Podcast
RealClearInvestigations Podcast
Hosted by RCI · EN
Each week J. Peder Zane, Editor of RealClearInvestigations, and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney discuss the week’s best investigative reporting and speak with journalists about cracking challenging stories. Whether it’s culture, politics, or the markets, RealClearIInvestigations should be your source for in-depth reporting from a wide range of perspectives. From the publishers of RealClearPolitics.com
36episodes
Episodes
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My Lai to Russiagate: Journalism's March from Skeptic to Mouthpiece | RCI Podcast #109
Apr 1000:51:51Tap to summarizeOn this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney use the new Netflix documentary “Cover-Up,” on investigative reporting legend Seymour Hersh as a springboard for a wide-ranging discussion with RCI contributor Aaron Maté about the decline of skepticism and rise of propaganda in the legacy media. On this week’s News Roundup, Zane and Varney discuss a Washington Post article about Trump’s effort to remake the federal bureaucracy by firing and then hiring workers; two Wall Street Journal investigations of Medicaid and Medicare that suggest that in addition to fraud, waste and abuse, a near criminal lack of oversight costs taxpayers billions and a City Journal article on the politicization of sports reporting. YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/-ZyNWgiL4z4 00:00 Intro 00:31 News Roundup: Trump Administration's Impact on Federal Workforce 05:29 Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Government 10:02 Politicization of Sports Writing 16:16 Interview with Aaron Mate on Netflix Seymour Hersh Documentary “Cover-Up” 29:04 Russiagate and Media Accountability 50:15 Conclusion and Upcoming Work Articles and Documentaries Discussed in this Episode: Washington Post: After Firing, Trump Admin Now Hiring https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/after-slashing-federal-jobs-trump-administration-ramps-up-hiring/ar-AA1XOlP3?ocid=BingNewsSerp Wall Street Journal: Seniors Pay for Medicare Overpaymentshttps://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/seniors-paid-billions-in-extra-premiums-due-to-alleged-medicare-overpayments-d41f5d79?mod=RSSMSN Wall Street Journal: Autism Therapy Is Medicaid’s Fastest-Growing Jackpothttps://www.msn.com/en-us/health/other/the-boom-in-autism-therapy-is-medicaid-s-fastest-growing-jackpot/ar-AA1XWJa7?ocid=BingNewsSerp City Journal: How Sports Journalism Lurched Leftwardhttps://www.city-journal.org/article/sports-journalism-writers-media-politics Seymour Hersh Trailer: “Cover-Up”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CxEnECKs9U&t=3s Sign up for the RealClearInvestigations Newsletter. Watch each episode on the RealClearPolitics YouTube ChannelContact us with your thoughts and feedback: jpederzane@realclearinvestigations.com
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Transparency: Hiding Kids' Identities From Parents | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #108
Apr 1000:45:48Tap to summarizeOn this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with RCI contributor John Murawski about his article detailing the backlash against policies adopted by thousands of public schools that aim to conceal the gender identity of trans students from their parents. In our round-up of the week’s best investigative reporting, Zane and Varney discuss an NBC News report about Iran’s reliance on cheap and simple to make drones, a CNN article on the high-tech wizardry Israel has deployed to track and kill Iranian scientists and leaders, a Tablet piece reporting that China may not be as strong as commonly portrayed and an Atlantic report that Cuba may be Trump’s next target. They also discuss Ana Kasparian’s recent article for RCI about chronic fraud and mismanagement in California’s Medi-Cal system and the “billionaire’s tax” leaders are pitching to fund but not reform the $200 billion system. Chapters 00:00 Intro: News Roundup with Peder Zane and James Varney 01:00 Global Military Dynamics and Drone Warfare 06:15 China's Influence and Economic Challenges 08:11 Cuba's Political Landscape and U.S. Relations 11:30 California's Medi-Cal System and Government Fraud 15:12 Interview with John Murawski 16:30 Backlash Against School Policies on Gender Identity 19:00 Legal Challenges and Parental Rights in Education 23:48 Cultural Shifts and the Role of Parents 31:19 The Impact of Social Media on Gender Identity 37:18 The Cultural Revolution