83: Dirty Water, Wikileaks, and Anthrax?! Would You Die For Your Country? | Dark History with Bailey Sarian
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This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory.

Hi friends, I hope you're having a wonderful day today. My name is Bailey Sarian and I'd like to welcome you to my study and to my podcast, Dark History. This is a chance to tell a story like it is and to share the history of stuff we would never think about. So all you have to do is sit back, relax, and let's talk about that hot, juicy history gus. Okay, so my friend told me this story and it was...

Wild, juicy, so many ups and downs. But like, I don't want to start any drama, but of course I was like, I have to share. Because it's kind of like, you know, related to the topic I want to discuss today. So my friend, let's call her Barbara. She was working at the small company and she was super tight with her team, including her boss.

I mean, everyone knew everyone's friends and everyone knew everyone's partners. Well, one day Barbara was just going out and about just going to grab some food on her lunch break. And she saw, get this, her boss's husband making out with another woman.

I mean, a little tongue and everything, okay? I mean, it was like they were being sloppy because they were out just in public like they didn't even care. So my friend, the one who was seeing this all go down, she said she wasn't shocked because, I don't know, she's always got a bad vibe from her boss's husband.

Anyway, Barbara was like, oh my God, don't even look at me. Like she's trying to hide her face. And then she got the hell out of there before her boss's husband saw her. So in her mind, she's trying to justify it. Like, oh, you know, maybe her boss actually knows. Maybe it was his grandma. Like, I don't really know the whole details, you know? But what she did know was that they were not in an open relationship.

the boss and her husband were definitely together. So Barbara, I don't know, she marched her ass back into the office and spent the rest of her lunch break eating like six bags of sun chips. And she was trying to figure out like, what the hell do I do now? She wanted to tell her boss, but at the same time, she was worried. I mean, her boss may potentially take it as a power play. I mean, is that something you would want to even hear from an employee? And of course, on top of all of

that she was worried she'd lose her job or even just create tension at the workplace. But she ends up telling her boss. Ooh, bold! And I guess her boss in return was like, which is a very straight face, was like, "Thank you for telling me, Barbara." And then that was it. I mean,

Her boss didn't fire her, but she said that things were definitely weird between them afterwards. And it just kind of made the relationship with the rest of the team a little weird as well. It also ruined that very relaxed work environment that Barbara liked at the office. It ruined it so much that she actually eventually quit working.

And then in return, she was like, "I wish I never even told my boss." Very mixed opinions on this one, right? I mean, I don't know. What's the right thing to do here? But in the end, should Barbara even be punished for telling the truth? I don't know. Well, this got me thinking about people who do this, but on a way more serious level. Like no disrespect to Barbara. What she found was very juicy and interesting. But this is like serious where I'm talking about actual like whistleblowers.

In my experience, the word whistleblower gets people like all hot and bothered and on a good way. I mean, everyone's got like all types of different opinions on them. So naturally I was like, why? What's the deal? Well, the definition of whistleblowing is essentially sounding the alarm when you think a person or people in power are doing shady stuff, especially if it's criminal.

Simply put, if you see something, say something. I mean, it sounds pretty simple, right? Well, today we're talking about more recent and shocking whistleblower stories that may have changed the course of history. From secret wars to chemical attacks on Americans to a housewife who probably saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives. Whistleblowers, are they American heroes or American traitors?

It's a hot debate. Joan here is dressed up as her whistleblower. You look so good, Joan. She got a new costume designer. It's just...

That's where all her budget's going. Her outfits. Anyways, we love a theme. We love a theme. There are some definitely more famous or maybe let's say more successful whistleblowers. There is one man named Mark Felt, but he is better known to the world as Deep Throat. Now this has nothing to do with that famous movie we mentioned in the porn episode.

Deep Throat was the code name of the guy who blew the whistle on all the shady stuff President Nixon was doing. Yeah, him. Which, side note, but could you imagine getting that code name? They couldn't pick anything else. Deep Throat?

Anyway, there's no Watergate without Deep Throat. Then we have Linda Tripp. You know, the woman who snitched on Monica Lewinsky and President Clinton? Oh yeah, and then Harry Markopoulos? He blew the whistle on that illegal stuff the Ponzi scheme guy Bernie Madoff was doing. But blowing that whistle in America goes all the way back to the start of our country.

