As the futures of whistleblowers like Edward Snowden and Julian Assange hang in the balance, the fate of another has been sealed for 35 years. Chelsea Manning sacrificed it all to leak classified information which exposed some of the most heinous US war crimes from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Manning shattered paradigms yet again by coming out as transgender. In a recent interview from jail, she discusses her legal fight for hormone therapy as a means to help other transgender prisoners to survive. In her first tweet via third party she thanked journalist Alexa O’Brien. And for good reason.

Alexa remains tirelessly dedicated to the Manning case. Since 2012, she’s provided an archive of the only available transcripts of her Manning’s closed trial. Alexa fights not only for whistleblowers, but also to preserve civil liberties. She was one of the plaintiffs on the National Defense Authorization Act lawsuit filed against President Obama, led by Chris Hedges, and was foundational in the US Day of Rage, the initial Occupy Wall Street organizing group.

On this edition of Media Roots Radio, Abby and Robbie Martin speak to Alexa about Manning’s exposures, the ongoing erosion of civil liberties and her research into the conjoining of entertainment, tech and military industries.

If you want to directly download the podcast, click the down arrow icon on the right of the soundcloud display.

This Media Roots podcast is the product of many long hours of hard work and love. If you want to encourage our voice, please consider supporting us as we continue to speak from outside party lines. Even the smallest donations help us with operating costs.

Listen to all previous episodes of Media Roots Radio here.

Follow Abby @abbymartin, Robbie @fluorescentgrey & Alexa @carwinb

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Despite bizarre allegations that Freddie Gray killed himself by those trying to justify abominable police brutality, a medical examiner’s report officially ruled Gray’s death a homicide.

After more than two weeks of sitting idly while the city erupted into protest, Baltimore’s chief prosecutor charged six officers with crimes including murder and manslaughter.

The arrests are likely due to enormous community pressure, as largely peaceful crowds continue to swell and solidarity marches spark up across the country.

Robbie and Abby Martin discuss the Baltimore Uprising and murder of Freddie Gray on Media Roots Radio: institutionalized racism abetting pockets of mutiny; rampant police unaccountability; the convoluted narrative of the war in Syria; huckster Liz Wahl’s insane testimony to Congress about Russia “weaponizing” information.

If you want to directly download the podcast, click the down arrow icon on the right of the soundcloud display.

This Media Roots podcast is the product of many long hours of hard work and love. If you want to encourage our voice, please consider supporting us as we continue to speak from outside party lines. Even the smallest donations help us with operating costs.

Listen to all previous episodes of Media Roots Radio here.

Follow Abby @abbymartin & Robbie @fluorescentgrey

Photo by bydvnlln

Those that have been paying attention to the war hawks in DC know about the Foreign Policy Initiative (FPI), a neocon think tank that rose out of the ashes of infamous Project for a New American Century (PNAC).

When Abby was placed in the crosshairs of war mongers last year during the Ukraine incursion, Media Roots was repelled by the dark world of groups that help shape foreign policy yet are completely removed from the electoral process.

Intrepid journalists like Ken Silverstein have been writing about the trend for years. In 2007 Silverstein conducted a groundbreaking investigation into obscure lobbying firms in DC and their role in improving the image of dictatorial regimes in his book Turkmeniscam. He’s since written several important stories about the next generations of neocons who hype up the new Cold War and sensationalize aspects of the War on Terror.

As tensions between the US and Russia escalate further everyday, Silverstein joins Media Roots Radio to give his insight on foreign government lobbying and how news is made in the dark underbelly of DC’s revolving door.

If you want to directly download the podcast, click the down arrow icon on the right of the soundcloud display.

This Media Roots podcast is the product of many long hours of hard work and love. If you want to encourage our voice, please consider supporting us as we continue to speak from outside party lines. Even the smallest donations help us with operating costs.

Listen to all previous episodes of Media Roots Radio here.

Photo by NASA