The Whistleblowers

Jun 15, 2024 05:33Fighting for violent sexual assault survivorsMost sexual assaults go unreported for a variety of reasons: It’s his word versus hers; the victim feels embarrassed, ashamed, or humiliated; or the trauma is so severe that the victim can’t bring herself to report the crime, lest she be called to testify in court and relive the whole nightmare. On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with author, speaker, and licensed counselor Lisa Saruga about her own harrowing story and why some victims are brave enough to fight back, even when that fight takes decades.

Jun 8, 2024 05:36The critical importance of whistleblowersThere have been so many important whistleblowers over the years—big names like Daniel Ellsberg, Edward Snowden, Bradley Birkenfeld, Annie Machon, and Katherine Gunn, just to name a few—that you wouldn’t be wrong to think that official opinion, the opinion of governments, had changed so that these truthtellers would be protected for their revelations. But that’s not necessarily the case. Certainly, many countries have moved forward on whistleblower protection. The European Union immediately comes to mind. But the US and UK are not among them. In most cases, at least involving government whistleblowers, the US and UK cite national security as the reason for not welcoming new disclosures. And indeed, they use the Espionage Act and the Official Secrets Act, respectively, to prosecute whistleblowers. But why hasn’t more been done to protect private sector whistleblowers? Why do people who blow the whistle on waste, fraud, abuse, illegality, or threats to the public health or public safety at Big Pharma, in international banking, inside international conglomerates, and elsewhere still face the untampered wrath of their companies? Where are protections for these whistleblowers? On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou discuss the critical importance of whistleblowers with former whistleblower and whistleblower advocate Jane Turner.

Jun 1, 2024 05:45Gaza: A humanitarian catastropheMore than 34,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the start of hostilities on October 7, 2023, and more than 90% of those deaths have been civilians. The Israeli military has been heavy handed, even by its own standards, destroying hospitals, churches, mosques, apartment blocks, and literally everything else in its path. On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with Mondoweiss Gaza correspondent Tareq Hajjaj and a member of the Palestinian Writers Union who had to be evacuated from Gaza.

May 25, 2024 05:39Campus protests & The Real News Network with Chris HedgesThe United States has been swept by college and university protests and encampments in support of Palestine. The movement began at New York’s prestigious Columbia University and quickly spread all across the country, from major universities to small colleges. On this episode of Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with journalist Chris Hedges who was fired from The Real News Network for saying Biden was guilty of genocide in Gaza and siding with the protestors and the plight of the Palestinians. The two discuss the campus protests and Pro-Palestinian/Anti-Israel movement gaining steam across the United States.

May 18, 2024 13:39The role of the CIA in international conflictInternational affairs are at the top of the news all around the world. With hot conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and the Sahel, and would-be confrontations in the Taiwan Strait, the Red Sea, and elsewhere, there is a lot of reporting about various visits of the US secretaries of state and defense and of sensitive negotiations with this country or that. But what is the role of the CIA in all this? Is that role different now that the CIA is led by a professional diplomat? And how different is it now that the CIA is less an intelligence collection agency and more a para-military body? On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with whistleblower and former senior CIA officer Mel Goodman to answer all these questions.

May 11, 2024 10:27Migration & immigration controls at the US borderOn this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with David Bacon, a photojournalist, fine art photographer, author, union organizer and activist, about the American Dream. Most importantly, they’ll discuss whether or not the American Dream is still available to immigrants, as the border crisis has those in charge on both sides of the aisle ready to shut the newcomers out due to skyrocketing violent crime rates in the US.

May 4, 2024 09:30Epstein’s black bookMany questions remain unanswered since the death of Jeffrey Epstein. What was the actual source of his money? Was he an agent working for a foreign intelligence service? Who was it that ordered that Epstein be given a sweetheart deal after his first arrest? Why was he being protected and by whom? And perhaps most importantly, why is it, nearly five years after his death, that we still do not know who among the rich and powerful were connected to him? On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with independent investigative journalist Christopher Helali about how these questions could be answered by Epstein’s little black books.