and Identity PoliticsYOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/P3aFw3rjT6U Articles mentioned in this Podcast: John Murawski/RCI: Transparency: Suing Schools That Hide Trans Kids’ Identities From Parentshttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/03/05/transparency_suing_schools_that_hide_trans_kids_identities_from_parents_1168501.html Ana Kasparian/RCI: Can Billionaire Tax Cure California’s Healthcare Woes? https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/03/03/can_billionaire_tax_cure_californias_healthcare_woes_1167959.html NBC News: Cheap, Effective and Battle-Tested by Russia: Iran Leans on Shahed Drones to Penetrate U.S. Defenseshttps://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/shahed-drones-iran-us-war-ukraine-russia-rcna261285 CNN: Hacked Traffic Cameras and US Intelligence: How a Plot To Kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Came Togetherhttps://archive.is/NnZiX#selection-3417.13-3429.11 Tablet: Paper Dragon: Behind the Chinese illusion of strengthhttps://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/paper-dragon-china Atlantic: Cuba Is Nexthttps://archive.is/g0qSn Subscribe to RCI’s and other RealClear Newsletters here.https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/daily_newsletters/ Sign up for the RealClearInvestigations Newsletter. Watch each episode on the RealClearPolitics YouTube ChannelContact us with your thoughts and feedback: jpederzane@realclearinvestigations.com
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Waste of the Day | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #107
Apr 1000:33:23Tap to summarizeOn this week’s episode of the RealClearInvestigations Podcast, RCI Editor J. Peder Zane and RCI Senior Reporter James Varney speak with Jeremy Portnoy, a researcher for OpentheBooks.com who writes RCI’s Waste of the Day feature, about rampant fraud, waste and abuse in government spending. In our round-up of the week’s best investigative reporting, Zane and Varney discuss the Daily Caller’s report on Chinese researchers working on US defense projects, the Daily Mail’s article on a Chinese spy’s effort to recruit American figure skater Alysa Liu and the New York Times piece on Russia’s campaign to create mayhem across Europe.YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/UbbcWrjKLYA 0:00 Intro 01:33 Daily Caller: US Funded Defense Projects Riddled with Chinese Researchers 05:15 Daily Mail: Chinese Spies Tried to Turn Skater Aylsa Liu 07:04 New York Times: Ex-Cabbie Driving Russia’s Shadow War 10:30 RealClearInvestigations: Bad Bets: Massive EV Subsidies Not Paying Off 13:18 Jeremy Portnoy, OpentheBooks.com, RCI’s Waste of the Day feature Articles mentioned in this Podcast: RealClearInvestigations: Bad Bets: Massive EV Subsidies Not Paying Off https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/02/26/bad_bets_federal_and_state_ev_subsidies_are_not_paying_off_1167122.html Daily Caller: US Funded Defense Projects Riddled with Chinese Researchers https://dailycaller.com/2026/02/23/exclusive-us-intel-defense-grants-chinese-researchers/ Daily Mail: Chinese Spies Tried to Turn Skater Aylsa Liu https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/winterolympics/article-15591857/olympics-alysa-liu-father-china-spy-truth.html New York Times: Ex-Cabbie Driving Russia’s Shadow War https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/22/world/europe/russia-sabotage-europe.html RealClearInvestigations: Waste of the Day Archive https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/stream/?topic=waste_of_the_day Subscribe to RCI’s and other RealClear Newsletters here.https://www.realclearinvestigations.com/daily_newsletters/ Sign up for the RealClearInvestigations Newsletter. Watch each episode on the RealClearPolitics YouTube ChannelContact us with your thoughts and feedback: jpederzane@realclearinvestigations.com
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Deporting Censorship: US Targets UK Government Ally | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #106
