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Disclosure

Disclosure

By: Bloomberg
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How did Russian pranksters trick a top government official? What happens to documents flushed down White House toilets? The answers exist. The trick is getting the government to disclose them.

By law, nearly every move federal agencies make—every email, every memo, every receipt—belongs to the public. The key to gaining access is the Freedom of Information Act. It’s the tool that forces the government to open its files…though rarely without a fight.

From Bloomberg & No Smiling, Disclosure is a podcast about cracking open those secrets. Join FOIA reporter Jason Leopold and First Amendment attorney Matt Topic for a guided tour of explosive details, bureaucratic foibles and details that powerful people never wanted you to know. For access to episodes on Apple early and ad-free, subscribe at www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts.

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Episodes
  • Asking the FBI to Release the Santa Files

    Asking the FBI to Release the Santa Files
    Dec 16 2025

    One Christmas, Matt dashed off a letter to the FBI’s FOIA office: Please search your old investigation files for the name Santa Claus, he requested, and send me the first few pages you find. What a simple holiday wish taught us about one agency’s spirit of giving.

    The Disclosure podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, iHeart or wherever you get your podcasts. For early and ad-free access to episodes, subscribe at www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    38 mins
  • These Federal Officers Wield the Power of Transparency

    These Federal Officers Wield the Power of Transparency
    Dec 9 2025

    Ask the US government for public records, and your request will go to a federal employee who holds the keys to what gets released and what doesn’t. Jason and Matt get a rare look inside a government Freedom of Information Act operation from Michael Sarich, who worked his way up from a FOIA post at the Bureau of Land Management to FOIA director at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this episode, they discuss weird requests, big backlogs and the latest challenges to government transparency.

    For early and ad-free access to this episode on Apple, subscribe at www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts.



    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    49 mins
  • What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Epstein Files

    What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Epstein Files
    Dec 2 2025

    The new Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the government to release a trove of documents from its Jeffrey Epstein investigations – minus whatever documents the Justice Department determines need to be withheld from the public. Jason and Matt dig into the FBI’s massive review of the Epstein files earlier this year, unearth an inventory of the government’s Epstein records and explore an alternate way the files could go public -- via a long-running, under-the-radar court battle.

    For early and ad-free access to this episode on Apple, subscribe at www.bloomberg.com/subscriptions/podcasts.



    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
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