Sherron Watkins: Part Two

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner talks to Nikhil Dey, the co-founder of Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan (MKSS), a workers and peasant empowerment organization based in Rajasthan, India. 

MKSS has led transparency and anti-corruption movements across India, including for the Right to Information, minimum wage, protection for gig workers, and more. MKSS pioneered the practice of public audits, in which local officials report to communities how and where they spend the resources, giving citizens the chance to hold officials accountable.

Dey has been recognized for his grassroots activism, most recently being named one of 11 worldwide Anti-Corruption Champions by the U.S. Department of State.

In this episode, Turner and Dey discuss the nexus between whistleblowing and anti-corruption efforts. They also talk about the general state of whistleblower protections in India

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

 In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, host Jane Turner talks to Dr. Jeremiah P. Johnson, founder and director of the Lamplighter Project. Dr. Johnson recognized a need to support law enforcement whistleblowers who reported criminal misconduct in 2016 from experience in his own police department.   

Jeremiah has served in various sworn and civilian roles across the criminal justice system, including policing, sentencing, and corrections. He began his law enforcement career in 2002 as a patrol officer for a Connecticut municipality, progressing to operational, administrative, and investigative roles. In 2021, Jeremiah was appointed to serve on the Connecticut Sentencing Commission. He currently works as an executive for an extensive city jail system.   

Jeremiah has a decade of teaching experience, delivering undergraduate and graduate courses at several institutions of higher learning. He holds a BA in Sociology from Geneva College, an MS in Justice Administration from Western Connecticut State University, an MA in Criminal Justice from John Jay College, and a PhD in Criminal Justice from the City University of New York Graduate Center.  

Listen to their discussion about his experience in law enforcement and reporting internal criminal misconduct, the culture of reporting, and how his organization is working to support individuals and change the industry for the better

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week, Jane speaks with online disinformation specialist Dr. Joan Donovan, the former Technology and Social Change Research Project Director at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center.

Dr. Donovan blew the whistle on alleged improper donor influence at the Kennedy
School. She claims Harvard officials took cues and acted on behalf of Meta’s
interest while questioning her research methodologies, specifically regarding
Facebook.

In this week’s podcast, Joan tells Turner, “I wasn’t going to just sit there and
let this happen around me. I wasn’t going to say, ‘If you don’t want me to
research Facebook, I’ll just turn my eye onto something else,’ and I probably
could have, and the heat probably would have died down. But, because I kept the
pan hot, I got thrown into it.”

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, FBI whistleblower Jane Turner speaks with Ottawa police whistleblower Constable Kimberly Cadarette, who faced retaliation for reporting sexual harassment within the Ottawa Police Department. 

Turner and Cadarette discuss their shared experience as female law enforcement whistleblowers and the sinister way “Fitness for Duty” exams were leveraged against them in retaliation for whistleblowing. 

Cadarette’s story of retaliation, including a psychologist who claimed to have not been present for her Fitness for Duty exam, is a must hear.

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

Happy Holidays and A Happy New Year from the Whistleblower of the Week Team! 

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, FBI whistleblower Jane
Turner speaks with South African whistleblower Patrick Maduna and
whistleblower advocate John Clarke. Turner, Maduna and Clarke discuss Patrick’s whistleblowing: he blew the whistle on alleged financial mismanagement and fraud at his former employer Lociware, alleging that the company is a Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) front for dubious business dealings.

They also touch on the life-threatening dangers Maduna and his family have
faced since he blew the whistle as well as the advocacy work Clarke is doing to
help South African whistleblowers like Maduna.

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, FBI whistleblower Jane Turner speaks with law enforcement whistleblower Austin Handle, a former police officer in Georgia and the Vice-Chair of the Board of the Lamplighter Project.

Handle provides updates on his whistleblower retaliation case since Turner profiled him for Whistleblower of the Week back in 2020. Handle and Turner also discuss the establishment of the Lamplighter Project, which provides support to law enforcement whistleblowers.

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

This week, WOW Host Jane Turner speaks with Ted Blickwedel. Blickwedel is a Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and combat veteran who became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker after retiring. He blew the whistle on the VA’s productivity policies that put pressure on counselors who treat combat veterans. Blickwedel asserted the VA’s policies were harmful to counselors and compromised the quality of care for veterans. He describes his whistleblower journey and a blueprint for fellow whistleblowers to use from his lessons learned, which is featured in his book Broken Promises: Marine Combat Veteran Turns Whistleblower Exposing Compromised Mental Health Care at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, FBI whistleblower Jane
Turner continues her conversation with Ashley Gjøvik. A former senior
engineering program manager at Apple, Gjøvik was fired from the tech giant after
raising a series of concerns including environmental concerns, violations of
employee privacy, harassment, and retaliation.

In this second part of a two-part podcast, Gjøvik and Turner discuss the ideals of
whistleblowing as well as a deeply researched piece on whistleblowing she wrote
for Covert Action Magazine.

If you missed it, check out part 1 of this conversation!

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this special episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, FBI whistleblower Jane Turner records from Washington D.C., where she is in town to celebrate National Whistleblower Day on Capitol Hill.

Turner is joined by Whistleblower of the Week producer Victoria Thompson to discuss the Revolutionary War origins of National Whistleblower Day, the past decade of Senate National Whistleblower Day resolutions, and inspiring whistleblower stories.

“National Whistleblower Day is a time that allows whistleblowers and advocates to get together and share their journeys and experiences, learn new facts, and set the agenda for the future,” Jane explains.

Support the National Whistleblower Center  

Join the Campaign to Make National Whistleblower Day Permanent 

Read Rules for Whistleblowers to learn the complete history behind National Whistleblower Day

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!

In this episode of the Whistleblower of the Week podcast, FBI whistleblower Jane
Turner talks with Ashley Gjøvik. A former senior engineering program manager at
Apple, Gjøvik was fired from the tech giant after raising a series of concerns
including environmental concerns, violations of employee privacy, harassment,
and retaliation.
In this first part of two-part podcast, Gjøvik recounts the story of how she blew
the whistle on Apple’s mishandling of an office complex built on a Superfund
site. Gjøvik discusses how her initial whistleblowing led to a long series of
retaliation and harassment.

Listen to the podcast on WNN or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or Amazon. Subscribe on your favorite platform!