Apr 900:40:39Tap to summarizeYOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/2YcAFTe3L_A Articles discussed in this podcast: Paul D. Thacker for RCI: Deporting Censorship: US Targets UKhttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/02/18/deporting_censorship_us_targets_key_ally_of_british_government_over_free_speech_1165667.html New York Times: Obama Took On Recession, Health Care and Iraq. What He Didn’t See Coming Was Trumphttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/17/us/politics/obama-trump-oral-history.html RCI: Obama’s Fingerprints All Over Investigations of Trump And Clinton | RealClearInvestigationshttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/01/22/obamas_fingerprints_all_over_investigations_of_trump_and_clinton_1160121.html Reason: Report: The FBI bent its own rules to spy on 1,100 'sensitive' targetshttps://reason.com/2026/02/16/the-fbi-bent-its-own-rules-to-spy-on-1100-sensitive-targets/ Guardian: No water or electricity, and children begging in streets filled with rubbish – but this is why I won’t leave Cuba | Cuba | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/feb/13/no-water-or-electricity-and-children-begging-in-streets-filled-with-rubbish-but-this-is-why-i-wont-leave-cuba Sign up for the RealClearInvestigations Newsletter. Watch each episode on the RealClearPolitics YouTube ChannelContact us with your thoughts and feedback: jpederzane@realclearinvestigations.com
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Scamming Mom and Dad? with RCI contributor Nancy Rommelman | RealClearInvestigations Podcast #105
Apr 900:28:35Tap to summarizeYOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/W939iZBA-VU RealClearInvestigations: Caring for Mom Is an Education in Scams and Fraudhttps://www.realclearinvestigations.com/articles/2026/02/10/caring_for_mom_is_an_education_in_scams_and_fraud_1163842.html Wall Street Journal: Trump Admin Nepo Babies Love Their Crypto https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/one-generation-runs-the-country-the-next-cashed-in-on-crypto/ar-AA1VTTn1?ocid=BingNewsSerp New York Times: Ghislaine Maxwell’s Key Role in the Clinton Global Initiative https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/08/us/politics/epstein-clintons-maxwell.html New York Magazine: YouTubers Weaponized FOIA to Embarrass Young Womenhttps://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/body-cam-youtube-foia-abuse.html Sign up for the RealClearInvestigations Newsletter. Watch each episode on the RealClearPolitics YouTube ChannelContact us with your thoughts and feedback: jpederzane@realclearinvestigations.com
Transcribe →Accelerate, Change or Lose: The Replicator Initiative and Transforming the Pentagon
Nov 2, 202300:52:19Tap to summarizeIn August of this year, Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced the “Replicator Initiative” a new program to field thousands of less costly autonomous weapon systems. Aimed directly at offsetting China’s growing advantages in the Pacific, the ambitious program is set to deliver all within the next 18-24 months. Replicator is part of a growing concern that, as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Charles Q. Brown framed the issue while still Chief of the Air Force, the Pentagon must, "Accelerate, change or lose."But is the defense industry able to deliver on that promise? With new defense programs taking sometimes a decade or more to reach the battlefield, what is needed to transform the way the pentagon develops new technology? Can it keep up with the accelerating pace of change especially drones and AI?To answer these questions and more, host John Sorensen speaks with:Mike Brown who served as the Director of the Defense Innovation Unit at the Department of Defense. He also led the DoD-sponsored investment group, National Security Innovation Capital (NSIC) to fund dual-use technology companies. Prior to working in government, Brown served as the CEO of Symantec, Quantum, and Chairman of EqualLogic. He is currently a partner at the dual-use venture capital firm, Shield Capital and a visiting scholar at Stanford University.Retired Rear Admiral Lorin Selby, who until this year was the Navy’s Chief of Naval Research. He has also served as a submarine officer, in acquisitions, as a nuclear engineer, and as Deputy Director in the Navy Office of Legislative Affairs, for the House.And Steve Blank, adjunct professor at Stanford and a co-founder of the Gordian Knot Center for National Security Innovation. He is an entrepreneur and founder of multiple startups in Silicon Valley, the author of “The Four Steps to the Epiphany” credited with launching the Lean Startup movement, and most recently, “The Startup Owner’s Manual.”"Follow Hot Wash on Twitter @hotwashrcdEmail comments and story suggestions to editors@realcleardefense.comSubscribe to the RealClearDefense Podcast "Hot Wash"Subscribe to the Morning Recon newsletterfor a daily roundup of news and opinion on the issues that matter for military, defense, veteran affairs, and national security.
