Your Federal Life

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107

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May 2026

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About the show

Each week, Drew Friedman and contributors to Federal News Network’s workforce coverage provide listeners with actionable information on the management of their careers and financial lives. Your Federal Life covers topics ranging from federal pay and benefits to retirement and retirement planning, hiring, career planning, and federal personnel policy. ]]>

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May 20, 202624 min

Your Federal Life -- May 20, 2026

After upheavals across the federal workforce, and hundreds of thousands of public servants leaving their jobs, grassroots organizations have been rising to meet the moment. We hear from a co-founder of one of those organizations, Karen Lee of FedsForward. Her group has building tech-enabled tools to help civil servants navigate career change. Plus, we hear from another organization that’s been fueling and feeding former public servants. WellFed has been stepping up to host events, offer resources and form a community of support to those going through a major life transition. We get more from Rebecca Ferguson-Ondrey, a co-founder of WellFed.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

April 29, 202624 min

Your Federal Life -- April 29, 2026

During 2025, more than 348,000 federal employees quit, retired, were laid off or otherwise left their jobs. The losses affected a broad swath of the federal workforce, but seem to have disproportionately affected younger and less experienced employees. We take a look back with some data analysis from Drew DeSilver, a senior writer at Pew Research Center.And after those major reductions under the Trump administration, the federal workforce is at a 15-year staffing low. But now, some agencies are reversing course and talking again about expanding recruitment opportunities. Jenny Mattingley, vice president of government affairs at the Partnership for Public Service, gives us a look at what comes next.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

March 25, 202624 min

Your Federal Life -- March 25, 2026

The federal workforce faced a tumultuous year in 2025. There was a long hiring freeze, hundreds of thousands of employees leaving their jobs, a return-to-office directive — and lots more. Navigating through these changes has been a challenge not only for employees, but for the supervisors and managers overseeing them. At ATARC’s public sector workforce summit on March 19, Federal News Network’s Drew Friedman moderated a panel of workforce leaders to hear how they are managing employees through a period of significant change. In this episode of Your Federal Life, we hear from Joanie Newhart, associate administrator of acquisition workforce programs at the Office of Management and Budget; Sarah Moffat, Senior Advisor of Innovation and Change Strategy at NASA; and Kevin Sanchez-Cherry, cyber policy, training and workforce manager at the Department of Transportation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

February 18, 202624 min

Your Federal Life -- Feb. 18, 2026

After a year of deep disruptions to the career civil service, lawmakers have created a bicameral caucus attempting to defend federal workers and promote long-term reforms. Its goals range from protecting the nonpartisan public service to improving federal pay and retention. We hear more from a co-leader of the new Federal Workforce Caucus, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-Va.).Plus, we tap into the perspective of Dave Lebryk, who spent a career leading teams through both calm and crisis across government. After recently stepping away from public service, he’s now watching former colleagues shoulder one of the toughest years in recent memory. We hear his thoughts on how leaders still on the job keep themselves grounded, keep their teams motivated and keep pushing for better performance.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

January 28, 202624 min

Your Federal Life -- Jan. 28, 2026

We the Doers is a new organization proposing a different path forward for government reform and improvements to agency performance. In our last episode, we featured the first part of this conversation. Now, we dive into the final piece of Federal News Network executive editor Jason Miller’s discussion with the co-founders of We the Doers, April Harding and Maureen Klovers.Plus, the Office of Personnel Management is out with more details on how agencies should implement the new “rule of many” in federal hiring. OPM says it will streamline the recruitment process. But implementation also depends on agencies’ resources and staffing levels. We get more from Jenny Mattingley, the vice president of government affairs at the Partnership for Public Service.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

January 21, 202624 min

Your Federal Life -- Jan. 21, 2026

Over the last three decades, there has been no shortage of ideas for how to improve federal agency performance. But now, a group of former federal executives called We the Doers is offering a different path to reforming the government, based on more than 88 years of combined federal service. For more on what We the Doers is proposing, Federal News Network’s Jason Miller sat down with the organization’s co-founders, Maureen Klovers and April Harding.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

January 14, 202624 min

Your Federal Life -- Jan. 14, 2026

From TSP contributions to investment choices and building a stronger safety net, a few smart moves now can set federal employees up for financial confidence all year long. Certified financial planner Thiago Glieger joins us with helpful hints for building a strong financial plan in 2026.Plus, financial strain, workforce upheaval and uncertainty marked the past year for service members and veterans. Mike Meese, president of Armed Forces Mutual, reflects on the biggest challenges of 2025 and looks ahead to the workforce policies that could shape 2026. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

December 17, 202524 min

Your Federal Life -- Dec. 17, 2025

Federal senior executives have some new training and development opportunities from the Office of Personnel Management. The optional courses cover many of the Trump administration’s new priorities for the federal workforce. OPM launched the training programs in November, but there will be continuous updates to the content moving forward. We get more from OPM Director Scott Kupor.Plus, the Trump administration’s deviation from norms as it transitioned into the White House earlier this year is raising questions about the future of presidential transition planning. A new report from the Partnership for Public Service’s Center for Presidential Transition takes a deeper look at that transfer of power — and says there is a need for transition reforms, especially when it comes to transparency and security. The Partnership’s vice president of government affairs, Jenny Mattingley, tells us the details.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

November 12, 202524 min

Your Federal Life -- Nov. 12, 2025

With Open Season underway, rising premiums may be top of mind for enrollees in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program. But there are other changes employees and annuitants will want to be aware of — like the plans entering or leaving FEHB, and benefits changes across the government’s insurance programs. We hear more from Kevin Moss, director of marketing and fundraising at Consumer’s Checkbook.Plus, federal employees are experiencing disruptions in the workplace at a rate nearly three times the national average. Close to one-third of federal employees say their workplace has been disrupted “to a very large extent” this year, according to new data from Gallup. We get a breakdown of the latest findings from Camille Lloyd, a director and senior consultant at Gallup.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

October 22, 202524 min

Your Federal Life -- Oct. 22, 2025

Today we are diving into all things Open Season. Whether you’re enrolled in the Federal Employees Health Benefits program, or the Postal Service Health Benefits program — and whether you’re an active employee, or a federal retiree — there’s a lot to know about the upcoming one-month enrollment period that starts Nov. 10. Premium rates are on the rise again with another year of double-digit increases. There are also a number of plans both leaving and entering the government’s health insurance marketplace in 2026. Kevin Moss, director of marketing and fundraising at Consumer’s Checkbook, tells us more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.