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Radio Atlantic

The Discarded

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, Society & Culture, News

4.32.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 January 2026

⏱️ 30 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Last year, there was a mass exodus of federal workers: Some were pushed out, while others left on their own. All in all, more than 300,000 Americans left government jobs. The Atlantic staff writer Franklin Foer spent months talking to dozens of them, finding out who they were, what they did, and ultimately what, as a country, we may have lost. Read Foer’s full story: “The Purged.” --- Get more from your favorite Atlantic voices when you subscribe. You’ll enjoy unlimited access to Pulitzer-winning journalism, from clear-eyed analysis and insight on breaking news to fascinating explorations of our world. Atlantic subscribers also get access to exclusive subscriber audio in Apple Podcasts. Subscribe today at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

Getting instant insights is amazing.

0:03.0

But if there are too many data points, it can be hard to see what works.

0:07.0

So I'll ask my AI assistant for recommendations.

0:11.0

And with PDF spaces in Acrobat Studio,

0:14.0

it's easy to remix documents and transform insights into standout content,

0:19.0

so you can go from idea to creation in record time all within an

0:23.1

AI powered workflow. Do that with Acrobat. Learn more and try it out on Adobe.com. Sanjeeves just

0:30.9

received a decent bonus. Nice work, Sanjeeve. He knows he could invest all of the money, but he's seen a new

0:36.0

watch he likes. He's not worried. With his HSBC Premier bank account and access to their financial advice service, he can get a personalised plan for the future and know how much you can spend a day. Everything's Premier when your bank account is. Search HSBC Premier. HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. For financial advice, you need minimum £100,000.

0:55.7

Other criteria and fees apply.

0:57.0

Financial and other eligibility criteria apply for HSBC Premier.

1:09.8

I always tell people to kind of picture their cell phone and, like, navigating somewhere you've never been.

1:14.8

This is Ryan.

1:16.2

My name is Ryan Hippensteele.

1:18.2

And he's explaining to me how the work that he and his colleagues do helps a person like me, who has no sense of direction, get around.

1:26.0

Or I should probably say he and his former colleagues.

1:29.6

First, your cell phone is using GPS technology.

1:32.7

And then you have all these layers, right?

1:34.4

It might be a layer of restaurants so you can, you know, find a new pizza joint.

1:38.8

All of those layers need to be on top of each other in the right place

1:43.1

for your car and your iPhone or whatever it might

1:46.5

be to know what road it's on.

...

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