Whistleblowers
This podcast episode features Government Accountability Project’s Legal Director, Tom Devine, and was originally published here.
This week’s program focuses on whistleblowers — their contributions to society, the retaliation they often endure, and the legal protections they need. Mickey’s guests for the hour include Tom Devine, legal director for the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit organization that supports whistleblowers, and three historic whistleblowers who dared speak truth to power. We learn about the dangers and abuses these three men exposed over the past half century, and what reforms are needed to defend individuals who take the risks of becoming whistleblowers, and the journalists who help bring their stories to the public.
Notes:
Tom Devine is Legal Director at the nonprofit Government Accountability Project. Frank Serpico is a retired NYPD detective who became a household name after exposing widespread corruption within the department. His story was the subject of the 1973 Hollywood movie “Serpico.” Rick Parks is a nuclear engineer who worked at the damaged Three Mile Island power plant in 1980, and has spoken out about management’s and regulators’ failures to prioritize safety above utility profits. He is featured on the new Netlix docu-series “Meltdown: Three Mile Island” Robert MacLean was fired from the Transportation Security Administration after criticizing dangerous shortcomings in airline security procedures after 9/11.
A National Whistleblower Summit will take place in July; more information can be found here.