May 1, 2024 05:49A broken whistle: Conversation with a CIA whistleblowerPedro Orta is a highly-decorated former CIA officer. In 18 years in the agency, he won eight Exceptional Performance awards for his work in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, and in the US Office of the Inspector General, working, ironically, on whistleblower issues. On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with Pedro Orta about how he took on a political issue from inside the CIA, and what he did when he saw evidence the CIA was seeking to undermine a sitting president.

Apr 27, 2024 06:25A world on fire: Aaron BushnellOn February 25, 2024, a young active duty airman by the name of Aaron Bushnell went to the Israeli Embassy in Washington, declared that as a member of the US Air Force he could not be party to a genocide against the Palestinian people, doused himself with kerosene, and set himself on fire. He shouted “Free Palestine” five times until finally collapsing. He died later at a hospital. He was only 25 years old. On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou asks journalist and podcaster Esha Krishnaswamy if Aaron Bushnell’s death was a bold political statement, or a simple suicide by someone suffering from mental illness.

Apr 24, 2024 08:08The march towards nuclear warTensions between Russia and the US have risen as the relationship between the two superpowers has deteriorated to levels not seen since the Cold War. On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with peace activist, former State Department official, and Marine Corps veteran Matthew Hoh about the world’s march towards nuclear war. Plus, they discuss why war is pushed by the mainstream media and if it is the only way to stay profitable.

Apr 20, 2024 05:48The strange death of the American chestnutDisease struck the American chestnut population in the early 20th century and now the once famed tree is all but extinct in North America. But scientists say they have come up with a plan to revive the chestnut tree through genetic engineering. To some that might sound like a great idea. But is it? It’s never been done before. And we have literally no idea what it will do to other trees as its pollen is spread by the winds, bees, and other insects. On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou asks Anne Petermann, the executive director of the Global Justice Ecology Project... Are we saving the chestnut? Or are we dooming other species?

Apr 17, 2024 09:41Will the US Justice Department offer Julian Assange a deal?WikiLeaks cofounder Julian Assange has been held in London’s notorious maximum-security Belmarsh Prison for almost five years. Before that, he was in self-imposed exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. A few years ago, the CIA made plans to kill or kidnap Assange in broad daylight in the streets of London, if the US government’s request to extradite him turned out to be unsuccessful. But that request is pending and is likely to go forward in the near future. The big question then is whether the US Justice Department will offer Assange a deal he can live with or whether he will be forced to go on trial for his life. On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with journalist and Consortium News editor Joe Lauria and activist and radio host Randy Credico about what the future might hold for Julian Assange.

Apr 13, 2024 05:36Racial discrimination in the US MarshalsMatthew Fogg is one of those rare individuals who is utterly relentless. But that relentlessness comes with incredible patience. When he realized he had been a victim of racial discrimination within the federal government, he filed a lawsuit. On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with Matthew Fogg about his 30-year fight with the government over racial discrimination in the US Marshals.

Apr 10, 2024 06:09Informants vs whistleblowersWhat is the difference between an informant and a whistleblower? Does motive matter? On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with legal and media analyst Lionel about how Charles Littlejohn became something of a controversial figure in whistleblower circles, and the ugly current political atmosphere in Washington.

Apr 6, 2024 09:44Boeing takes a nosediveBoeing has been in the news a lot lately, and none of it has been good. We’re not talking just about one of the company’s 737-Max jets crashing and killing everybody on board – there are other issues. In one case, part of the fuselage broke off a plane in mid-flight, creating a gaping hole in the side that nearly sucked out a 17-year-old passenger. In another case, a tire fell off a Boeing plane during take-off, destroying a car in the airport parking lot. In yet another, an external panel fell off mid-flight and nobody even noticed it until the plane landed. And in the midst of all this, a Boeing whistleblower providing testimony on safety issues committed suicide. John Kiriakou speaks with Jamie Finch, former National Transportation Safety Board Official, about how Boeing is taking a nosedive.

Apr 3, 2024 06:53Israel’s attacks on Gaza & UNWRAMuch of the world is focused on the war in Gaza and the atrocities that are happening there. The United Nations said in mid-March that more children had been killed in Gaza in the first four months of the conflict than in all other conflicts around the world in the last four years. On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with Chris Gunness, former spokesman of UNWRA, about why Israel is going after the organization and calling for it to be defunded.

