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Government · Bloomberg

Disclosure

by Bloomberg

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.

Latest episodes

Showing 10 · updated from the feed

Asking the FBI to Release the Santa Files

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

Dec 16 2025
38 min

These Federal Officers Wield the Power of Transparency

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 r

Dec 9 2025
48 min

What to Expect When You’re Expecting the Epstein Files

The new Epstein Files Transparency Act requires the government to release a trove of documents from its Jeffrey Epstein investigations – minus whatever documents the Just

Dec 2 2025
40 min

To Crack Wu-Tang Album's Secrets, FOIA FOIA Y'All (Feat. Open Mike Eagle)

Exclusivity was the point of Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. Only one copy was produced. A few minutes of it were played -- once -- in public. It sold at auct

Nov 25 2025
35 min

Waiting for Doge

Earlier this year, newly minted young workers from the Department of Government Efficiency slashed USAID spending and hobbled the US Institute of Peace. Meanwhile, at the

Nov 18 2025
43 min

Our Deep Dive for White House Records Starts in the Toilet

In August 2022, on the day the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago to recover files from Donald Trump's first term, another allegation was swirling around – that presidential papers ma

Nov 11 2025
43 min

A Jeffrey Epstein Money Probe Stayed Hidden for 17 Years. We Found It.

How did Jeffrey Epstein make his money? How did he spend it? In exclusive reporting, Jason Leopold reveals that federal prosecutors followed Epstein’s money trail almost

Nov 4 2025
34 min

Getting the Real Russia Report (feat. Kyle Kinane)

When Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on the investigation into Russian election interference finally landed, many key passages were redacted from public view. So

Oct 28 2025
34 min

How Russian Tricksters Duped the US Fed Chief (feat. Josh Gondelman, Katherine Blanford and Adam Gilbert)

One morning in April 2023, investigative reporter Jason Leopold wakes to a wild bit of news. According to a video released by a duo of Russian pranksters, Federal Reserve

Oct 28 2025
40 min

Introducing: Disclosure

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Oct 21 2025
1 min

What listeners say

A curated, balanced selection of Apple Podcasts reviews.

If there was ever the right time for this podcast, it’s right now. Disclosure is not only fun and entertaining but well-researched and informative. It draws back the curtain on one of the ways journalists hold our government responsible and accountable and reminds us that the government works for us, the people. In a time that values a quick story rather than a well-researched one, Disclosure manages to do both.

LWoods224 · Nov 2025

This podcast is an incredible window into the world of FOIA and the work that requesters go through in order to get what the law requires. 10/10 highly recommend!

Maryland Mike 51 · Oct 2025

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