What is the role of US Inspectors General? With Michael Missal
What do Inspectors General actually do, and why has their role become a battleground in recent years? On this episode of Unlocked, Michael Missal—former Inspector General of the US Department of Veterans Affairs—joins host Nancy Gibbs to break down the vital work of IGs in safeguarding federal agencies from waste, fraud, and abuse. Together, they explore the unique independence of IGs, the importance of transparency, and what happens when oversight is threatened by political interference. Missal shares firsthand stories from his tenure serving under multiple presidential administrations—detailing how investigations are handled, and explaining the legal requirements for the removal of IGs. With a recent wave of firings and mounting pressure on independent oversight bodies like the Office of Inspector General and the Government Accountability Office, this episode examines the essential work of these government watchdogs.
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What Makes Government Inefficient? With Mina Hsiang
Mina Hsiang served as the Administrator of the United States Digital Service from 2021 until January 2025. She joined Nancy Gibbs to talk about what the USDS did to build both government services and efficiency, as well as a broader conversation about the role of government in society, the hurdles to making government more efficienet, and some of the nuts and bolts that most people only see from the inside, like how hiring works in the federal government, and what it took to make data systems talk to one another and why that was important for people like military veterans. Â
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Introducing Unlocked
Welcome to Unlocked, an explanatory podcast to help people reporting on the news decipher how the U.S. government works, and what exactly is going on today. Hosted by Nancy Gibbs, from the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
From Nancy Gibbs and the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Unlocked is a new series to help journalists and those taking on the task of explaining the news today better understand how the U.S. Government actually works, what it does, and the people, policies, and programs that drive it. In collaboration with The Journalist's Resource, "Unlocked" is also a series of print explainers on related topics. Visit ShorensteinCenter.org/Unlocked to learn more.
Intro music by https://pixabay.com/users/nikitakondrashev-42823964/
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