Unauthorized Disclosure – Details, episodes & analysis

Host Kevin Gosztola interviews Jeff Schuhrke, labor historian, journalist, union activist, and author of Blue Collar Empire: The Untold Story Of US Labor's Global Anticommunist Crusade.
Renewed "great power" rivalries threaten billions of lives, along with a host of planetary crises. Within that context, Schuhrke provides an overview of labor history that involves the partnership that the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) had with the CIA, the State Department, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Note: This is the free edition of the episode. For the full version, become a patron at patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure or subscribe at TheDissenter.org

Kevin Gosztola interviews Andy Thayer, a longtime grassroots activist and organizer in Chicago. He is part of a coalition called Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws that obtained a permit for the first protest that will take place on Sunday in opposition to the 2024 Democratic National Convention.
Andy discusses the formation of Bodies Outside of Unjust Laws and why the coalition is marching against the DNC. He also addresses the rich history of Chicago police attacking protesters and trampling on people's First Amendment rights.

And Andy highlights several additional demonstrations that will take place during the DNC and how the city, even under progressive Mayor Brandon Johnson, frustrated requests for march permits.

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola interview Cuban journalist Liz Oliva Fernández about two documentaries that cover United States policy toward Cuba. Liz, who worked with Belly of the Beast on the films, obtained a visa to travel to the U.S. and confront the very politicians, who are behind the embargo and other measures that disproportionately impact Black Cubans. She spent time in Washington, D.C., and New Jersey, where she spoke to a number of everyday Americans about their attitudes toward Cuba. The first film, "Hardliner on the Hudson," premieres on May 13. It covers corrupt Senator Bob Menendez and his instrumental role in shaping the U.S. agenda against Cuba. The second film, "Uphill on the Hill," examines the "political interests" that have led President Joe Biden to "embrace Trump's economic war on Cuba." It premieres on May 20. Both films will be available on the Belly of the Beast's YouTube channel. *SUBSCRIBE for full episodes and early access to episodes at TheDissenter.org **BECOME a Patron at Patreon.com/UnauthorizedDisclosure for full episodes and early access to episodes

For this week's episode of "Unauthorized Disclosure," Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Lee Camp to the show. Lee is a stand-up comedian who is the host of "Redacted Tonight." He has a new comedy , "Not Allowed on American TV." He also has a book, Bullet Points & Punch Lines. Stand-up comedy has become near impossible or extraordinarily difficult during the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask Lee what the the last months have been like then quickly pivot to a conversation about deterioration of political comedy in the era of President Donald Trump. Lee talks with us about social media platforms that label your content as "dangerous." Rania and Kevin talk about satire being interpreted more and more as fact or truth. And Lee discusses how he covers United States-backed coups and wars through his comedy, unlike the vast majority of stand-up comedians who delve into politics.

The show was relieved that co-host Rania Khalek survived the Beirut blast and did not suffer any severe injuries. That unfortunately cannot be said for more than 150 people, who were killed, and over 5,000 who were wounded. For this week's episode, Rania recounts her experience during and after the explosion. She describes the widespread devastation in and around the port. She also addresses the criminal negligence on the part of the Lebanese government that led to this tragedy. What happened will have lasting impacts, especially since Lebanon was already in the middle of a massive economic crisis. During the latter portion of the episode, which was recorded exclusively for patrons, Rania provides further clarity on who was responsible and why it could not be Hezbollah or Israel. Both Rania and Kevin Gosztola move on to discuss how Twitter labeled media accounts "state-affiliated," including In The Now, where Rania works. They outline the implications and continue a conversation that took place last week after Maffick (the parent of In The Now) sued Facebook. *To access the exclusive content for this episode go to and subscribe.

For this week's episode, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk about President Donald Trump and Attorney General Bill Barr deploying federal police squads to cities, like Albuquerque, Chicago, and Kansas City. Rania and Kevin also spend some time discussing Democrats in the House and Senate, who voted against a very modest 10 percent cut to the United States military budget. Several showed how they are captives of the military industrial-complex. The final portion of the episode features a tribute to journalist Michael Brooks, who tragically died on July 20. They reflect on the mark that he left on independent media. To unlock the full episode, go to patreon.com/unauthorizeddisclosure and become a subscriber of the show.

Jen Perelman has had the same representative in the United States Congress for nearly 16 years—Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Democrat in Florida’s 23rd congressional district. Now, Perelman is mounting a primary challenge against Wasserman Schultz. For this week's show, we share this interview with Jen about her campaign. She discusses her platform, which includes Medicare For All, the Green New Deal, student loan debt forgiveness, eliminating policing where it is not needed, and dismantling the military-industrial complex. Jen confronts key issues like regime change wars and U.S. meddling in Venezuela.  She also talks about the state of the Democratic Party and what Florida Democrats are doing to protect Wasserman Schultz from her campaign.

Hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola are joined by journalist Gareth Porter to discuss the media malpractice surrounding "Bountygate," which was manufactured to extend the war in Afghanistan. Gareth has covered national security policy since 2005 and was the recipient of the Gellhorn Prize for Journalism in 2012.  His most recent book, The CIA Insider’s Guide to the Iran Crisis, was co-authored with John Kiriakou and published in February. For the Grayzone, Gareth how the Pentagon "failed to sell the Afghan government's bunk 'Bountygate' story" United States intelligence agencies. The New York Times published a report that was like a bad spinoff to the Russiagate stories they churned out. As it turned out, the Afghan intelligence service known as the National Directorate Security (NDS) was the source of unsubstantiated claims that Russia offered Afghan militants bounties to kill U.S. troops. "This is absolutely the worst so-called intelligence, not real intelligence, scandal of modern history," Gareth contends. "It surpasses Iraq and Iran by a fairly comfortable margin." During the interview, Gareth describes the culprits responsible for pushing this fabricated "bombshell." He addresses the fallout from the alleged story and then focuses on the malpractice by the Times and other media outlets, which have declined to do the kind of follow-up reporting that he has done. In fact, because they seem to recognize it is embarrassing, details that would effectively show the Times committed malpractice were buried in the back pages of the printed edition of their newspaper.

The following is a preview clip. If you enjoy what you hear, become a patron at patreon.com/unauthorizeddisclosure and support the show.  *** During a live broadcast of "Unauthorized Disclosure," hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola discuss the obstacles that stand in the way of ending the war in Afghanistan. Democrats recently made common cause with neoconservative Republicans to ensure President Donald Trump could not withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan. This was tied to dubious reports of Russian bounties for militants who killed U.S. soldiers.

Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola welcome Vincent Bevins, the author of The Jakarta Method: Washington's Anticommunist Crusade and the Mass Murder Program That Shaped Our World, to discuss his book. He was the Brazil correspondent for the Los Angeles Times and the southeast Asia correspondent for the Washington Post. As Bevins contends, United States-backed violence that occurred in Brazil and Indonesia in 1964 and 1965 "greatly reshaped the world." He examines the dark history and legacy of anticommunism in two of the most populous countries. Bevins offers a brief overview of the politics in Indonesia and the Third World and how there really wasn't any opposition or fear of communism until it was fueled by the U.S. and factions within the Indonesian military. Sukarno was removed from power in a CIA coup and replaced by Suharto. Bevins highlights who each of these figures were and describes the massacres that occurred. Later in the interview, Bevins offers his view on the parallels between the 1960s and now. He comments on the economic warfare that was used against Indonesia, U.S. training of military officers from Indonesia, and the way in which the U.S. media justified the bloodshed that occurred.