John Kiriakou's Dead Drop

S2E18 Whistleblower's Roundtable with Tom Drake

September 14, 2026·1h 32m
Episode Description from the Publisher

IN THIS EPISODE We draw the curtain on season 2 with a preview of season 3 wherein we'll ask "What Makes A Whistleblower Tick?" To get us kicked off, John roundtables with whistleblower Tom Drake. A longtime member of America's intelligence community, Tom had just become an official at NSA when 9-11 happened - literally on Tom's first day. But, as America's "War On Terror" ramped up, Tom noticed NSA was gathering intelligence that it shouldn't - information pertaining to American citizens. NSA doing that was both outside its charter and flat out illegal. Tom chose to go through authorized channels to report what he saw. When, a decade later, the problem was still a problem, Tom finally took what he knew to the news media. What makes a whistleblower tick? Judging by Tom Drake - the right stuff.SHOW NOTESIf you're enjoying Dead Drop, please sample our other podcasts at Costard & Touchstone Productions. Your next great podcast obsession is just a click away! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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