Pentagon has never passed an audit: Here's where the money goes | Unreported

Some stories make headlines. Others get ignored. On "Unreported," Meagan Medick takes a deeper look at the unexplained through the eyes and experiences of you, the viewers. You send the mystery — we investigate. This week, Meagan tackles America's new arms race and a $900-plus-billion defense budget the Pentagon has never once passed an audit on. Dan Grazier, a former U.S. Marine Corps tank officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and is now senior fellow and director of the National Security Reform Program at the Stimson Center, joins the show.

They discuss why the F-35 program ballooned from $200 billion to nearly $2 trillion while only a quarter of the jets are mission-ready, how defense contractors and lobbyists shape Congress's weapons budgets, whether U.S. supplied weapons could end up in the wrong hands and why AI and network-connected warfare could become America's biggest vulnerability instead of its advantage. "We're feeding a cash cow that's hungry," Grazier says of the trillion-dollar defense budget.

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CREDITS:

Host: Meagan Medick

Executive Producer: Andy Gipson, Meagan Medick

Segment Producer: Christine Jenkinson, Will Tomasi

Editor: Kanyon Lyons

NewsNation`s Unreported with Meagan Medick is built on the idea that some of the most important stories are the ones that don`t make the headlines. A seasoned network executive producer, Meagan brings a rare behind-the-scenes perspective to the front of the camera, taking the reins on stories she believes deserves more attention while asking questions other outlets often overlook or ridicule.

Through thoughtful conversations with creators, experts, and insiders, this show cuts through the noise to make complicated, viral, fringe or misunderstood topics actually make sense. Exploring stories ranging from government coverups to A.I. to paranormal phenomena, to explaining the origins of conspiracy theories and other enduring mysteries.

New episodes will premiere every Wednesday, offering bold perspectives on interesting stories that continue to spark widespread intrigue.

NewsNation is your source for fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans.

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CHAPTERS:

:00 Intro

2:06 Meet Daniel

3:37 Feelings on shifting military policy

5:30 Foreign aid & wasteful spending

9:00 Ensuring weapon deliveries end up in the right hands

13:16 Inside the Stimson Center's national security reform program

17:35 Is military spending overkill?

19:29 Who runs oversight for independent contractors?

25:38 The $2 trillion failure

28:33 Is the Golden Dome a feasible reality?

31:31 Global defense race

34:55 Is AI the future of war?

40:50 What is military training like today?

46:04 Should machines decide who lives and dies?

48:00 U.S.- China tensions

52:17 What spending is necessary?

55:25 Final thoughts