On today’s episode of Hear Me Out… the conscription question.

The U.S. military is having trouble meeting recruitment goals — and for the first time in recent history, the Army has actually failed to meet its minimum. 

Joe Plenzler, a writer, consultant and Marine Corps veteran, joins us to argue that it’s time to bring back the draft; more specifically, a partial one. It’d help address recruiting shortfalls, but more importantly, it might also change how Americans feel about public service… and how politicians feel about endless war.

If you have thoughts you want to share, or an idea for a topic we should tackle, you can email the show: hearmeout@slate.com

Podcast production by Maura Currie

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