The first American whistleblower was actually from 1777, but it wasn't until the 1800s that whistleblowing became like the good American thing to do. Now America, she was, you know, she was struggling a little bit during the Civil War and she could not afford to hire enough people to help out. So the military needed tons of stuff.

and that means it also needed a ton of people to manage where they were getting that stuff from. So I'm talking about like food, weapons, and even military uniforms. But during the Civil War, I mean, something wild happened. These soldiers, they get their new uniforms shipped to them. So they put them on like, yeah, new uniforms.

Yeah. And they're high-fiving. And then they head out to battle. And then it's like time to go. So they're racing towards the enemy. But it actually starts to rain that day, which is not a big deal. Except that the rain actually started to dissolve their uniforms. Yes, they were falling apart. They were like melting apart.

They were not Hugo Boss quality, that's for sure. So yes, very big problem. Companies at this time had no quality control, so things were just really like flying under the radar. There were even fake contractors who sold bullets that were made of sawdust.

to soldiers. So the government decides, um, maybe they need some watchdogs like that are on their side and people aren't getting scammed. The year 1863 rolls around and then the government, they pass something known as the Lincoln Law. So the government wanted more people to get involved in keeping these military contractors in check. People were encouraged to do it because it was the good American thing to do.

but also because, and more importantly, they could get a really nice little payday from doing it. So how it worked was like, okay, let's say someone blows the whistle saying a company is selling the government cantaloupes that were painted like cannonballs. You know, great scheme. The government would sue them. And if they won a million dollars in damages, you, the whistleblower, would get to take home half of that. That's a good deal. So you would get like

A great $500,000 for calling out a company who was doing something shady. Hello? People were like, where do I sign up? So early on, the United States government was very supportive of whistleblowers. I mean, they were important. And they saw it as like a way to protect the nation. And it sounds so like sweet and wholesome. Unlike today, though, being a whistleblower is like having a scarlet letter just...

Maybe a W instead, just sewn right onto your shirt. And it's definitely like not as straightforward as it was back in the 1800s. We always tend to overcomplicate things, don't we? Not every whistleblower needs to be some like Washington DC insider with high level classified intel. I mean, we'll get that in today's story. But what I'm saying is that whistleblowers can come in all different shapes and sizes and

Yeah, sometimes the most effective examples are the ones that people in power totally overlook. Someone who was simply caught up in a scandal saw something and then said something. Like our first example of a whistleblower, Leanne. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance. It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts.

discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory. History. History.

So once upon a time in a city called Flint, Michigan, things were fantastic. In the mid-1900s, it was like a place where people worked building cars for General Motors. So families raised their kids there and the quality of life was just overall great. But over the years, as more car factories moved overseas, the town started to go downhill. The population was cut in half, homes were abandoned, and crime was spreading everywhere.

By 2011, the city was looking at the numbers and they realized that they were $25 million in debt. So Flint's like, do we need to fix our budget? Because, um...

We're in a lot of debt. All right. So the governor ends up stepping in and he knew that Flint was getting their water from another city nearby, Detroit. But they could save a lot of money if they just got their water from their own river instead. So in 2014, Flint switched their water supply to save money. It was like, oh, yeah, problem solved. We did it.

But in the end, it was actually a really bad move. Almost right away, Flint residents started complaining that all the water from their taps were just a little weird. It had a funky taste. Some of their people's water legit just looked brown. Others said that the water looked like dark cooking grease, kind of like bacon grease. It smelled bad. Everyone living in this town was like, hello, people should probably fix this. But...

Nobody was. That's when Leanne Walters steps up and decides to sound the alarm. Leanne, who lived in Flint for decades, was a medical assistant before becoming a stay-at-home mom with four kids. She had always been known by friends as being a very curious, persistent, and smart woman. I mean, if it was the 1700s, they probably would have called her a witch.

but we're not in the 1700s. So when her water first started to turn brown, I mean, she believed the Flint government when they said like, "Hey, you guys, don't freak out. It's a filtration problem. It'll be fixed in a few days."

You know, but a few days came and went, and the water just got worse. Leanne started to notice an unusual rash that was like forming on her kids. Then Leanne's own hair started falling out in the shower. And not only that, her eyelashes started to fall out. Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm. Mm-mm.

Now on top of all of that, everybody in the house had horrible stomach pains constantly. And it wasn't just Leanne's family. After going door to door, she found out that other people had fevers over 104 degrees and even scarier things were happening. Some people were straight up going blind for what seemed to be no reason. And on top of that, people were starting to get diagnosed with cancer.

So Leanne is starting to realize something they all have in common: the weird water. Hello? And no matter how many people complained about the water, again, nobody was doing anything about it. The city officials continued to ignore it and said the brown water was fine to drink. Yeah. Sometimes they would even say that it was just a problem with Leanne's pipes in her own house. You know.

