Vetted Conversations

Episode 12 asks the question: how do immigrants contribute to our national security. America is a country of immigrants, and this episode explores how the best teams are built from people with different backgrounds, skill sets, and cultures.  We kick things off (00:47) with U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and current Deputy Chief of Citizenship and Applicant Information Services at the U.S. Citiz...

Episode 11 explores how veterans can get involved in local government. Local government decisions often have a more direct impact on daily life than those at the state or federal level. We begin (1:24) with Dr. Shawn Healy, Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy at iCivics, who addresses the question, "What are our responsibilities as citizens?" (5:55). Next, Navy veteran Mike Cantwell d...

In this episode, we hear from Dr. Shawn Healey, PhD of iCivics (1:07) on why it's important to have civilian control of  the military. And Kori Schake, the Senior Fellow and Director of Foreign and Defense Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute shares her perspectives on the topic (7:33). Finally, Vet the Vote coalition member Chris Purdy of Veterans For American Ideals joins us...

Joining us are two guests - Navy veterans Todd Connor and Eric Bronner. Todd is the founder of the veteran business incubator Bunker Labs, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, University of Chicago Booth School of Business, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, and author of Third Shift Entrepreneur. Eric is the Co-Founder of Show Me Integrity Education Fund, Missouri. He holds a JD from Washington University...

Joining us today are The Honorable Jocelyn Benson from the Great State of Michigan, and The Honorable David Scanlan from the Great State of New Hampshire.   Support the show For more, check us out at www.wetheveterans.us and at https://linktr.ee/vettedconversations

In today’s episode, we’re diving into a vital discussion with three experts on the frontlines of safeguarding our elections:  Jennifer Morrell, U.S. Air Force veteran and CEO of The Elections Group. Jennifer is a nationally recognized authority on election audits, a subject matter expert for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and a member o...

In 2022, America faced a significant challenge: we didn’t have enough election poll workers. Each election, around 1.2 million volunteers are needed to set up polling places, verify IDs, issue ballots, tally votes, and report the results. In this episode, we dive into how a dedicated team of American patriots—both veterans and civilians—stepped up and filled more than half of that need in 2022. We...

In this episode, Ellen and Joe chat with long-time NY Times Pentagon reporter Thom Shanker and Army veteran, author, and investigative journalist Kelly S. Kennedy about the role of a free and vigorous press in our democracy.   Support the show For more, check us out at www.wetheveterans.us and at https://linktr.ee/vettedconversations

In this episode we hear from retired Navy Admiral Steve Abbot who served as the deputy homeland security advisor to the President of the United States. You'll also hear from retired Marine Corps Colonel David Lapan who served as the press secretary and deputy assistant secretary for media relations during the last administration. They both join Ellen Gustafson and Jeremy Butler (USN) to dispe...

In this episode, former Secretary of the Army, the Honorable Louis Caldera and former Secretary of the Navy, the Honorable Sean O'Keefe join Joe Plenzler (USMC), Ellen Gustafson, and Jeremy Butler (USN) for a discussion on how increasing public understanding of civics helps strengthen our democracy and mitigate political polarization.  Support the show For more, check us out at www.wetheveter...

 In this episode, veterans Scott Cooper (U.S. Marine Corps) and Dan Vallone (U.S. Army) join Ellen, Jeremy, and Joe for a robust discussion on what our responsibilities are as veterans and how we can best continue to serve America and strengthen our democracy. Scott Cooper is a former Marine Corps EA-6B Naval Flight Officer and former founder of Veterans for American Ideals. Dan Vallone is a forme...

Hello, and welcome to Vetted Conversations - a podcast created and produced by We the Veterans and Military Families. We are a non-profit, non-partisan, pro-democracy and stridently patriotic organization created by veterans and their family members to promote positive, patriotic civic engagement, counter propaganda targeting the military and veteran community, and help veterans live their best li...