Podcasts
POGO publishes several podcasts about corruption, injustice, and abuse of power in our democratic system. Subscribe on your app of choice to be notified about new seasons and episodes.
Bad Watchdog
In the second season, Maren and POGO’s investigative reporters take a look at the Department of Homeland Security. They trace how an agency established to protect the nation from security threats has doubled down on detaining migrants, sometimes in horrifying conditions, while failing to address the more immediate security threat caused by far-right extremism — even within the agency’s own ranks.
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S02E01
The Red Herring
Listen NowEstablished in the wake of September 11, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was entrusted with protecting the U.S. from national security threats. Since then, much of the agency’s focus has been on the southern border.
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S02E02
The Hole
Listen NowHost Maren Machles learns more about people’s experiences in ICE detention by talking with formerly detained activist Berto Hernandez and traveling to El Paso, Texas, to hear directly from people who were recently released from ICE facilities.
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S02E03
The Three Reports
Listen NowMaren follows the story of Berto Hernandez, who recounts their detainment at ICE’s Adelanto Detention Center and the treatment and conditions they faced inside.
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S02E04
The Battle
Listen NowThe Department of Homeland Security is a very large, very powerful federal agency. It’s also extremely secretive. Who monitors the agency and holds it accountable for the actions it takes as part of its mission to protect the homeland?
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S02E05
Behind the Curtain
Listen NowIn this episode, Maren gets into the conditions in ICE detention and raises the question: What needs to change for this broken system to be fixed?
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S02E06
The Real Threat
Listen NowIn the season finale of Bad Watchdog, we return to where we started, with the DHS’s counterterrorism mission.
The Continuous Action
The Continuous Action features discussions with experts on key issues related to the health of our democracy. Walter Shaub, former director of the Office of Government Ethics, dives into what it takes to hold our government accountable to the people it serves.
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Archived
Banned from Office!
Does the Constitution ban Donald Trump from holding public office again? Co-hosts Walter Shaub and Virginia Heffernan speak with CREW's Donald Sherman.Listen Now -
S02E02
Archived
Anything Goes
Members of Congress and their spouses have no business trading stocks. This week on The Continuous Action, POGO’s Walt Shaub speaks with Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), who’s leading a bipartisan coalition in Congress with a plan to stop it.Listen Now -
S02E03
Archived
The Authoritarian’s Fist
A threat to democracy is hiding in plain sight: the plot to politicize the civil service and turn it into the fist of a future authoritarian president. Walt Shaub interviews Democracy Fund’s Rudy Mehrbani about this plot on The Continuous Action.Listen Now -
S02E04
Archived
Infiltrated!
Hundreds of members of a violent militant group, the Oath Keepers, identified as current or former employees of the Department of Homeland Security in a leaked membership document. It’s the Infiltrated! episode on The Continuous ActionListen Now -
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Archived
Courting Disaster
John Roberts may not think the Supreme Court needs a code of ethics, but we do. This week on The Continuous Action, Walt Shaub speaks with Sarah Turberville and David Janovsky about the urgent need for reform.Listen Now -
S02E06
Archived
Over-Classified
How did classified records wind up in the homes of Donald Trump, Joe Biden, and Mike Pence? In this week’s episode, The Continuous Action explains how over-classification of government documents contributed to those news stories.Listen Now
Pentagon Labyrinth
The Pentagon Labyrinth, a podcast by POGO’s Center for Defense Information, discusses key issues and current challenges for military and Pentagon reform.
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Archived
Program Helps Marine Officers Develop Decision-Making Skills
New Marine Corps officers are developing their decision-making skills using methods originally created to train the nation’s top business leaders.Listen Now -
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Archived
Bill Lind on the Congressional Military Reform Caucus
Former national security advisor to former Senator Gary Hart Bill Lind discusses the once formidable Congressional Military Reform Caucus.Listen Now -
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Archived
Winslow Wheeler on Congressional Oversight
Winslow Wheeler, a veteran Capitol Hill staffer, shares his insights about what proper Congressional oversight is and provides tips for today’s young staffers on how they can be most effective in their roles providing national security oversight.Listen Now -
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Archived
When Pilots Can’t Fly, with Maj. Carl Forsling (USMC Ret.)
Maj. Carl Forsling (USMC), a retired CH-46 and MV-22 Osprey pilot, discusses the effects of reduced flying hours on the readiness and morale of our nation’s military pilots.Listen Now -
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Archived
The Creation of Warfighting, with John Schmitt
When the Marine Corps needed a new capstone document to capture its emerging warfighting philosophy in the 1980s, the person chosen to draft it was not a general, but a junior officer, then-captain John Schmitt.Listen Now -
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Archived
Dr. Tim Kane’s Total Volunteer Force
Dr. Tim Kane speaks to CDI’s Dan Grazier about his recommendations to modernize the Pentagon’s antiquated personnel system.Listen Now -
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Archived
Mark Thompson’s Military Industrial Circus
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Mark Thompson has a 4 decade-long perspective covering the Pentagon. He brings this experience to the Center for Defense Information and POGO with his new column, the Military Industrial Circus.Listen Now -
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Archived
Dr. Bruce Gudmundsson on Military History
Dr. Bruce Gudmundsson speaks to CDI’s Dan Grazier about military history.Listen Now -
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Archived
Don Vandergriff on Military Personnel Reform
Don Vandergriff, a retired soldier and author, has dedicated his career to promoting the concept of Mission Command and to advocating for the kind of institutional reforms necessary to see the concept fully realized.Listen Now -
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Archived
$21 Billion Worth of Concurrency Orphans?
