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** THE WEEKLY REVEAL
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Sunday, October 19, 2025


** Exposing a Global Surveillance Empire
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** Photo Credit: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire/Zuma
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There’s a company with untraceable tech that can find you anywhere.

Operating from its base in Jakarta, Indonesia, where permissive export laws have allowed its surveillance business to flourish, First Wap has quietly built a phone-tracking empire, with a footprint extending from the Vatican to the Middle East to Silicon Valley.

Its system leaves no trace on the phones it tracks. It doesn’t require a target to click on a malicious link or show any of the telltale signs of remote monitoring. And it’s operated under the radar for decades.

Until now.

Investigative journalists at Lighthouse Reports obtained a secret data trove revealing that the vast surveillance domain’s tech has been used to target politicians, corporate execs, and even Jared Leto. Mostly spanning from 2007 to 2014, it’s one of the largest disclosures to date of the inner workings of the global surveillance industry. The system does not just list the cell phone numbers of people it’s monitored; it also offers, in many cases, precise maps of their movements, showing where they went and when.

The company, First Wap, denied knowledge of any misuse of its technology. But the evidence found by Lighthouse Reports tells a different story.

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—Arianna Coghill
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🎧 Other places to listen: Spotify ([link removed]) , Overcast ([link removed]) , iHeartRadio ([link removed]) , or wherever you get your podcasts.


** How a Climate Doomsayer Became an Unexpected Optimist
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Bill McKibben isn’t known for his rosy outlook on climate change. Back in 1989, the environmentalist wrote The End of Nature, which is considered the first mainstream book warning of global warming’s potential effects on the planet. His writing on climate change has been described as “dark realism.”

But McKibben has recently let a little light shine through thanks to the dramatic growth of renewable energy, particularly solar power. In his new book, Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization, McKibben argues that the planet is experiencing the fastest energy transition in history from fossil fuels to solar and wind—and that transition could be the start of something big.

On this week’s More To The Story, McKibben sits down with host Al Letson to examine the rise of solar power, how China is leapfrogging the United States in renewable energy use, and the real reason the Trump administration is trying to kill solar and wind projects around the country.

Check out the latest More To The Story ([link removed]) .

Find this episode wherever you listen to Reveal, and don’t forget to subscribe:
Apple Podcasts ([link removed]) | Spotify ([link removed]) | iHeartRadio ([link removed]) | Overcast ([link removed])


** Photo Credit: CFOTO/Future Publishing/Getty
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** In Case You Missed It
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** 🎧 We Regret to Inform You ([link removed])
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When police kill someone, they have to notify the family. Some officers are using that moment for something else.

UPDATE: A new California law will effectively ban officers from questioning the families of people killed by police before alerting them to the news of their loved one's death.

Photo Credit: Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty

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** 🎧The Secret Story of FTX’s Rise and Ruin Part 1 ([link removed])
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Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott says the president’s threats to send the National Guard are a distraction from the city’s historic efforts to reduce violent crime.

Photo Credit: Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty

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** 🎧 The Secret Story of FTX’s Rise and Ruin Part 2 ([link removed])
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FTX’s collapse didn’t end with Sam Bankman-Fried. We investigate customer claims that its costly bankruptcy shortchanged them.

Photo Credit: Tom Williams/Congressional Quarterly/Zuma

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** 🎧 Why Conservatives Are Trying to Kill the Voting Rights Act ([link removed])
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New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie examines the conservative movement’s years-long effort to challenge the right to vote across the country.

UPDATE: On Wednesday, the Supreme Court held a hearing where the court’s conservative members seemed ready to destroy the Voting Rights Act, just as Bouie predicted.

Photo Credit: Kamil KrzaczynskI/AFP/Getty

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This issue of The Weekly Reveal was written by Arianna Coghill and edited by Daniel King. If you enjoyed this issue, forward it to a friend ([link removed]) . Have some thoughts? Drop us a line (mailto:[email protected]) with feedback or ideas!

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