Hegseth’s Pentagon Axed a Program Meant to Save Civilian Lives

The US and Israel have continued a large-scale bombing campaign in Iran, killing over 1,300 civilians. On this week’s On the Media, the far-reaching implications of the Department of Defense’s scrapping of an initiative to protect civilians. Plus, how different corners of the MAGA-verse are metabolizing the Epstein files. [01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Wes J. Bryant , a former senior policy advisor at the Pentagon and retired Air Force Master Sergeant, about the civilian protection initiative he was working on for the Department of Defense and the deadly consequences of Secretary Hegseth’s decisions to close it down. [31:28] Host Micah Loewinger sits down with David Gilbert , a reporter at WIRED covering disinformation and online extremism, to explore how different segments of the right are reacting to the Epstein files, from far-right commentators like Nick Fuentes to Fox News to Qanon conspiracists. Further reading / watching: “The U.S. Built a Blueprint to Avoid Civilian War Casualties. Trump Officials Scrapped It,” by Hannah Allam “MAGA Is Raging Over the Epstein Files. But They’re Not Mad at Donald Trump,” by David Gilbert On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today ( ). Follow our show on Instagram , Bluesky , TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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Hegseth’s Pentagon Axed a Program Meant to Save Civilian Lives is an episode from On the Media by WNYC Studios.

This episode is 00:50:16 long.

This episode was published on Mar 13, 2026.

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