian government to intervene on behalf of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, as his health deteriorates in Her Majesty’s Prison Belmarsh. There also was a significant procedural hearing in Assange’s extradition case, where we learned key information about how his extradition hearing in February will likely unfold.

Asa Winstanley, an investigative journalist for the Electronic Intifada who has covered Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn since 2015, joins Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola to talk about the result of the UK election. Conservative Party Prime Minister Boris Johnson and conservatives won a resounding victory. Corbyn announced his resignation as Labour Party leader after a harsh defeat. Much of the outcome is owed to Brexit and how it divided the working class. There were many working people upset that the Labour Party supported a second referendum on Brexit, which seemed anti-democratic to them. Asa addresses this in the interview. But as Asa , from the very beginning, Corbyn failed—or refused—to forcefully reject the "Labour anti-Semitism" lying smear campaign directed at him. Propaganda pushed by the Israel lobby, the UK military and intelligence agencies, neoliberals, and right-wing conservatives was initially rejected by voters. But as the smears continued, it soon became accepted—Labour has an anti-Semitism problem and isn't doing enough to address it. By November, the campaign fully escalated to Corbyn is an anti-Semite. Asa discusses many aspects of this smear campaign and warns supporters of Bernie Sanders: don't let the same smears that sank Corbyn tank the Sanders campaign.