Unbreaking Bureaucracy: State Capacity 101 w/Jennifer Pahlka and Andrew Greenway

The newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has put state capacity back in the spotlight, reigniting debates over whether the federal government is fundamentally broken or just mismanaged. With Elon Musk at the helm, DOGE has already taken drastic actions, from shutting down USAID to slashing bureaucratic redundancies. Supporters argue this is the disruption Washington needs; critics warn it’s a reckless power grab that could erode public accountability. But regardless of where you stand, one thing is clear: the ability of the U.S. government to execute policy is now under scrutiny like never before.

That’s exactly the question at the heart of this week’s episode. From the Navy’s struggles to build ships to the Department of Education’s FAFSA disaster, our conversation lays out why the government seems incapable of delivering even on its own priorities. It’s not just about money or political will—it’s about outdated hiring rules, a culture of proceduralism over action, and a bureaucracy designed to say "no" instead of "go." These failures aren’t accidental; they’re baked into how the system currently operates. Jennifer Pahlka, former U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer under President Obama and Senior Fellow at Niskanen Center and Andrew Greenway, co-founder of Public Digital, join.

The solution? A fundamental shift in how government works—not just at the leadership level, but deep within agencies themselves. She advocates for cutting procedural bloat, giving civil servants the authority to make real decisions, and modernizing digital infrastructure to allow for rapid adaptation. Reform, she argues, isn’t about breaking government down; it’s about making it function like a system designed for the 21st century. Whether DOGE is a step in that direction or a warning sign of what happens when frustration meets executive power remains to be seen.