The Ken Harbaugh Show

Ken Harbaugh calls out Pete Hegseth's silence on American casualties in the Iran war, arguing the Pentagon is dodging accountability rather than protecting security. He talks with Army combat veteran Kris Goldsmith about what that silence costs military morale and the troops living with the consequences. Support Ukraine’s 34th Marine Brigade, the unit at the heart of “Drone Hunters of Kherson," here: https://www.ukrainefreedomproject.org/valor Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Follow Kris’s show "On Offense" on the VALOR Media Network: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDrygxhr4TorluaTe0zXF-SFhg0R8&si=ro3K6...

Ken Harbaugh calls out Pete Hegseth's silence on American casualties in the Iran war, arguing the Pentagon is dodging accountability rather than protecting security. He talks with Army combat veteran Kris Goldsmith about what that silence costs military morale and the troops living with the consequences. Support Ukraine’s 34th Marine Brigade, the unit at the heart of “Drone Hunters of Kherson," here: https://www.ukrainefreedomproject.org/valor Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Follow Kris’s show "On Offense" on the VALOR Media Network: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDrygxhr4TorluaTe0zXF-SFhg0R8&si=ro3K6...

Marine Corps veteran Maura Sullivan and Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett take on what leadership really means when it's responsibility for human lives — and where this administration is failing that test. The U.S. is back at war with Iran, and Congress won't take the Article I vote. The Defense Secretary is signaling that women and people of color don't belong in the military. ICE agents are killing people on American streets with no accountability. Then it gets personal — the mentors who shaped how they lead, how becoming a parent changed what responsibility means to them, and the advocates giving them...

Ken Harbaugh breaks down the Trump administration's shifting, contradictory rationale for the Iran war, and Pete Hegseth's tone-deaf response to two more American deaths in Jordan. Then he talks with viral veteran commentator "Angry Male Vet" about reaching MAGA-world defectors through trusted messengers. Support Ukraine’s 34th Marine Brigade, the unit at the heart of “Drone Hunters of Kherson," here: https://www.ukrainefreedomproject.org/valor Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Follow Angry Male Vet here: https://substack.com/@angrymalevet?r=4l6qm5&utm_campaign=profile&utm_medium=profile-page Pre-order the new book from MeidasTouch, WTF Am...

Retired Navy Commander Bobby Jones sits down with retired Army Brigadier General Leela Gray; 3 decades in uniform, commander at every echelon, and now the Democrat running to unseat Rep. Anna Paulina Luna in Florida's 13th District. They cover it all: the collapsing Iran ceasefire and the Strait of Hormuz standoff, Congress ducking its Article I war powers, Secretary Hegseth's purge of women and minority officers from the military's top ranks, and the affordability crisis crushing Pinellas County where homeowners now pay triple the national average for insurance. Gray's internal polling has her in a statistical tie with Luna even...

Ken Harbaugh breaks down Secretary Hegseth's bizarre new testosterone-focused initiative for the military, questioning why the Pentagon chief is fixated on appearance-driven masculinity in the middle of a shooting war with Iran. Ken talks with Army combat veteran and Veterans Fighting Fascism founder Kris Goldsmith to unpack what's really behind Hegseth's latest obsession. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Follow Kris’s show "On Offense" on the VALOR Media Network: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDrygxhr4TorluaTe0zXF-SFhg0R8&si=ro3K6lAzlLv1zGbw Pre-order the new book from MeidasTouch, WTF America?!: The Way Out...

Ken Harbaugh continues his conversation with Lt. Col. Alex Vindman, examining how Trump's transactional approach to foreign policy — from Hormuz tolls to Venezuelan oil — has eroded America's global standing and rules-based international order. Vindman, now running for U.S. Senate in Florida, discusses the dangers of politicized national security under a Republican Party defined by fealty to a single man. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Support Alex Vindman's campaign here: https://alexvindman.com/ Pre-order the new book from MeidasTouch, WTF America?!: The Way Out of This Hell and Back to Democracy, today: https://bit.ly/wtf...

In this week's episode of Meidas Defense, Hell Cats co-hosts Maura Sullivan and Rebecca Bennett — a Marine Corps officer and a Navy helicopter pilot — sit down after the Fourth of July to ask what patriotism actually means in America right now. From Trump's handling of NATO and the war in Ukraine, to the Supreme Court's latest ruling on guns, to what it takes to love a country while pushing it to be better, the two veterans break down why the people who actually wore the uniform tend to find common ground across the aisle far faster than others. Along the...

Ken Harbaugh breaks down a bombshell Reuters report showing Trump and his sons funneled nearly $2 billion in crypto gains — almost exactly what retail investors lost — straight into stocks, including companies with direct business before his administration. Then Ken sits down with retired Army Colonel Alex Vindman, the whistleblower behind Trump's first impeachment, now running for U.S. Senate in Florida, for part one of a wide-ranging conversation on corruption, accountability, and the stakes of 2026. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Support Alex Vindman's campaign here: https://alexvindman.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Support the Me...