Great. Well, by January 2015, there were protests outside of City Hall. And at this point, Leanne activates her powers as an educated medical assistant to get to the bottom of, you know, what was going on on her own. She's like, shoot, no one else is going to do it. I'll do it. Shit.

So she would spend the next few months going through a bunch of different documents about the Flint water system. This is when she found out that Flint was in major debt and the government decided to cut corners and save money by serving their residents cancer water. Hmm. What? Huh? Yeah. So I know, like, why are there cancer chemicals in the Flint water in the first place?

Well, the whole problem with the Flint water was that it was where all of Flint's car companies dumped their chemical wastes. It was essentially the city's trash can. Unfortunately, very sadly, yeah. And then it was discovered that there was lead in the water. Yeah.

So there's a bit of a problem. And like, look, little fun fact that less than a grain of sand worth of lead is enough to kill a person. Yeah. It's even poisonous to touch. Too much lead can lead to heart and brain diseases, mental health issues, hearing loss, etc.

behavioral problems, high blood pressure, and reduced fertility. And then of course, death. So they found out that the lead in the Flint water was 800 times the legal limit, which officially classified the water as toxic waste.

So they're legit drinking toxic waste. You understand? You got that. So this news comes out and everyone in Flint is like, what the what? Like, what would you do? I don't know. I would be pissed. Now, this didn't just apply to the water that was coming out of the faucets. It wasn't just like the drinking water. I mean, you couldn't shower. You couldn't do laundry, make spaghetti one night on spaghetti night. You couldn't go out to eat because most likely they're using the same water you are.

Coffee, baby formula, ice. Oh, you know what? You know, like everything was bad. But the residents in Flint, I mean, they were like, hello, we still have to live. So they had to figure out how to deal with all this. People started literally bathing their children with bottled water. Because of how many water bottles were being used just to bathe, residents would line up by the hundreds outside of churches for bottled water deliveries.

This was the new reality for the residents of Flint. I mean, it was just getting ridiculous. And it wasn't long before it started to get national attention. Now, after Leanne sounded the alarm, it wasn't like, yay, the water's fixed, yay, you know? There was still a lot more work that needed to be done, but she did get

the ball rolling and made a ton of noise. And soon the name of Flint, Michigan was all over the news. And then the whole issue got a big ass boost from some big names like Cher and Snoop Dogg. A-listers started tweeting about it and soon the entire country was talking about this crisis. And everybody wanted to know like, how the hell could something like this happen? And who was responsible? Well, it didn't take long for them to realize there was one person to blame. It was literally the governor of Michigan.

That shithead. Apparently, the governor was warned about the dangers of using the toxic Flint River as a water source, and he was warned a whole year before the switch even happened. He would try to ignore the crisis for like as long as possible. He and his cronies even tried to pay off sick people and whistleblowers in Flint to keep their mouths shut. But I mean, just an idea to throw out here. Hey, why don't you use that money to fix the water instead? I know.

But nobody comes to me to solve these mysteries. But in late 2015, the governor caved and switched Flint's water back to its original Detroit water source. I mean, look, it was too late. I mean, the damage at this point had already been done. So...

What happened? By 2020, after thousands of kids were exposed to lead-filled water and a dozen people had already died, some good news, I guess, came to the residents of Flint. Courts ordered the state to replace thousands of bad pipes and ensure Flint had a clean water source with a solid filtration system.

On top of this, the state had to pay $650 million to people affected by the crisis. Now I hope they actually get or see some of the money, damn. But you know, money is great, but it also doesn't erase all the like freaking scary experiences these people went through after drinking toxic water for years. Not to mention all the psychological damage that was done. Leanne Walters, you know, the whistleblower who led a citizens movement,

She was given multiple awards for her role in exposing the Flint water crisis, including something called the Goldman Environmental Prize. Today, she considers herself a clean water advocate, a citizen scientist, and a kick-ass mob.

according to her Twitter. You want to hear like a happy ending, but as always, this is Dark History. Look, in January of this year, 2023, public officials in Flint told residents to go back to using filters on their sinks

because the pipe replacements haven't been finished yet and some of the water is still not safe to drink. It was supposed to be done in 2019. I mean, there could be a possibility that they gave her all those awards to distract everyone from, you know, not totally fixing the problem.

