‘Disclosure’: A New Podcast About the Fight for Government Records
Each episode of Disclosure will delve into the wild backstories behind some of my FOIA requests, the lawsuits that ensued and the document dumps that made it all worth it. We may even talk punk rock. Cue the music...
FOIA Files is back! Apologies for the radio silence these past couple of weeks. I’ve been knee deep in it and juggling a few reporting projects. One of them is (drumroll please)...a FOIA podcast! It’s called Disclosure, and it’s a series I’m co-hosting with First Amendment attorney Matt Topic about my pursuit of government records. Disclosure delves into the wild backstories behind some of my FOIA requests, the lawsuits that ensued and the document dumps that made it all worth it. The first episode drops next Tuesday. Read on for more details about the show! And be sure to scroll to the bottom for an update about James Comey’s “86 47” Instagram post. If you’re not already getting FOIA Files in your inbox, sign up here.
Years ago, I called Topic to talk about the Freedom of Information Act. I’m not sure exactly what we discussed. It may have been about a recent document score from one of the many FOIA lawsuits he’d filed for me. Or I may have complained about some federal agency that stonewalled my request, denied me a fee waiver or withheld newsworthy records that I needed to pry loose. Whatever the call was about, I was likely animated as we strategized about suing and most definitely psyched as we segued into a conversation about punk rock and thrash metal.