Congress has authorized—and the Pentagon has spent—nearly $40 billion purchasing approximately 189 F-35s that, in their current configuration, will never be able to perform the way they were expected to when taxpayer dollars were used to buy them.Listen Now -
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Archived
Pierre Sprey and the Birth of the A-10
Pierre Sprey, part of the original design team to create one of the most iconic aircraft flying today, tells the unusual story of how it came to be.Listen Now -
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Archived
Goliath Weapons Systems: Interview with Dan Grazier
Project On Government Oversight’s Dan Grazier spoke on Reuters War College podcast about over-budget weapon programs.Listen Now -
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Archived
Pierre Sprey and the Birth of the A-10, Part II
Pierre Sprey, part of the original design team to create one of the most iconic aircraft flying today, tells the unusual story of how it came to be.Listen Now -
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Archived
F-35: Still No Finish Line in Sight
The Project On Government Oversight wades through the complicated and sometimes vague language of the latest annual report by the Pentagon’s testing office, and provides the larger context.Listen Now -
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Archived
Jeff Groom, Disillusioned Helicopter Pilot
Jeff Groom, a former Marine Corps helicopter pilot, talks about his experiences flying (and not flying), readiness, and the mismatch between what the services say they can do and what they can actually do.Listen Now -
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Archived
Jamie Schwandt, Grading the Army’s Staff College
Jamie Schwandt turned the tables on his instructions and the institution of the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth by publishing a rather scathing assessment of both.Listen Now -
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Archived
F-35 Program Cutting Corners to “Complete” Development
Rather than actually fixing potentially serious F-35 design flaws, documents show, program officials are simply altering paperwork to make it appear as though the development process has been completed.Listen Now -
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Archived
“Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn?”
A new documentary looks into the case of Navy Lt. Wes Van Dorn who was killed alongside two crewmates when their Sea Dragon helicopter crashed off the coast of Virginia in January 2014 and details the institutional factors that led to the tragedy.Listen Now -
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Archived
Mission Command with Bruce Gudmundsson and Don Vandergriff
Success on the modern battlefield requires leaders at all levels to use informed initiative to deal appropriately with the uncertain situations in which they will find themselves.Listen Now -
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Archived
F-35 Far from Ready to Face Current or Future Threats, Testing Data Shows
The annual testing office report on the F-35 program shows little to no improvement in several key metrics for an effective aircraft program, and the Navy’s version is not ready for combat, contrary to the Pentagon’s recent announcement.Listen Now -
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Archived
Classifying John Boyd with Chuck Spinney
Military scholars’ attempts to classify John Boyd as an airpower theorist are misguided, according to one of his closest collaborators.Listen Now -
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Archived
Tactical Decision Games with Bruce Gudmundsson and Don Vandergriff
Preparing leaders for success on the modern battlefield requires innovative training approaches to develop their ability to handle the uncertain situations in which they will find themselves.Listen Now -
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Archived
Advising Foreign Forces with “Chipp” Naylon
Marine Corps Captain “Chipp” Naylon, who deployed as a military advisor with the Georgian Army to Afghanistan in 2014, offers insight into the often overlooked role of military advisors in our overseas campaigns.Listen Now -
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Archived
Corruption as a National Security Issue with Sarah Chayes
Corruption, often viewed as an obstacle that must be overcome to quell unrest around the world, is the real source of the unrest, according to journalist and national defense policy advisor Sarah Chayes.Listen Now -
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Archived
Citizen-Soldiers Versus Soldier-Citizens with Dr. Steele Brand
The divide between America’s soldier-citizens and the society they serve has a significant impact on policy decisions and military budgets. History offers an effective alternative that would help eliminate that divide.Listen Now -
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Archived
Military Health Care Challenges with Dr. Robert Adams
Retired Army doctor Robert Adams talks about the consequences of the efforts to outsource the military’s health system over the past decade, despite repeated warnings from medical professionals.Listen Now -
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Archived
What’s the Military’s Role in a Contested Election, with Mark Nevitt
With the potential of unrest surrounding the upcoming election, Retired Navy Judge Advocate General and Syracuse Law professor Mark Nevitt talks about the laws governing the president’s authority to deploy the military within the United States.Listen Now -
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Archived
Telling the Truth About Afghanistan with Lt. Col. Danny Davis
Retired Army Lieutenant Colonel Danny Davis talks about the official lies told about the Afghanistan War, revealing the truth, and how America can forge a new foreign policy path moving forward.Listen Now -
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Archived
Is the F-35 Program at a Crossroads?
The latest testing report on the F-35 details a simulation facility that doesn’t work, a leaking dam of design flaws, a new data network for F-35 that is in danger of failing, and a program that is still vulnerable to enemy hackers.Listen Now