I mean, they could have like sent out an email to everyone, shit. So that's a pretty clear cut example of someone in power abusing that very power and then getting called out. It's almost like a classic David versus Goliath story where after years of pushing and fighting, David comes out on top. But this next story isn't so black and white because what they leaked had to do with what some would say is evidence of the United States military

committing legal murder. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking. Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance.

It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts. Discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner and more.

So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24, 7, 365 days a year. So you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

BetterHelp Online Therapy makes it easy to get started with affordable phone, video, or live chat sessions you can do from anywhere, and the option to message your therapist between sessions if anything comes up. Never skip therapy day with BetterHelp. Visit betterhelp.com slash darkhistory today to get 10% off your first month. That's betterhelp, H-E-L-P dot com slash darkhistory. America's number one meal kit.

May I introduce to you one of the most infamous whistleblowers in American history, Chelsea Manning. Chelsea was born in 1987 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. She was always a very smart kid, just, you know, doing the best in school, getting great grades. She was definitely someone you'd want to sit next to and cheat off of.

You know what I'm saying? And if that wasn't enough, Chelsea was also very smart when it came to computers. She taught herself how to code and program computers and was really just one of those kids you knew how to gift with tech. Anyway, even though Chelsea shined in school,

She had trouble at home. Her parents had struggled with alcoholism for as long as she's known them. Chelsea even recalled one night that shaped the rest of her life. So one evening in the Manning house, it seemed like everything was pretty normal, or as normal as it could be. According to a feature on Chelsea in the New York Times, on this night, everything changed.

Chelsea's sister found their mother unconscious. Next to her was an empty bottle of Valium. And on top of that, all of the pills were swallowed. So they rushed to like call 911 to get help. But the dispatcher said the nearest ambulance was 30 minutes away. So Chelsea and her sister, they realized that they need to get to the hospital fast. And their dad couldn't drive because he was drunk.

So Chelsea's sister is the one having to drive the car just as best as she could. And Chelsea is in the backseat with their unconscious mother, just making sure that she's still breathing. So Chelsea at this time was only 12 years old. And when you're 12 years old, that's an experience that will make you grow up real fast.

which is what happened with Chelsea. With Chelsea, she turned to an online community for support in how to handle all this. As the years go on, her life at home only gets like more chaotic. So by the time she is 17 years old, Chelsea is kicked out of the house and it's

is now completely on her own. Her dad, who was once in the Navy, suggested that Chelsea go, I don't know, maybe she should get a uniform and go serve Uncle Sam. So in 2007, she's like, you know what? Fine, I will. And she enlisted in the military and

And eventually, Chelsea became something called an intelligence analyst. Now, it's worth mentioning that this is just a few years after 9-11, and the U.S. was at war in the Middle East. So, like, there's a lot going on. As the war is heating up in 2009, Chelsea finds herself deployed to a military base in the middle of Iraq.

Now her job every day was to go through files about like what was going on during the war. And then within these documents, it's like stuff where the troops were located, what big targets they were going after, and like what the other side is up to. But just because she wasn't firing a gun on the front lines, I mean, it doesn't mean her days were cushy. The New York Times feature also explained that Chelsea's work setting was anything but normal.

The day for her started at 9:00 PM. I mean, after she climbed out of her bunk and got dressed, she would eat something as fast as possible so she could go do her job. Her quote unquote office was essentially a large wooden box in the middle of a basketball court

like on base. Inside the box, there was a simple chair and computers with like three monitors. The way it was described was kind of like a gaming setup. You know, the gamer chair, the headphones. And while she was working, her job was to analyze mountains of data coming in from the field. So even though she wasn't on the front lines, she had a front row seat to how horrible the war was. Not only did car bombs rattle the windows of the base,

Soldiers would return from the field just covered in dust and blood, just having lived through hell. And as the days went on, Chelsea was getting a very sick feeling in her stomach because a lot of the gruesome things she was seeing seemed to be buried by the military. She said, quote,

End quote. Chelsea was talking about bloody American soldiers and Iraqi civilians laying dead in the street. She started seeing the cost of all of this war. And on TV, it seemed like a, almost like a big budget movie. But in real life, it was like she was living in this place

horrific documentary and it seemed like to her innocent people were getting killed every single day when she was seeing things from iraq and afghanistan that she knew would never make it into the nightly news reports or into newspapers and she felt like american people had a right to know what was actually going on this was chelsea's turning point when she realized like something had to change

So welcome to Chelsea Manning's revenge era. So she started to sort and organize, but also understand the files she was looking at every single day. Chelsea would work behind the scenes, like creating the maps for soldiers who were going on the attack on the front lines. She realized many of the attacks she helped put together would just create a domino effect of violence.

war violence. She felt disturbed by what the American government wanted her to do, and even worse, the fact that they were doing it in secret. So she did what many of us older millennials have done in times of trouble. Burned a CD. Yeah.

