About - Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey

Invigoratingly unorthodox perspectives for intellectually honest readers

Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey undermines official narratives, demolishes conventional wisdom and exposes fundamental myths across the political spectrum—with original reporting, deeply unorthodox policy arguments and excavations of key events buried by major media.

Do you aspire to intellectual honesty—the ability to objectively entertain propositions that conflict with your current understanding?
Are you curious about foreign policy, economics, the War on Terror, tax policy, history, criminal justice, monetary policy, current events and more?
Do you think major media outlets are failing us?
Do you like bringing little-known, striking facts to your conversations?
Are you wary of “reporting” that uncritically repeats government claims?
Do you prefer reasoned arguments over Red Team vs Blue Team squawking?
Do you want to bypass social media control of news and information you see?

If so, you’re the sort of reader who will benefit most from Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey.

“Brian McGlinchey is an absolutely outstanding reporter, with an enviable record in breaking stories and making waves”
—Andrew Cockburn, Washington Editor, Harper’s Magazine

Two Ways to Experience Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey

1. Sign up for free. You’ll receive each new article the instant it’s published—at least once per calendar month. Social media won’t show you much of what’s published here, so bypass the thought police and sign up today.

2. Support independent journalism with a paid subscription. With just $5 a month or $50 a year, you’ll do your part to help restore independent journalism and its essential role in a free society.

“Brian McGlinchey is one of the most talented hell-raisers around”
—James Bovard, Columnist, USA Today

A message from Brian McGlinchey

“As an independent journalist, I’ve seen my work fall victim to Silicon Valley’s increasingly restrictive curation of what people see and hear. Let’s call that what it is: a dystopian curation of thinking itself.

That’s why I’ve launched Stark Realities with Brian McGlinchey. Here at Substack, readers and independent journalists form direct connections, bypassing social media gatekeepers—free to share facts that inflame the establishment and ideas that challenge the status quo.

When you subscribe to Stark Realities, you’ll not only enjoy invigoratingly novel perspectives—you’ll join a broader revolution against social media censorship and major media domination. Come be a part of it.”

Send interview requests to starkrealities [at] substack com

About Brian McGlinchey

Brian McGlinchey’s journalism career began with his 2014 launch of 28Pages.org. The site bolstered a nonpartisan movement to declassify 28 pages describing connections between Saudi government officials and individuals associated with the 9/11 plot.

“By keeping the public informed, 28Pages.org was instrumental in our effort to get the 28 redacted pages of the 9/11 report released for the victims’ families”
—Congressman Thomas Massie

After the pages were released, McGlinchey and 28Pages.org moved on to a months-long series of exposés targeting a Saudi lobbying campaign against the Justice Against Survivors of Terrorism Act (JASTA). The campaign turned U.S. military veterans into unwitting agents for the kingdom, and appears to have run roughshod over the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)—with complete impunity.

Now writing exclusively at Substack, McGlinchey covers a full range of topics, enlightening readers about economics, history, tax policy, criminal justice, foreign policy, politics, the War on Terror, current events and more.

McGlinchey and his work have been quoted, cited or consulted by The New York Times, Associated Press, Washington Post, NBC News, The Times of London, CNN, Reuters, MSNBC, The Wall Street Journal, The Intercept, Politico, The Hill, NPR, Fox News, The American Conservative, The Guardian, The Australian, ITV, New York Daily News, Al Jazeera, Yahoo News, Bloomberg and Harper’s Magazine. His reporting was also cited in a pre-trial motion filed by attorneys representing Guantanamo detainees charged with orchestrating the 9/11 attacks.

McGlinchey has broken stories that garnered national and international follow-on reporting, among them:

Veterans flown by Saudi lobbyists to Washington to oppose the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) weren’t told the kingdom was behind the effort.
The declassification of the 9/11 Commission’s "Document 17," revealing that investigators sought to probe political influence on scrutiny of Saudi links to the attacks.
Two Iowa state officials earned $102,000 working for Saudi Arabia in the drive to weaken JASTA—and one of them persuaded a veteran to lobby against JASTA without disclosing he was being recruited on behalf of Saudi Arabia. After McGlinchey’s scoop prompted follow-on coverage by AP and others, the ensuing scandal sparked passage of an Iowa law barring officials from working for foreign governments.

McGlinchey has appeared on CSPAN, RT network, SiriusXM’s Michael Smerconish Program, a variety of podcasts—including Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman’s “Skullduggery” and The Scott Horton Show—and radio stations across the United States and in the United Kingdom. (Send interview requests to starkrealities @ substack.com )