What Next | The War Over Pete Hegseth

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4 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 12 May 2025

⏱️ 28 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Despite being perhaps the least experienced person to ever hold his position, Pete Hegseth has set about dramatically reforming the Department of Defense to Donald Trump’s specifications—which seem to have less to do with creating a more effective fighting force, and more to do with window dressing. Guest: Tom Bowman, Pentagon reporter for NPR. Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Ethan Oberman, Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, Isabel Angell, and Rob Gunther. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Kate's just off to work after sleeping in the best bed in the business.
0:05.0	And my word, doesn't she look ready for anything?
0:08.0	Something about her smile is just brighter.
0:10.0	Her eyes seem glintier, and she just feels so much more...
0:15.0	Kateier?
0:16.0	Of course it's no surprise really, because last night she slept at Premier Inn,
0:20.0	and she got up to 15% off with business booker.
0:23.6	Get better sleep for your money.
0:25.6	Premier Inn, rest easy. T's and C is apply.
0:29.6	Amazon offers term time working to their employees, like Anton, who's home to look after his daughters during their holidays.
0:40.0	Hello!
0:40.9	To him, this is the best sound in the world.
0:47.2	Actually, maybe that's the best sound of all.
0:51.4	Now that's term time working.
0:53.7	Offered at Amazon. Ten weeks off guaranteed per year.
0:57.1	Mix of paid holiday and unpaid time off. Conditions apply.
1:06.2	Tom, how long have you been covering the Pentagon?
1:10.3	28 years this year.
1:13.0	Tom Bowman covers the Pentagon for NPR.
1:16.8	It's a long time.
1:18.0	Have you ever seen a Secretary of Defense like Pete Hagezeth?
1:20.9	I never have.
	...

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