Remember burning a CD illegally? Well, she did that. Illegally. And secretly. She transferred all the juicy war reports onto CDs. She even labeled one of the CDs Lady Gaga.

Smart! That's really fun. I like that. So Chelsea went on to leave from service in Iraq, armed with her case of fake Lady Gaga CDs. And also she uploaded a ton of secret documents onto her personal computer. Now what happened next was risky as hell and violated every oath she took when she joined the military. So Chelsea has all this information and she knows that she has to work with someone to get the info out to the people. So she hit up some

big name newspapers like the New York Times and the Washington Post. But for some reason, each one of them were passing. They were like, "No, we're good." And it must have been extremely frustrating for Chelsea because she was like the direct source. She had some serious receipts, but the claims that she was making was nothing like anyone had ever seen before.

So no one seemed to believe her. She decided to turn to a news source that can only be described as controversial. Honestly, not the best look. I mean, it was making her look a little bit questionable too, but Chelsea wanted to get the truth out there. So she sent over the documents to WikiLeaks. Hmm?

Before all this, Wikileaks was a quiet website that wanted to air the world's dirty laundry. But once Chelsea gave them all their data, Wikileaks became a household name overnight, and its founder, Julian Assange, became a global celebrity. I mean, loved by many, but hated by even more. So this was definitely the perfect platform for Chelsea, because they would just broadcast

all of her receipts. And they sure did, okay? They broadcasted all of the documents and it set the world on fire. Now I know you're dying to know, like, what did Chelsea have to say? What did she leak? Well, it wasn't just one thing. It was a truckload of

of damning information against the American military. I mean, she leaked documents about the U.S. not investigating hundreds of reports of abuse, torture, and rape by the Iraqi police. And then there were secret missions about hunting down terrorists that the Pentagon wanted to fly under the radar. So all of it already pretty bad, but the leak that really sealed the deal had to do with something called collateral murder. What?

Sounds juicy. On February 3rd, 2010, WikiLeaks published Chelsea's Receipts. And one specific video left viewers completely shook. The video was uploaded under the title Collateral Murder.

And it showed secret footage filmed from an American military helicopter. At first, it looks like a normal mission, but then it takes a dark turn. The soldiers on the helicopter, they start by asking for permission to shoot at some targets. Not just any targets, it was like human targets. And the helicopter gun begins spraying bullets towards the ground, killing everyone they can.

During all of this, the pilots of the helicopter are heard laughing and treating this as like a fun game. But when the bullets stopped flying, about a dozen people were dead. Among the dead, there were several civilians and two journalists. And unfortunately, that was just the tip of the iceberg. Chelsea shared over 750,000 documents to WikiLeaks. And it wasn't just about American troops and drones.

It also had a bunch of confidential information about secret alliances between countries, secret wars happening, and the names of many spies all around the world. And not everyone's name was protected. I mean, some people's full names did get published, putting their jobs and their lives in the line of danger. Now, some people came out clapping for Chelsea, being so transparent, like, wow, yeah, on

On the other hand, she was now not just a threat to the U.S. Army, but a threat to national security. She was target number one around the world because she didn't just leak secrets about the United States. She leaked stuff about things happening all around the world. And people wanted to silence this. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

Yep, while you're listening to me talk, you're probably also driving, cleaning, exercising, or maybe even grocery shopping. But if you're not in some kind of moving vehicle, there's something else you could be doing right now. Getting an auto quote from Progressive Insurance. It's easy and you can save money by doing it from your phone. Drivers who save by switching to Progressive save nearly $750 on average. And auto customers qualify for an average of seven discounts.

discounts for having multiple vehicles on your policy, being a homeowner, and more. So just like your favorite podcast, Progressive will be with you 24-7, 365 days a year, so you're protected no matter what. Multitask right now. Quote your car insurance at Progressive.com to join the over 28 million drivers who trust Progressive.

Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates. National average 12-month savings of $744 by new customer survey who saved with Progressive between June 2022 and May 2023. Potential savings will vary. Discounts not available in all states and situations. This is an ad by BetterHelp. What are your self-care non-negotiables? The things you know make you feel better even when it's impossible to make time for them.

