President Trump is making big moves to shrink and reshape the federal workforce. He's offered buyouts, instituted a hiring freeze, and called for prioritizing job seekers who are "passionate about the ideals of our American Republic." While his actions have drawn criticism, some see an opportunity for the new administration to improve the federal hiring process.
Today on the show, Jennifer Pahlka, Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center, tells us why, in her view, government hiring has been broken for a long time while sharing her thoughts on Trump's proposals to fix it.
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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
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Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 3235: Verna Fields, “Mother Cutter”
Episode: 3235 Gender, labor history, and the devaluation of film editing. Today, the mother of all film editors.
60 Songs That Explain the '90s - “How You Remind Me”—Nickelback
This week, we’re celebrating the Canadian rock band Nickelback! Along the way, Rob discusses butt rock, anti-Nickelback memes, and his friend stealing his girlfriend in high school. Later, author and columnist Leslie Gray Streeter joins the show to defend Nickelback fans and much more.
Pre-Order, Leslie’s new book, ‘Family & Other Calamities: A Novel’ here.
Host: Rob Harvilla
Guest: Leslie Gray Streeter
Producers: Jonathan Kermah and Justin Sayles
Additional Production Support: Olivia Crerie
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The Indicator from Planet Money - The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict
The story of a man who started buying and selling stocks as a hobby ... and got seriously addicted. We also speak with a neuroeconomist about the human brain on day trading.
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The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up
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Related episodes:
The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up
Invest like a Congress member
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2822: Herodotus
Episode: 2822 Herodotus describing historical events of 5th century BC, fantastical and entertaining component of The Histories. Today, we visit Herodotus.
The Indicator from Planet Money - How GoFundMe can affect your FEMA eligibility
With the LA wildfires still burning, we were left with a lot of questions. Today, we answer two of them: whether GoFundMe campaigns could interfere with receiving federal assistance and how much of those "proceeds" from special product sales actually go to wildfire victims.
Related episodes:
After the fires (Apple / Spotify)
Why is insurance so expensive right now? And more listener questions (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Related episodes:
After the fires (Apple / Spotify)
Why is insurance so expensive right now? And more listener questions (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1320: Intellectual Misdirection
Episode: 1320 Today, we wonder where to look for our new widget. Intellectual misdirection: looking inside and outside our heads for knowledge.
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1319: Differential Analyzer
Episode: 1319 Vannevar Bush and the great Rockefeller Differential Analyzer. Today, a eulogy for a machine.
Engines of Our Ingenuity - The Engines of Our Ingenuity 1318: Three-Field Rotation
Episode: 1318 Three-field crop rotation and the origins of Western technology. Today, putting horses to work proves harder than we might think.
The Indicator from Planet Money - Why China’s DeepSeek AI is such a big deal
Indicators of the Week unpacks numbers from the news. This week, we delve into what President Trump's first AI announcement reveals about the economics of the industry, a Chinese company's answer to OpenAI, and the reason why Prince Harry may have settled with Rupert Murdoch's media empire.
Related listening:
Is AI overrated or underrated? (Apple / Spotify)
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For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Related listening:
Is AI overrated or underrated? (Apple / Spotify)
AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy