John Kiriakou: Inside the CIA and the Cost of Speaking Out | My Price Is My Life Ep #22

John Kiriakou: Inside the CIA and the Cost of Speaking Out | My Price Is My Life Ep #22

From My Price Is My Life With James O’Keefe by James O’Keefe

February 13, 2026 · 1h 31m · Episode 45

About this episode

James O’Keefe interviews former CIA officer John Kiriakou about his experiences and the consequences of whistleblowing.

In this episode of My Price Is My Life, James O’Keefe sits down with former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou, who spent nearly 15 years inside the agency as both an analyst and operations officer, including overseas assignments in Greece and a senior counterterrorism role in Pakistan following the September 11th attacks. Kiriakou discusses his path into the CIA, his involvement in counterterrorism operations, and his firsthand experience with the CIA interrogation program. He also recounts becoming the first U.S. government official to publicly confirm the use of waterboarding, the fallout that followed, and the personal cost of speaking out. (00:00) Introduction & CIA Career(12:02) Undercover Journalism & Intelligence Sources(13:53) Epstein Case Discussion(15:56) CIA Interrogations & Torture Program(20:30) What Makes This Investigation Different(23:24) Decision To Go Public(28:02) Torture Techniques & Internal Reactions(28:30) Interrogation Methods Discussion(34:03) FBI Audio Leaks Discussion(34:51) Handling Prison and Survival Behind Bars(37:17) Fallout and Decisions After Going Public

People in this episode

Host: James O’Keefe

Guest: John Kiriakou

Topics covered

  • CIA
  • whistleblowing
  • counterterrorism
  • interrogation techniques
  • personal cost of speaking out

Keywords

  • CIA
  • John Kiriakou
  • whistleblower
  • interrogation
  • waterboarding
  • counterterrorism
  • September 11th

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: CIA

Places: Greece, Pakistan

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