Like that workout you try to squeeze in between kids' activities, work, and everything else you have going on, and before you know it, it gets pushed to tomorrow. Sound familiar? But it's the moments when you feel like you have no time for yourself when those non-negotiables are more important than ever. Those are the things that keep you strong, healthy, motivated, and prepared to take on everything life demands of you. So why not make therapy one of them?

Now let's get back to the story.

In the wake of all this, people were like, what the hell is going on with the government? And what is really going on with the war? The documents, and especially the video, made people really doubt authority and caused some chaos. On top of that, the soldiers featured in the drone video were being accused of trying to cover up shady stuff that they had done. Chelsea shared a lot of international documents that showed upper-level corruption in other countries' governments.

Her leaks indirectly led to a bunch of uprisings against dictatorships called the Arab Spring, which led to the death of tens of thousands of people. Pretty soon after the leak, someone ratted on Chelsea to the army. She was arrested and charged with over two dozen charges, but the worst happened.

charge of all, aiding the enemy. She spent several years in prison under rough conditions. I mean, they weren't going to be nice to her after everything she exposed about them. She also spent almost a year in solitary confinement, where she was regularly stripped naked and forced into sleep deprivation. For what, you know? Even some of the higher-up officials in the government called her treatment in prison cruel, inhumane, and degrading.

But nobody did anything about it. On top of that, Chelsea's personal life was being ripped to shreds by the media as if her personal life had anything to do with her time in the military. Almost like they were trying to create one big distraction from what everything Chelsea exposed. I mean, if you think about it, I mean, if your personal life is aired nationally, this is probably, you know, a distraction because you might be onto something.

Eventually, Chelsea was not charged with more serious convictions like aiding the enemy, but she did plead guilty to a few of the lesser charges, like leaking secret information. After spending years in prison, she was pardoned, and now she could live life as a free woman. Today, she spends her time as a political activist, a security consultant in the tech industry, and she even put out a memoir.

Good for you, girl. Life after whistleblowing has been challenging for Chelsea. I mean, being a whistleblower now seems totally different than it did in the beginning. She did not get any reward money. She spent seven long-ass years in prison. And even though a lot of people treated her like a hero...

A lot of people really hated her. I mean, still today, really hate her. But because of her actions, more whistleblower protections were put into place. Now, if you want to leak documents, many newspapers, like the New York Times, have these things called secure drops.

so you can anonymously, you know, do so. Ever since Chelsea dropped all those documents, there has never been a leak that big. But Chelsea changed the way people exposed bombshell reports about the government forever, and I think even inspired a few others to blow the whistle themselves. Now this next story is controversial.

But, I don't know, kind of interesting to discuss. And if you've seen that documentary, Enemies of the State, like I did, which actually inspired me to do this story because I was like, what? You'll know why. So this story isn't as clear cut as the other ones we've mentioned. Leanne, for example, was an everyday citizen who saw something and said something. She reported to her representatives. She followed a direct chain of command.

and there was a tangible upside to her work having clean water. Chelsea's story was a little bit more complicated because she stole government property, but she was keeping those receipts and she reported what she found to the news. But for this next story, this can only be described as the dark side of whistleblowing. I mean, I was all in when I heard this story, but then as you get deeper, you realize that not all whistleblowers are blowing the same whistle.

This next story is all about how whistleblowing can go very wrong. Now, along with that documentary I mentioned, reports from Newsweek and Mother Jones were very helpful in piecing together Matt DeHart's shocking story. So this Matt guy, he was born in 1984 in Maryland.

And Matt came from like a very conservative Christian family. And his family was very involved in the military. I mean, his grandparents and even his own parents had all been in the military. Matt did not do very well in school. I mean, he didn't really fit in.

He didn't get the best grades. And he even made comments once about bombing his middle school. And then he had to go to court for that. Matt's parents took him to the doctor, where he would then be diagnosed with depression and ADHD. During his senior year, Matt got in trouble once again. So his parents decided to move him to homeschooling.

The family then moved states and even after Matt graduated, he couldn't keep a job and would eventually drop out of college. It was said during this time that he struggled big time with depression. So these years, he's just sitting alone at his computer and that's where Matt became more and more involved in the online community.

a community called hacktivists. Now, hacktivists are computer hackers who call themselves activists. And they leak, like Chelsea, they leak documents for the sake of doing what they consider to be the right thing. Matt spent his early 20s at home just really getting into the whole hacker scene. He decided enough was enough. And in 2008, he followed in his daddy's footsteps to join the military, more specifically, the U.S. Air National Guard.

