War Lies, Watchdogs, and Whistleblowers

In Episode 2, hosts Walt Shaub and Virginia Heffernan explore a troubling truth: the government lies, particularly when it comes to war. The government has repeatedly misled the American people to justify starting or staying in a military conflict, leaving whistleblowers and watchdogs the dangerous task of exposing the truth.

Military expert Mandy Smithberger recounts how manipulation of intelligence information sent us to war in the Middle East, and activist Ben Cohen talks about the need for consequences when government officials lie us into war. The cohosts speak with John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, about the systemic pressures that led officials to exaggerate success and conceal failures, and he talks about the vital role whistleblowers play.

The episode also features reflections from Ron Ridenhour, who exposed the My Lai massacre and combatted a massive government coverup. His words drive home just how crucial whistleblowers are — and how hard it is for them to tell the truth. Finally, Walt explains what we can do to better encourage whistleblowers to come forward and protect them from retaliation.

The Continuous Action is sponsored by The Project On Government Oversight. Stay tuned on the latest from POGO: pogo.org/subscribe

For show notes, visit: pogo.org/series-collections/the-continuous-action/

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