POGO Podcasts

On the Hunt for Savings at the Pentagon

brahija@pogo.org — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:19:31 -0400

Winslow Wheeler, director of the Center for Defense Information, joins POGO for a discussion of the new Pentagon savings initiatives proposed by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

Read more about the savings initiatives here and here.

Hill Update: Turning Investigations into Good Government Reforms

Mon, 9 Aug 2010 10:46:00 -0400

Angela Canterbury, POGO's Director of Public Policy, walks us through some of the key pieces of legislation that POGO has been working on, and talks about what's next once legislators return from recess.

Countdown to Zero...Oversight of the Nuclear Complex

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 17:47:34 -0400

POGOnauts, including POGO Senior Investigator Peter Stockton, review a new film about the nuclear weapons complex, Countdown to Zero, and discuss the recent trend towards less and less oversight of our nation's nuclear weapons stockpile.

Plan B: Opengov Advocates Audit Revisions to Agency Open Government Plans

Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:21:01 -0400

This week POGO is joined by OpenTheGovernment.org's Amy Bennett for a discussion of the recent audit of revisions to agency Open Government Plans.

Read more about the audits here.

Examining Reforms to the Minerals Management Service (MMS), Interior's Oil and Gas Regulator

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 13:47:02 -0400

POGO staffers dive into the history of the beleaguered government agency responsible for oversight of the offshore oil industry, and examine the reforms under consideration to improve the agency.

Fun with Inherently Governmental Functions

brahija@pogo.org — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 20:03:33 -0400

It may be one of the bulkiest terms in Washington, but POGO's got the skinny on inherently governmental functions.

In this week's podcast, POGO Executive Director Danielle Brian describes her recent testimony before the Commission on Wartime Contracting, in which she addressed whether private security contractors in combat zones are performing services that should be reserved strictly for government personnel.

Congressional Oversight of the Intelligence Community: an Overview and Update

Mon, 7 Jun 2010 13:32:49 -0400

Why does the National Security Agency maintain a room for Government Accountability Office investigators--and why is it empty? Special guest Steve Aftergood takes us through the latest developments in the debate over Congress's authority to conduct oversight of the intelligence community.

POGO's Favorite FinReg Reform Amendments

Fri, 14 May 2010 17:47:59 -0400

POGO staffers discuss several amendments that have been introduced to financial regulatory reform legislation, including the amendment to audit the Federal Reserve.

Spilling the Beans: How the Deepwater Horizon Rig Explosion Brought the Shortcomings of One Government Regulatory Agency Back into the Spotlight

Wed, 12 May 2010 11:40:02 -0400

The tragic Gulf oil spill has highlighted significant failures and deficiencies at the U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS)--the agency responsible for oversight of offshore drilling. POGO has been monitoring the MMS for years, and this week we sat down to discuss some of the problems facing the agency.

Evaluating Open Government Plans of Three National Security Agencies

Fri, 7 May 2010 10:56:52 -0400

POGO takes a look at the Open Government Plans of the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The Latest in Contractor Accountability

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:02:45 -0400

POGO Investigator Neil Gordon discusses the latest update to POGO's Federal Contractor Misconduct Database.

Unraveling the Pseudo-Classification System

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:29:05 -0400

Scott discusses the proliferation of various labels describing "controlled unclassified information."

The SEC's Little-Known Whistleblower Bounty Program

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 12:06:48 -0400

POGO takes a look at the SEC's program to reward whistleblowers who provide information to the agency about insider trading.

FOIA, The NY Fed, and Breakdancing: a Sunshine Week Roundup

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:18:58 -0400

POGO staffers discuss all that transpired as part of Sunshine Week, the annual initiative to raise awareness of open-government issues.

Is The Revolving Door Still Spinning?

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 18:02:10 -0400

Sometimes people working in the private sector come into public service, and sometimes people leave public service to enter the private sector. What questions do these sorts of personnel shifts raise?

Is the Defense Department's Auditing Agency Resisting the Reform it Desperately Needs?

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:40:47 -0500

Mandy discusses problems that continue to plague the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA), which persist in spite of efforts towards reform.

Examining FINRA and Other Self-Regulatory Organizations in the Financial Sector

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 11:34:29 -0500

Michael Smallberg raises questions about the effectiveness of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Tumbling Dice: POGO's Latest Recommendations to Congress in No Particular Order

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 17:34:39 -0500

Last week POGO submitted a list of a dozen nonpartisan good government fixes to each congressional office. For this podcast, instead of an orderly rundown, POGO staffers decided to mix things up and roll dice to determine which recommendation to discuss next.

What We Need in a Nominee for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 18:05:40 -0500

Ingrid Drake discuss why the Senate should oppose the nomination of William Magwood to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission — and what we should be looking for in a nominee.

Another Case of the SEC Ignoring Whistleblowers

Wed, 17 Feb 2010 17:51:50 -0500

Michael Smallberg and Adam Zagorin discuss their recent investigation on how a former SEC lawyer -- who is now running for Congress -- dimed out a whistleblower.

Recommendations for Good Government Reform

Tue, 2 Feb 2010 16:37:37 -0500

Just in time for the State of the Union address, Mandy Smithberger and Ingrid Drake discuss POGO's latest ovesight recommendations to the President.

The Week in Open Government

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:46:26 -0500

Bryan Rahija discusses the challenges agencies face in implementing the Open Government Directive, plus the Obama administration's new policy on presidential signing statements.

A Break from Oversight

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 15:42:45 -0500

Ingrid Drake discusses the new moratorium on oversight of the contractors in charge of our nuclear weapons supply.

Derivatives, Financial Self-Regulating Organizations, and Preventing the Next Madoff Disaster

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 14:21:44 -0500

Michael Smallberg discusses POGO's latest work on the economic recovery front.

POGO Urges Pentagon To Create Strong Regulations Against Conflicts of Interest in Engineering Programs

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 16:08:36 -0500

Mandy Smithberger discusses POGO's latest efforts to make sure that contractor work on development, production, and evaluation of Pentagon engineering programs is unbiased.