Once Matt was stationed in Indiana, he became an intelligence analyst. He said one of his jobs was to study video footage of different drone strikes, and he was in charge of detailing the damage and counting the dead bodies. It seemed like every day there were more and more civilians being killed, and Matt was feeling guilty about his part in the war. So Matt wanted to share the horrors of what was happening.

He knew that he had to be careful and cover his tracks because yeah, everything he was sharing was super classified. He first started on 4chan, which some of you may have heard of, but this is an online community of people that always seem, let's say, very upset.

Very upset. Lots of angry people were on there. But yeah, Matt started to build a community on 4chan and decided they needed somewhere more private to talk. So he creates a secret server on the dark web. Ooh, spooky.

And Matt encourages everyone on the server to use it as a dumping ground for any interesting information, especially if it's about the government trying to cover something up. Around this time, Matt is actually discharged from the army because of his depression, which is interesting timing. But we don't know exactly whether this was because Matt reported his depression or if they had like to submit him to have an exam or

But what we do know is that he was honorably discharged, which probably wouldn't have been the case if his bosses knew about his secret online burn book.

But when all this happens, I mean, he's pretty bummed. He comes home. I mean, he's feeling like a total disappointment. Matt ends up moving back in with his parents. And according to a report, he gets even deeper into his secret server rabbit hole. And this is where he starts to get into some pretty wild claims. Do you guys remember after 9-11, there was that white powder stuff going around? Someone apparently was sending it to senators and people in power.

Your grandpa, I don't know. There was a big anthrax scare. And we talked about it in our postal service episode, but anthrax is essentially a powder poison. And these anonymous letters that were filled with anthrax scared the hell out of America.

They thought the terrorists were at it once again. But according to Matt, he sees that someone dropped some very interesting information on his server. Matt said he saw info that linked the CIA to Anthrax, which was at this point responsible for killing five people in 2001. And Matt is like, oh shit. And he's connecting the dots like crazy.

hmm, this actually kind of makes sense. So he digs deeper and hopes to understand better as to like what this is all about. Then one day, his front door is kicked in. That's when Matt realizes that he's the center of an FBI investigation. So a whole bunch of FBI agents come storming into the house and raid the DeHart home. Matt sees his prized possession, his computer with all of those secrets in it.

just snatched right up by the FBI and taken as evidence. For obvious reasons, Matt's like, oh shit. In addition to whatever government secrets Matt did or did not have on his computer, what he did have was child abuse.

pornography. Yeah, yeah. So it turns out that Matt had been soliciting dick pictures and naughty videos from teenagers before he even went to the army. So yeah, you can call that a bit of a major detail. And now this is the- This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Most of you listening right now are probably multitasking.

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Matt was awaiting trial in jail on his child pornography possession charges. He was actually in there for about 21 months. And Matt says while he was in there, he was drugged, tortured, and questioned by the FBI. And when I heard this, I was like, hmm.

I don't know of any stories where the FBI drugged and tortured someone accused of just like child pornography. I mean, yes, horrible crime, but seems kind of extreme, even for them. Almost as if Matt had something that made the government look bad. But what do I know? I don't know. It's just reading theories and stuff.

Eventually, Matt does get out on bail, and the second he takes freedom, I mean, he's like, I gotta get the hell out of America. So Matt was convinced that the FBI was the one who planted the child pornography on his hard drive because they wanted to distract from the anthrax information he had. Now, nobody knows who came up with this plan exactly, but Matt and his parents decide to pack into the family car, hit the road, and head for Canada.

Now, they actually made it over the border and into the country. And while in Canada, Matt went to the immigration authorities and requested asylum. He kept saying that he was drugged and tortured by the Americans because of the information he had. And he was really looking for protection. But the Canadians either weren't buying it or they just did not want to get involved. Either way, they ended up

tossing Matt in jail, and he was then handed over to the FBI and taken back to the States. Matt ended up pleading guilty and serving time for receiving child pornography, and then he pled guilty for not showing up to court when he was supposed to. He never faced any charges for espionage or smuggling secret government documents.

because he was never able to produce any of the stuff he said he had. I mean, nothing on anthrax, nothing on anything really. It was reported that they never found any record of it. Now, a lot of people are like, well, two things can indeed be happening at the same time. I mean, yes, child porn, horrible, disgusting, awful, right? No, bad. He should be punished for that if it was definitely on his computer. But the secrets Matt shared on his computer could also

have been on there. Like the documents about the CIA, you know, being responsible for anthrax could have been on his computer as well. And maybe the FBI did erase all of it. I mean, two things could be true at the same time. But needless to say, the child porn of it all really threw a wrench in any credibility Matt

or his server had, which is kind of a shame because his receipts, if they did exist, never saw the light of day. Technically, Matt really isn't a whistleblower because he never actually blew the whistle on that anthrax theory or any other secrets that were posted on that secret server. And even if he had, there was no evidence because mysteriously that anthrax leak had vanished from the server before Matt could bring it to the FBI.