Transcribe →Hamas, Israel, Iran and the Human Tragedy in Gaza with Jonathan Schanzer
Oct 12, 202300:51:04Tap to summarizeOn today’s episode we return to an interview with Jonathan Schanzer, Senior Vice President for Research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, and the author of “Gaza Conflict 2021: Hamas, Israel and Eleven Days of War”. Host John Sorensen and RealClearDefense editor David Craig spoke with Schanzer in November of 2021 about an attack from earlier that year when Hamas launched more than four thousand rockets and mortars toward Israel killing 12 and injuring more than 100. Retaliatory Israeli air strikes resulted in the deaths of more than 200, including at least 129 civilians, and nearly 2000 injured, according to the United Nations. Schanzer details how the media covered the 2021 conflict, Iran's critical support for Hamas, and what Hamas’ strategy in Gaza means for the region.
Transcribe →Measuring the Chinese Navy with Tom Shugart
Oct 5, 202300:50:25Tap to summarizeAs China’s military capabilities grow, discussions about the US posture in the Pacific often return to the question how large a force does the US need to deter or possibly confront the Chinese Navy? If China were to launch an attack on Taiwan, how do the US and Chinese navies match up?To find out, “Hot Wash” host John Sorensen speaks with Tom Shugart an Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. During his twenty-five years in the US Navy, Shugart served as a submarine warfare officer on both fast attack and ballistic missile submarines, including as commander of the attack submarine USS Olympia from 2013 to 2016. He also served on the Joint Staff as the principal officer responsible for nuclear strike planning, as well as in the Defense Department’s Office of Net Assessment. "Follow Hot Wash on Twitter @hotwashrcdEmail comments and story suggestions to editors@realcleardefense.comSubscribe to the RealClearDefense Podcast "Hot Wash"Subscribe to the Morning Recon newsletterfor a daily roundup of news and opinion on the issues that matter for military, defense, veteran affairs, and national security.
Transcribe →War, Rage, and Restless Youth in Afghanistan with Miles Lagoze
Sep 21, 202301:28:23Tap to summarizeNote this episode contains explicit language and discussion of self-harm.On the RealClearDefense podcast “Hot Wash” John Sorensen and RCD contributor John Waters speak with Miles Lagoze, the documentary filmmaker behind “Combat Obscura” a gripping unfiltered look at the war in Afghanistan in 2011 and 2012 during his time as an eighteen year-old Combat Camera with the 1st Battalion 6th Marines. Most recently he is the author of a new book about his experiences in Afghanistan and returning home. It’s called, “Whistles From the Graveyard: My Time Behind the Camera on War, Rage, and Restless Youth in Afghanistan”"Whistles From the Graveyard" is available for pre-order.Look for RCD Contributor John Waters’ new novel “River City One” published this fall."Follow Hot Wash on Twitter @hotwashrcdEmail comments and story suggestions to editors@realcleardefense.comSubscribe to the RealClearDefense Podcast "Hot Wash"Subscribe to the Morning Recon newsletterfor a daily roundup of news and opinion on the issues that matter for military, defense, veteran affairs, and national security.
Transcribe →Trust in the Military and the Recruitment Crisis with Peter Feaver
Sep 6, 202300:50:50Tap to summarizeOn the RealClearDefense podcast “Hot Wash,” host John Sorensen speaks with Dr. Peter Feaver, a long-time researcher of civil-military affairs about his new book, a comprehensive study of public attitudes towards the military called, “Thanks for Your Service: The Causes and Consequences of Public Confidence in the US Military.” He is also a professor of political science and public policy at Duke University, has served twice on the National Security Council staff, and as an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserves."Follow Hot Wash on Twitter @hotwashrcdEmail comments and story suggestions to editors@realcleardefense.comSubscribe to the RealClearDefense Podcast "Hot Wash"Subscribe to the Morning Recon newsletterfor a daily roundup of news and opinion on the issues that matter for military, defense, veteran affairs, and national security.
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