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In the past decade, Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden became household names. They were celebrated by many as truth-tellers who blew the whistle on governmental abuses. Yet, in the eyes of the state, Manning and Snowden had made so-called \u201cunauthorized disclosures\u201d that jeopardized the nation\u2019s security. Described as such, they could not be labelled \u201cwhistleblowers.\u201d\nThis is an example of what the editors of a new, rousing edited volume\u2013\u2013not words typically strung together\u2013\u2013call the \u201cparadox of national security whistleblowing\u201d: whistleblowing is widely acknowledged to be an essential feature of democracy, but the US government denies its existence. In\xa0Whistleblowing Nation: The History of National Security Disclosures and the Cult of Secrecy, editors\xa0Hannah Gurman\u2013\u2013a Clinical Associate Professor at New York University\u2019s Gallatin School\u2013\u2013and\xa0Kaeten Mistry\u2013\u2013a senior lecturer in American Studies at the University of East Anglia\u2013\u2013and their star-studded cast of contributors help makes sense of the odd place of whistleblowing in American politics.\nTheir book shows how the history of whistleblowing raises questions about democracy, citizenship, and truth itself. And, as the US war against whistleblowers has continued unabated since the Vietnam War, it\u2019s a much-needed volume. The book should interest scholars of national security, information, and civil liberties, along with concerned citizens.\nAnd, to listeners of this podcast, Mistry and Gurman are offering a discount code\u2014CUP30\u2014which, if entered on\xa0the Columbia University Press website, knocks 30% off the book\u2019s price.\xa0\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/law