Trump’s Second Week: DeepSeek, DEI in the Military and . . . Baby Chickens?

110 snips

Jan 30, 2025

Guest

Madeleine Rowley

Guest

Brianna Wu

Brianna Wu, a video game industry expert, and Madeleine Rowley, an investigative reporter, dive into the murky waters of DEI initiatives in the military. They share compelling insights on how these policies affect military readiness and culture, with Wu emphasizing the challenges faced since the 2011 diversity report. Rowley discusses the ramifications of political debates on recruitment and team cohesion. The conversation also touches on the political chaos surrounding Trump’s administration and its impact on military policies, painting a vivid picture of the current landscape.

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ANECDOTE

DEI in Video Games

Brianna Wu initially championed DEI in the video game industry.
She later observed its negative impacts on teams and projects.

INSIGHT

Team Dynamics

Focusing on identity differences within teams can hinder productivity and collaboration.
A shared goal and mutual respect foster better teamwork.

INSIGHT

Diversity in Combat

Diversity of capabilities is crucial in combat teams.
Shared identity can hinder trust and mutual reliance, which are essential for combat effectiveness.

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It’s President Donald Trump’s second week in office, and he has wasted no time being the wrecking ball he promised his voters he would be.

On Tuesday, he issued a memo freezing trillions of dollars in federal funding, in his attempt to purge the government of “woke ideology,” which was followed by chaos and confusion—and ultimately blocked by a federal judge. Earlier in the week, Trump convinced Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro to accept deported Colombian migrants—who Petro had turned away from his borders only a day earlier—after Trump threatened a 25-percent tariff on Colombian imports to the U.S.

Back in Congress, the Senate narrowly confirmed Pete Hegseth to be secretary of defense in a dramatic tie-breaking vote cast by a hurried J.D. Vance who showed up just in the nick of time. Meanwhile, RFK Jr. is currently having his highly anticipated confirmation hearing to run the Department of Health and Human Services. Just as that began, Caroline Kennedy—the only surviving child of John F. Kennedy—came out Tuesday with a bombshell public denunciation of her cousin, calling him unqualified, “a predator,” and a hypocrite. She also alleged that he used to “put baby chickens and mice in a blender to feed to his hawks.” Can’t say we had that on our 2025 bingo card…

Finally, the Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek sent tech stocks plummeting on Monday (to the tune of more than $1 trillion) after it rolled out a new app on the U.S. market that is a fraction of the cost of American AI competitors. All of which brought up questions—and panic—about our brewing AI war with China.

To talk about it all, Free Press senior editor Peter Savodnik is joined today by Brianna Wu and FP investigative reporter Madeleine Rowley, who spoke to Hegseth this week about his plans to end diversity, equity, and inclusion in the military.

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