Mar 30, 2024 05:57Emmanuel LewisEmmanuel Lewis brought a class action lawsuit against the Dallas County Sheriff, alleging that he allowed conditions in the county jail which promoted the spread of Covid-19 and put officers at extreme risk. He joins John Kiriakou on this episode of The Whistleblowers to discuss how he blew the whistle on the police department’s handling of incarceration facilities and personnel during the pandemic.

Mar 23, 2024 15:49The Ukrainian whistleblowerRudy Giuliani reaches out to a Ukrainian diplomat who has information about how his country tried to influence an American election and had in-depth knowledge of Hunter Biden’s business dealing with Ukraine while his father, Joe Biden, was Vice President. The informant eventually found himself sanctioned by the US Treasury Department, had his US visa revoked, and was placed on the no-fly list. Andrii Telizhenko joins John Kiriakou on this episode of the Whistleblowers.

Mar 16, 2024 05:30Iztok Plevnik: Where did the money go?Iztok Plevnik led counterterrorism teams to retrieve evidence and to capture people around the world under indictment in the ICC. In 2017, his team found stash houses with pallets of American currency – notably, one with $6 billion and another with $10 billion in $100 bills. When Iztok tried to bring the money back to the US, the American Embassy turned on him, and he was arrested by the local authorities, jailed, beaten, and eventually expelled. Just weeks later, American government officials who were supposed to help him retired with new houses and new cars. On this episode of The Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with Iztok Plevnik’s attorney, Bruce Fein, about this nightmarish experience.

Mar 9, 2024 08:42The truth behind the 9/11 hijackersWho funded the 9/11 hijackers? How did they go through the United States without being detected by the FBI? Were any of them actually recruited by the CIA? On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou gets to the bottom of these questions and more with investigative journalist, Kit Klarenberg, whose research with Greyzone UK he has uncovered some uncomfortable truths and connections between the 9/11 hijackers, an FBI informant, and the CIA.

Mar 2, 2024 09:53Assange awaits his fateMillions of people around the world last week watched developments unfold in the case of Wikileaks cofounder Julian Assange. The UK’s High Court heard arguments on February 20 and 21 as to whether Assange should be extradited to the United States to face 17 felony counts of espionage and one count of misuse of a computer, all related to revelations that came to be known as the Afghan War Logs and the Collateral Murder Video released to Wikileaks by Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Bradley Manning.Assange faces 175 years in prison in the United States. The High Court did not make an immediate decision on the extradition request, opting instead to do so on or before March 4. John is joined by Mohamed Elmaazi, lawyer and investigative journalist, to discuss the latest.

Feb 24, 2024 05:49Remembering John PilgerEvery generation has a journalist to whom most people can point as being transformative in world events. On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with friends of the late John Pilger. He was an Australian journalist, writer, scholar, and documentary filmmaker. Pilger became a household name in the 1970s when he secretly entered Cambodia in the aftermath of the overthrow of Pol Pot and broke the story of the Cambodian genocide, which became known as the Killing Fields. Randy Credico and Joe Lauria speak about their friend Pilger and how his documentary work and journalism pushed a generation of leaders.

Feb 17, 2024 05:37Triggering a whistleblowerOn this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with whistleblower and former Swiss banker Pascal Najadi. They discuss what triggered his whistleblowing and his many outlets as a whistleblower including Twitter, which continually got him banned before Elon Musk. Plus, they talk about some of his detractors.

Feb 10, 2024 09:20Julian Assange & bugging Ecuador’s embassyEcuadorian authorities were allegedly working with the CIA to download all of the information on every cell phone from every visitor to Assange at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London. This included American citizens’ devices, too. And now they’re arguing in court that their constitutional rights were violated. And could Julian Assange be extradited to the US later this month? On this episode of the Whistleblowers, John Kiriakou speaks with Randy Credico, a Radio Host & Political satirist, and to investigative journalist Joe Lauria, about the court case in the UK that could determine Assange’s fate.