What happens when a CT scanner breaks down in Afghanistan and soldiers can't repair it themselves? Or when the Navy has to fly contractors out to sea just to fix basic equipment? This episode dives into the Pentagon's "right to repair" problem - where service members are blocked from fixing their own gear, costing taxpayers billions and putting missions at risk.

Host Steve Ellis talks with Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette from the Project on Government Oversight and TCS policy analyst Gabe Murphy about the bipartisan Warrior's Right to Repair Act. From F-35 fighter jets to broken generators in South Korea, discover how contractor monopolies are keeping our military from maintaining their own equipment - and why 74% of Americans support giving our troops the tools and training to fix what they own.

Can Congress finally break the cycle of costly contractor dependency? Find out why this common-sense reform has everyone from Elizabeth Warren to Republicans rallying behind our service members' right to repair.

New York Times bestselling author Michael Grunwald joins host Steve Ellis to discuss his forthcoming book "We Are Eating the Earth: the Race to Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate," coming out July 1st. The episode reveals how agricultural lobbying has created a web of costly policies that benefit agribusiness while exacerbating climate problems. From the biofuels boondoggle that eats up a Texas-sized chunk of farmland to the "faith-based conservation" programs burning through billions in taxpayer dollars, discover why so many "green" agriculture solutions are climate disasters in disguise.

Senate Republicans are scrambling to craft their version of President Trump's massive budget reconciliation package before a self-imposed July 4th deadline – and they're making the House's already bloated bill even worse. The Senate Armed Services Committee wants to throw an additional $6 billion at Pentagon spending, bringing the total national security increase to $156 billion, including more money for the over-budget Sentinel ICBM program and the unfeasible "Golden Dome" missile defense system.

Meanwhile, other provisions would roll back hard-won oil and gas reforms, slashing royalty rates from 16.67% back to 12.5% and reinstating a non-competitive leasing loophole that lets companies grab federal land for just $75. With most Senate committees skipping markup hearings to meet the artificial deadline, this reconciliation package is shaping up to be one of the most expensive and least transparent in recent memory.

TCS Vice President Autumn Hanna, Policy Analyst Gabe Murphy, and Director of Research Josh Sewell break down the wasteful spending, parliamentary hurdles, and political realities facing this "one big beautiful bill.