Loren DeJonge Schulman

Was chatting with a civ mil crew that cable news bookers have apparently apparently not updated their natsec contacts in 15 years and print media isn’t embarrassed to publish retired GOFOs with genuine errors in their prose.

We’re allowed to do this better!

Also so deeply refreshing to get detailed, informed, complex commentary from a former USGer who actually understands and cares about the Middle East.

One might, say, ask her to go on news or Colbert or NPR.

Endangerment, DOD AI, Iran Podcast Episode · Sirens: A Bombshell production · March 5 · 1h 16m

fantastic new @sirenspod.bsky.social with the @washinstitute.bsky.social's Dana Stroul - learned an enormous amount from her on Iran

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

As Trump administration cries ‘fraud,’ experts worry it does more harm than good “It’s dismaying,” one longtime anti-fraud expert told Nextgov/FCW of how the administration is using fraud as rationale but firing the watchdogs that are tasked with finding it.

Trump says that Vance will lead a "war on fraud," pointing to the Somali community and a list of blue states.

Trump fired nearly 20 IGs- whose job it is to fight fraud- last year. Experts say his politicization off fraud makes actual fixes more difficult.

www.nextgov.com/policy/2026/...

Honesty and participation are state capacity super powers.

the war on fraud - some big questions there -
- what do Americans consider fraud, how much do they estiamte / overestimate, what sorts of risks are they willing to tolerate for faster access to resources and benefits, do we have the fed or state resources to manage fraud risk on front end (no)?

TSP4All?

definitely had a brief foray into a "they're protecting the rates" to the tune of "they're eating the dogs," oh dear.

1 hour in I am definitely struggling with the "this is an actual policy and new thing" and "this is just a sort of vibe dude."

rate payer protection, suddenly all of my colleagues emerge from their long winter sleep and roar into the night

chicken. butter. food. hotels. automobiles.

(sorry I'm sort of slack jawed)

Tariffs are trade taxes.

congressional action actually makes things pretty cool and pretty legal.

Polarization is a major limiting factor on the power of US intl agreements and the stability of US commitments

(Treasury and IRS also pretty important in implementation of Trump accounts)

one of the most important govt capacity functions in the country is IRS customer service.

ok I am...struggling...but taxes!

Taxes are an important story of how our democracy evolves: who and what it values, who pays, and who and what gets to benefit from national investment.

Civ mil experts now wondering whether there is an athlete - executive relations field

Regis Philbin's ties are stored in the basement of the Capitol.

Governments have tremendous power simply by setting and changing yardsticks, e.g., if you measure the success of programs by how many signed up after you change the eligibility rules. 3/

Let's just say that, as a first order matter, I think that the federal statistical apparatus is a gem and we should, in general, listen to it and use it as a reference point for things, like remarks to the nation. 2/

Well, let's start with some government capacity SOTU commentary. 1/

I tell my students that foreign policy is all about using weird awkward levers to influence the decisions of complete strangers who have little reason to stay consistent.

Sometimes I think it’s better for analysts to just retreat to a “what the SHIT” posture just to offer the best context.

Everything You Need to Know About OPM’s New Schedule P/C This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies inte...

Also, my Schedule/PC explainer goes into more nerdy detail for listeners. fas.org/publication/...

I Caught POLITICO and the New York Times Laundering Pink Slime "News" How the sexist backlash to AOC and Gretchen Whitmer at the Munich Security Conference led me to a scammy "local news" outlet pushing a coordinated right-wing narrative

After we recorded @sirenspod.bsky.social friend of show @emilyhorne.bsky.social published this FASCINATING take on AOC coverage from Munich - really learned a lot from this. spinclass.substack.com/p/spin-class...

Primes, Schedule P/C, and AI Sentiment Podcast Episode · Sirens: A Bombshell production · February 19 · 1h 2m

Sirens welcomes @cfr.org's Rebecca Lissner for a deep dive on popular sentiment on AI, data centers, and the first "AI election" in 2026. Plus, Schedule P/C, Munich Security Conference, and bad Olympic commentary. podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...

Everything You Need to Know About OPM’s New Schedule P/C This rule gives agencies significantly more authority over certain career policy roles. Whether that authority improves accountability or creates new risks depends almost entirely on how agencies inte...

I wrote an explainer that's meant to guide not only what to know now about the new Schedule P/C (Schedule F) rule, but more importantly, what to ask OPM and agencies throughout implementation fas.org/publication/...

An Argument for Renewing the Administrative State The American administrative state, since its modern creation out of the New Deal and the post-WWII order, has proven that it can do great things. But it needs some reinvention first.

“We need not lose faith in the administrative state itself; we would do better to view it as having functioned with its hands tied tighter and tighter. But we are now starting, particularly in the climate and energy space, to hit real limits.” At @scientistsorg.bsky.social fas.org/publication/...