Introducing WatchCats
A new podcast focused on the Department of Government Efficiency
Some exciting news, at least if you are the sort of person who considers wonky deep-dives into public policy “exciting”: Noah Kunin and I have just launched a new podcast called WatchCats focused on the activities of the newly-formed Department of Government Efficiency, also known as DOGE, and the incoming administration’s putative efforts to streamline the federal government. You can subscribe on Substack, or go to the Transistor page to listen via all the major podcast services. Expect new episodes roughly every two weeks, with the occasional Very Special Episode as news events dictate.
On our inaugural episode, which went live today, we talk with Mikey Dickerson, the first head of the United States Digital Services and—to the shock of just about everyone—new home within the federal government of DOGE, which had initially been pitched as an external quasi-independent advisory council. In brief, we try to suss out what this new organizational status means for DOGE and its ability to work with the government, as well as why it’s landed in an agency mostly known for building government websites and apps.
For a little background: Noah is a progressive tech geek and alumnus of the Sunlight Foundation, a transparency nonprofit, as well as 18F, an innovative government digital services shop launched under the Obama administration. As you probably already know if you’re reading this, I’m a squishy sort of libertarian who got his start as an editor at Reason and, after pit stops at The Economist and Ars Technica, spend a dozen years and change as a scholar at the Cato Institute.
What we have in common, aside from rugged good looks, is (a) a strong belief in the principle that the federal government could indeed be much less wasteful and more efficient, as well as (b) a profound skepticism that this administration is likely to make a competent job of it. (Though we are, of course, prepared to be pleasantly surprised.)
Naturally, we’ll be following news related to DOGE and DOGE-adjacent program activities as the fledgling agency is stood up. But we’ll also be talking to a range of public policy experts trying to sketch out our own blueprint for what a smart effort at streamlining government would look like. How much fat can be cut, and where, from defense or intelligence budgets? Can government IT and procurement be made to work better and less wastefully? And what are the bureaucratic, political, and legal obstacles to making any of that happen?
It is, frankly, an experiment in progress, and we’re still figuring out exactly what it’s going to look like, but we hope you’ll join us for the ride.