With the latest addition to his Hidden History Series, veteran author, journalist, Thom Hartmann, returns to discuss THE HIDDEN HISTORY OF BIG BROTHER IN AMERICA: HOW THE DEATH OF PRIVACY AND THE RISE OF SURVEILLANCE THREATEN US AND OUR DEMOCRACY. It was just published by Barrett-Koehler on international women’s day, March 8, 2022.

He explores how the government and corporate America misuse our personal data and shows how we can reclaim our privacy. Thom Hartmann documents exactly how the government and corporations are tracking our every online move and using our data to buy elections, employ social control, and monetize our lives. Thom Hartmann traces the history of surveillance and social control, looking back to how Big Brother invented whiteness to keep order, and how surveillance began to be employed as a way to modify behavior. As he writes, “The goal of those who violate privacy and use surveillance is almost always social control and behavior modification.”

Along with covering the history, he shows how we got to where we are today, how China — with its new Social Credit System — serves as a warning, and how we can and must avoid a similarly dystopian future. By delving into the constitutional right to privacy, Hartmann reminds us of our civil right and shows how we can restore it.

And particularly now, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, cyberwarfare is a factor, whether control of information or disruption of infrastructure. We spoke with Thom Hartmann on March 9, 2020 via Skype.

We end this edition of Forthright Radio, mindful of the suffering of the Ukrainian people enduring the crimes against humanity at the hands of Russian military forces at the behest of Vladimir Putin. First, Russians unplugged live – with Sting introducing his live performance. This is followed by Ukrainian poet/composer, Valentin Silvestrov’s, Prayer for Ukraine performed by the Kyiv Chamber Choir in 2014 as part of the Maidan Cycle. And finally, a little girl, Amelia, singing “Let It Go” in Ukrainian while sheltering in a crowded basement under Russian Bombardment.

Prayer for Ukraine

Links to articles/videos/films pertinent to this edition of Forthright Radio:

With Roe Under Threat, Sale of Location Data on Abortion Clinic Patients Raises Alarm https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/05/04/roe-under-threat-sale-location-data-abortion-clinic-patients-raises-alarm?utm_source=weekly_newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=weekly_newsletter&vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

Valentin Silvestrov: Prayer for Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuzS_ZS2czY

Little girl singing “Let it go” in a shelter in Kyiv https://twitter.com/Ankita20200/status/1500496884255051776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1500676050593980426%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es3_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.huffpost.com%2Fentry%2Fukrainian-girl-amelia-let-it-go_n_62261f06e4b04a0545da2350

Violinists Across the World Play for Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQSIeD-x6dQ
Russians unplugged live – Sting 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5qhS9Ic96A

HOW THE WOMEN WENT FROM DOVER https://allpoetry.com/How-The-Women-Went-From-Dover

Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzNxLzFfR5w&t=6s

Mr. Jones https://www.hulu.com/movie/mr-jones-c622d638-82ec-447f-9b64-24f8111980cf

Evgeny Maslin, Russia General Who Secured Nuclear Arsenal, Dies at 84 https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/09/world/europe/evgeny-maslin-dead.html

‘We are not ready’: a cyber expert on US vulnerability to a Russian attack https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/mar/10/us-russia-cyber-attack-prepared

As the Fourth Great Turning Unwinds, Ukraine has become the George Floyd of the World https://hartmannreport.com/p/as-the-fourth-great-turning-unwinds?s=r

‘We Are the First in the World to Introduce This New Warfare’: Ukraine’s Digital Battle Against Russia https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/03/08/ukraine-digital-minister-crypto-cyber-social-media-00014880

Can the World Learn from the Failure of the Budapest Accords? https://hartmannreport.com/p/can-the-world-learn-from-the-failure?s=r

Investigation Shows Police Are Still Secretly Surveilling Minnesota Activists https://truthout.org/articles/investigation-shows-police-are-still-secretly-surveilling-minnesota-activists/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=e297aee3-d279-418c-8617-603fd0711d10

Exposed: The Trump, Putin & Saudi Connection to High Gas Prices https://hartmannreport.com/p/exposed-the-trump-putin-and-saudi?s=r

Social media turn on Putin, the past master https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/06/social-media-turn-on-putin-the-past-master

I’ve Dealt With Foreign Cyberattacks. America Isn’t Ready for What’s Coming https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/04/opinion/ive-dealt-with-foreign-cyberattacks-america-isnt-ready-for-whats-coming.html

How Can America Avoid the Bloodshed & Chaos of Civil War? https://hartmannreport.com/p/how-can-america-avoid-the-bloodshed?utm_source=url

This is how we defeat Putin and other petrostate autocrats https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/25/this-is-how-we-defeat-putin-and-other-petrostate-autocrats

Ukraine Again Shows Why Decentralized Energy is Essential https://hartmannreport.com/p/ukraine-again-shows-why-decentralized?s=r

Russia’s War Crime in Targeting Nuclear Plant Makes Clear the Urgency for Renewable Energy https://www.commondreams.org/views/2022/03/04/russias-war-crime-targeting-nuclear-plant-makes-clear-urgency-renewable-energy?vgo_ee=Y82RBGepzJGygaHT4lvL4KyPUFd7JHyq9acdSgULWaM%3D

Santa Claus Is About To Drop a Bomb On Biden https://hartmannreport.com/p/santa-clause-is-about-to-drop-a-bomb?s=r

Past Forthright Radio Interviews with Thom Hartmann:

Thom Hartmann – The Hidden History of American Healthcare: Why Sickness Bankrupts You & Makes Others Insanely Rich https://forthright.media/2021/08/18/thom-hartmann-the-hidden-history-of-american-healthcare-why-sickness-bankrupts-you-makes-others-insanely-rich/

Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of American Oligarchy: Reclaiming Our Democracy from the Ruling Class https://forthright.media/2021/02/03/thom-hartmann-the-hidden-history-of-american-oligarchy-reclaiming-our-democracy-from-the-ruling-class/

Thom Hartmann MONOPOLIES: How Big Business Destroyed the American Dream https://forthright.media/2020/09/02/thom-hartmann-monopolies-how-big-business-destroyed-the-american-dream/

Thom Hartmann: The War on Voting & Jane Kleeb: Harvest the Vote https://forthright.media/2020/02/27/thom-hartmann-the-war-on-voting-jane-kleeb-harvest-the-vote/

Thom Hartmann The Hidden History of the Supreme Court + The Hidden History of Guns & the 2nd Amendment https://forthright.media/2019/10/02/thom-hartmann-the-hidden-history-of-the-supreme-court-the-hidden-history-of-guns-the-2nd-amendment/