Veteran journalist and author of "Backroom Deals in Our Backyards " Miranda Spivack highlights the widespread issue of local government secrecy and the detrimental impact of non-disclosure agreements between public officials and private corporations. She details the stories of "accidental activists" who uncovered corruption involving toxic water, dangerous infrastructure, and flawed criminal justice algorithms. The discussion emphasizes how corporate trade secrets and data-driven policing often bypass public oversight, harming community safety. Spivack encourages citizens to bypass information blockades through persistent investigation, civic engagement, and community organizing to demand transparency and monitor their local governments before crises occur.

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Backroom Deals in Our Backyards https://thenewpress.org/books/backroom-deals-in-our-backyards

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About Miranda S. Spivack

Miranda S. Spivack is a veteran reporter and editor who specializes in stories about government accountability and secrecy. She spent twenty years as an award-winning editor and reporter for the Washington Post. A former Fulbright Scholar and Distinguished Visiting Professor of Journalism at DePauw University and the author of Backroom Deals in Our Backyards (The New Press), she lives in Maryland.

*Podcast intro music used with permission is from the song "The Queens Jig" by the fantastic "Musicke & Mirth" from their album "Music for Two Lyra Viols": http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)