So if there's no whistle, I don't know, many people think that the FBI just deleted it all too. So I don't know. Matt maintains that the whole reason he was charged with child porn was because the FBI knew how much incriminating information he had on them. And they were like trying to silence him. Or some people were like, shut up, Matt. You had child porn on your computer. You know?

Anyway, Matt DeHart's legacy is a little tainted, to say the least. Now here's something interesting, though. Just one year after DeHart's arrest, the U.S. Department of Justice came out with a public report of their anthrax investigation. And, hmm, they had uncovered some interesting stuff. The most scandalous part? The only people who had access to anthrax.

during the time of the attacks were the people who worked in a government lab. One of the people who worked there who was raising some red flags was researcher Dr. Bruce Ivins. So he had been working on a cure for anthrax for years before the attacks and

with little success, and since there was almost no funding being given to his lab, he had no success. Before the anthrax attacks, the work being done in Bruce's lab was seen as pointless. But of course, as soon as the anthrax attacks began, all of that changed.

The Department of Justice had a ton of circumstantial evidence against Dr. Bruce. First of all, he was one of the only people with access to anthrax. Medical professionals labeled him homicidal, and he was the only one, really, who stood to benefit from an anthrax scare.

So all the signs were pointing to this guy who made it. The lab got more funding and the work Dr. Bruce was doing was finally taking off. And in the released report, it said Dr. Bruce had some major psychological issues. He was obsessive, like he would stalk sorority girls. He had paranoid personality disorder. And even his psychiatrist came out and labeled him homicidal and sociopathic.

I feel like if your psychiatrist is saying that about you, I mean, you know, it says a lot. An investigation about where the anthrax came from came back with the answer, Dr. Bruce's lab. He was their number one suspect, which made it seem like Matt DeHart's sources were ultimately correct. But before Bruce could be arrested and publicly stand trial, he killed himself.

I hate when they do that. Maybe it was because of Bruce's mental illness. Maybe it was because of the storm he knew was coming his way. But in the end, like sadly, Dr. Bruce ended up killing himself. Not to be rude, but a trial was coming up and he knew there was no way out for him anymore. So, you know, maybe he decided to end things on his own terms. I don't know. But it sucks because when they do that, they leave the victims with no closure. And that is, I think, just so...

Ugh. There was so much circumstantial evidence that was pointing to Dr. Bruce, but like I said, Matt never officially blew the whistle on him, but he definitely blew some kind of whistle. It does seem a little extreme for the FBI to kick down your door and take your laptop if you aren't some kind of serious threat. I don't know. So where does everything stand today?

We learned in our advertising episode that we're all being tracked. So I think it's only fair if we track people and power back, right? And the Lincoln Law was created to empower everyday citizens. But it's very clear that whistleblowing isn't like it was in the 1800s. On one hand, you can have Chelsea Manning, whose life was destroyed for a very long time, still kind of is, depending on who you ask.

On the other hand, you have Leanne, who was giving these awards. So I guess it all depends on whose whistle you're blowing. Now, a lot of people are like, hmm, whistleblowing, bad. So is it the right thing to do? I mean, whistleblowing holds people in power accountable, but some secrets are secrets for a reason. And if they get out...

there are consequences. Sometimes it gets many people thinking, well, was leaking all that classified information even worth it? I mean, who's to say? But here's what I do know. When Barbara told her boss that her husband was cheating on her, she held it against her. And now they don't talk. So is being right and telling the truth worth the job for her, friendship, whatever, you know? Your guess is as good as mine.

Well, everyone, thank you for learning with me today. Remember, don't be afraid to ask questions to get the whole story because we deserve that. Now, I'd love to hear your guys' reactions to today's story, so make sure to use the hashtag Dark History over on social media so I can follow along. And don't forget to join me over on my YouTube where you can watch these episodes on Thursday after the podcast airs. And while you're there, also catch Murder, Mystery, and Makeup.

I hope you have a good rest of your day. You make good choices and I'll be talking to you next week. Goodbye. Dark History is an Audioboom original. This podcast is executive produced by Bailey Sarian, Junia McNeely from 3Arts, Kevin Grush, and Claire Turner from Maiden Network.

And I'm your host, Bailey Sary. Goodbye.