Podcast Summary: "Life During Wartime | Unfiltered w/ Ken Harbaugh"

Podcast: Truth in the Barrel
Hosts: Amy McGrath & Denver Riggleman
Guest: Ken Harbaugh (Midas Touch, Valor Media)
Date: April 2, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode is an unfiltered conversation with Ken Harbaugh, veteran and documentary filmmaker, delving into the grim realities of modern warfare in Ukraine, the implications for U.S. military strategy, and the broader political and economic fallout from the current war in Iran under President Trump’s administration. The discussion covers Harbaugh’s new documentary, the evolution of drone warfare, failures in U.S. military humility, the internal corruption of the Trump administration, and issues ranging from economic hardship to the politicization of the military.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ken Harbaugh’s Documentary: "Drone Hunters of Kherson"

[00:54–06:12]

• Documentary Focus: Follows a Ukrainian frontline unit tasked with shooting down Russian FPV (First Person View) suicide drones in Kherson, Ukraine.
• Insider’s Perspective: Harbaugh embedded with a small three-man team who are “literally the last line of defense” protecting civilians from drone strikes.
• Russian Tactics: Russian drone attacks are a deliberate campaign to "depopulate" Ukrainian towns, targeting civilians.
  • "The UN in fact declared that the Russian drone operations in Kherson are tantamount to a depopulation campaign." (Ken, [01:34])
• Defensive Methods: Ukrainians must shoot down drones with rifles (AK-47s) at high speed, without the possibility of using jammers or guided defenses due to the drones’ fiber-optic control.
  • "These drones that are about the size of a pigeon, moving at 100 km an hour, with rifles, with AK47s ... because they have to hit them that far away." (Ken, [03:28])
• The Terrain: After waves of attacks, neighborhoods are left draped with “silk-like” fiber optic cables—a haunting image and symbol of this new warfare.

2. The Brutality of Russian Drone Strikes and Propaganda

[06:12–09:43]

• Putin’s Birthday Attacks: Massive drone strikes are launched as a macabre birthday “gift” by Putin each October 7, targeting multiple Ukrainian cities.
  • "As a birthday present to himself, he, every year since the war started, has launched massive waves of drones against civilian cities." (Ken, [06:21])
• Human Safaris: Russian soldiers and online propagandists openly refer to attacks on civilians as "human safaris," bragging online about killing non-combatants.
  • "They post the kills themselves on Telegram and other Russian social media channels, referring to their missions as human safaris because they're hunting humans." (Ken, [07:42])
• Russian Public Perception: Most Russians remain insulated from or in denial about the atrocities, with the government keeping the war’s reality distant.
• Comparison to U.S. Detachment: Amy draws a parallel to Americans tuning out ongoing wars abroad.

3. Lessons for the U.S. Military: Humility and Adaptation

[10:05–14:11]

• U.S. Hubris: The U.S. military’s refusal to learn from Ukrainian adaptation stems from overconfidence:
  • "Just because we have the most expensive military... doesn't mean we have the most adaptable or the best military in the world." (Ken, [10:13])
• Drone Defense Failures: U.S. air defenses were outmaneuvered by cheap Iranian Shahed drones—drones that Ukrainians regularly neutralize for a fraction of the U.S. cost.
  • "A $20,000 drone that got past every one of our air defenses and hit a base in Kuwait..." (Ken, [11:05])
• Wasteful Defense Spending: U.S. interceptors costing millions are being used (and often failing) to shoot down low-cost enemy drones.
• Historical Ignorance: Both warn against U.S. leaders who ignore the lessons of Iraq and Afghanistan and assume wars will go to plan.

4. Trump’s Iran War: Leadership Void & Strategic Drift

[14:49–26:23]

• Presidential Speech Recap: Amy reviews Trump’s latest address—an incoherent, fact-free mix of victory declarations, empty threats, and strategic confusion.
  • "He is still all over the map... says the war is ending, but then telling everybody that we're going to continue to bomb them back to the, quote, stone Age." (Amy, [15:37])
• No Adults in the Room: Ken notes that Trump’s advisors seem to enable rather than challenge his bad ideas, including dangerously simplistic analogies (e.g., “do Iran like Venezuela”).
• Escalation Risks: Growing fears Trump might consider nuclear options to cement his legacy.
  • "My biggest fear... he's thinking nukes, right? How to etch yourself in history better than being only the second president... to launch a nuke." (Ken, [24:51])

5. Economic Fallout: War and Daily Life

[26:23–31:47]

• Skyrocketing Prices: Fuel costs have jumped 35% since the war began, impacting food, medicine, and other essentials.
  • "When 20% of the world's oil supply and a good chunk of the world's fertilizer is choked off... it's going to have global ramifications." (Ken, [27:19])
• Trump’s Disconnected Rhetoric: Trump claims Americans are "getting rich" as prices soar.
  • "Well, not the Americans I know. Not the Americans you know. His friends are getting rich, right? The oligarchs are doing fine." (Ken, [28:29])
• AI and Corporate Price Gouging: Grocery companies allegedly using customer data and AI-driven dynamic pricing to extract more from shoppers—Amy calls it “dystopian.”

6. The Erosion of Tradition & Rule of Law

[31:47–33:41]

• Trump’s Name on Everything: The President seeks to brand government currency and institutions with his name and likeness—sometimes illegally.
  • "Some of it's actually illegal... Putting living presidents or serving sitting president's face on currency is a, is a violation of the law." (Ken, [31:47])
• Hope for Reversal: Both look forward to an eventual public repudiation and removal of Trump’s markers from U.S. civic spaces.

7. Grift and Corruption in the Pentagon

[33:49–37:59]

• Profiteering: Shocking reports of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attempting to buy defense industry stocks ahead of the Iran war, only stopped by clerical error—not ethics.
  • "This is a guy who... is trying to play the stock market, making a multimillion dollar investment in defense contractors that he knows are going to be having a boom because of a war that he knows is going to happen." (Amy, [33:49])
• Trump Family Ties: Trump’s sons own drone companies benefiting from policy decisions.
• Call for Reform: Both demand an end to stock trading for Congress and senior officials—“You want to play the stock market, fine. Then wait till you get out.” (Amy, [36:41])

8. Accountability and the Legacy of January 6th

[37:59–40:41]

• Trump’s Pardons Backfire: Many January 6 rioters, pardoned by Trump, are being arrested for new, serious crimes.
  • "Not the least bit surprising that the kind of people who would fall under the spell of Trump... would now be rearrested for other crimes." (Ken, [39:06])
• Peaceful Protest vs. Violent Insurrection: Ken notes the contrast between peaceful "no Kings" protests and the deadly violence of January 6.

9. Politicization of the Military

[40:41–44:49]

• Apache Helicopters for Kid Rock: Army aviators performed a fly-by for pro-Trump entertainer Kid Rock and buzzed anti-Trump protests in a show of intimidation; Secretary of Defense halts the investigation, implicitly approving the misconduct.
  • "Absolutely a prosecutable offense, a violation... of multiple regulations, but I would argue the UCMJ." (Ken, [41:56])
• Dangerous Precedent: Statement that such actions now have “a free license” under current leadership, undermining military professionalism and neutrality.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “It’s a blend of trench warfare and Terminator. I mean, it really is the future of warfare, and it’s being invented and tested in Ukraine right now.”
  — Ken Harbaugh, [06:02]

• “Let’s accept that we don’t know everything. Just because we have the most expensive military in the world doesn’t mean we have the most adaptable or the best military...”
  — Ken Harbaugh, [10:13]

• “Every time we’ve thought we’ve arrived at a new low, he’s been able to break through and dig deeper... What gets someone like him on Mount Rushmore?... I worry... he’s thinking nukes.”
  — Ken Harbaugh, [24:51]

• “Congress needs to pass a law banning members of Congress from stock trading. ...You either want to be a stockbroker or you want to, for that time frame where you’re in office... You want to go play the stock market, fine. Then wait till you get out.”
  — Amy McGrath, [36:41]

• “We have a president who just literally is all over the map in everything that he says about this war. That’s my take.”
  — Amy McGrath, [17:07]

• "You don't get to use military equipment that way. ...It is basically a free license now, a blank check to go use your position to intimidate Trump’s political enemies and uplift his political allies."
  — Ken Harbaugh, [43:07]

Important Timestamps

• [00:54–06:12]: Introduction to the documentary, drone warfare breakthroughs, and the unique defensive posture of Ukrainian forces.
• [06:12–09:43]: Russian methods, drone strikes, and public propaganda.
• [10:05–14:11]: Lessons for the U.S. military, drone defense failures, and American hubris.
• [14:49–18:20]: Trump's Iran war speech and analysis.
• [24:51]: Fears of escalation and nuclear use.
• [26:23–31:47]: Economic fallout, AI pricing in groceries.
• [33:49–37:59]: Defense Secretary and insider trading, call for legislative reform.
• [37:59–40:41]: Pardoned rioters and the contrast with peaceful protest.
• [40:41–44:49]: The politicization of military actions and the erosion of professionalism.

Tone & Conclusions

The conversation is stark, honest, and deeply critical of current leadership and priorities—patriotic but not jingoistic, with both Amy and Ken calling for accountability, humility, and a return to democratic norms. The episode intertwines battlefield analysis with discussions about American society's values and vulnerabilities, highlighting an urgent need for reform in both military and civilian spheres.