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's handling of the Iran war is falling apart under scrutiny and we're breaking down exactly how. Since the war began on February 28, 2026, Hegseth has gutted civilian-harm oversight, presided over a school strike that killed more than 150 people with zero accountability months later, contradicted his own claims about Iran's nuclear program in front of Congress, and been publicly contradicted by his own troops after downplaying an attack on a U.S. base. Retired Navy Commander Bobby Jones lays out the receipts on which the SECDEF should be judged. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!
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Ken Harbaugh breaks down Trump's chaotic performance at the NATO Summit in Ankara — from confusing Zelensky for Putin to threatening Greenland while attacking allies who refused to back a disastrous war with Iran. He then talks with retired Army Brigadier General Leela Gray, who is challenging Anna Paulina Luna in Florida, about the damage Trump and Hegseth are doing to the military. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Support Leela Gray’s campaign here: https://www.leelagray.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh argues that Graham Platner never should have made it this far — the sexual assault accusations against him are credible, and it's long past time for him to leave the Maine Senate race. He's joined by veteran and anti-extremism researcher Kris Goldsmith to unpack the red flags they saw well before this week's news. Watch the full interview on Ken’s Substack here: https://open.substack.com/pub/thekenharbaughshow/p/the-graham-platner-debacle-w-kris?r=4l6qm5&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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A US Air Force major, Jason Watson, was arrested at the US Capitol after delivering a speech calling for the impeachment and removal of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. He had spoken at a Removal Coalition press conference while in uniform and identifying himself as an active-duty service member, an event also attended by Democratic Rep. Al Green. Capitol Police confirmed the arrest, citing rules that prohibit public demonstrations on the House steps unless accompanied by a member of Congress. Anthony Davis reports. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh marks a July 4th shadowed by a hollowed-out MAGA spectacle on the National Mall, arguing that real patriotism is happening far from the president—in backyards and public squares across the country. He sits down with Governor Wes Moore to unpack what it truly means to love America: not blind celebration of what it is, but a commitment to what it can still become. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! MeidasTouch relies on SnapStream to record, watch, monitor, and clip the news. Get a FREE TRIAL of Snap...

Most Americans don't picture women like Maura Sullivan and Rebecca Bennett when they picture a military veteran. Hell Cats exists to change that. In this premiere, two women veterans whose lives have run on strikingly parallel tracks — a Marine and a Navy helicopter pilot, both ROTC, both deployed, both moms — start telling the stories of women who served, led, and kept serving long after they left the uniform. The two go back further in spirit than in time: "We've had parallel lives, basically," Rebecca says — same ROTC start, same path into the military, same MBAs, same young kids at home...

Ken Harbaugh talks with Andrea Chalupa about the Trump regime's Orwellian inversion of language, with Trump warning that "communists" will seize power, even as his administration works to undermine elections. Chalupa, host of Gaslit Nation and author of the new graphic novel Mrs. Orwell, traces the throughline from Stalin to Putin to Trump. Buy Andrea’s book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/mrs-orwell-andrea-chalupa/5bbc2567eb6550f8?ean=9781250877857&next=t Support the fundraiser for the 34th Brigade in Ukraine here: https://valormedianetwork.com/34th-marine-brigade-fundraiser Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more...

General Chris Donahue. Delta Force commander. 18 combat deployments. The last American soldier to leave Afghanistan. The Army's #1 expert on drone warfare — the exact threat we're facing right now in the Iran war. Pete Hegseth just forced him out..and he isn't alone. Over 20 senior officers, all with extensive combat operations experience, have been pushed out since Hegseth took over the Pentagon; with ZERO official explanations. Retired Navy Commander Bobby Jones looks at the Warrior Background of these Leaders and ask the question: Is Hegseth at War with Warriors? Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Support the MeidasTouch Network: https://pa...

Ken Harbaugh sits down with Army combat veteran Kris Goldsmith, founder of Veterans Fighting Fascism, to unpack how Republican-funded dark money groups like "Real Change" and "Lead Left" infiltrated Democratic primaries this week in an attempt to take out veteran candidates. The two break down the staggering scale of the spending, the deceptive PAC names, and why attacking vets' patriotism crossed a line. Read “The Warrior Witches of Ukraine" here: https://substack.com/@thekenharbaughshow/note/c-280102716?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=4l6qm5 Follow Kris’s show "On Offense" on the VALOR Media Network: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDr...

Ken Harbaugh explores how World Cup fans are turning soccer chants into open mockery of Donald Trump, then talks with author and broadcaster Musa Okwonga about football's long history as a vehicle for defying autocrats. Follow the “Our Copa” podcast and Youtube series here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDrygxhp-4opE43-fT8p1CygQe0MV&si=hmYvOT9SaDGmTpvP To support the fundraiser for the 34th Brigade in Ukraine, click here: https://valormedianetwork.com/34th-marine-brigade-fundraiser Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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In this week’s episode of Meidas Defense, host Joe Plenzler sits down with former CIA Station Chief and Russia expert Ralph to examine the rapidly changing face of modern warfare. From Ukraine’s drone battlefield to Russia’s staggering casualty machine and the strategic fallout in the Persian Gulf, Ralph breaks down how technology, autocracy, and great power competition are reshaping the future of conflict. As well as the disturbing phenomenon known as Russia’s “Black Widows.” Subscribe:  @ValorMediaNetwork  Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh sits down with Joe Plenzler to go behind the scenes of his latest Atlantic piece, "The Warrior-Witches of Ukraine's Resistance" — the story of Ukrainian women leading the underground fight against Russian occupation. Ken breaks down how the reporting came together, including the surreal moment a MeidasTouch Substack Live was used by the resistance itself to verify his identity. Read the article on Ken’s Substack here: https://substack.com/@thekenharbaughshow/note/c-280102716?utm_source=notes-share-action&r=4l6qm5 Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!
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Retired Navy Commander Bobby Jones sits down with Jessica Killin — Army veteran, former White House aide, and the Democrat taking on Jeff Crank in Colorado's 5th Congressional District, a seat Republicans have held since 1972. With Operation Epic Fury ending and military families in Colorado Springs paying the price, Killin breaks down what Congress MUST do to hold this administration accountable on war powers, veteran casualties, and the cost of living crisis hitting El Paso County hard. Subscribe:  @ValorMediaNetwork  Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh talks with Army combat veteran Kris Goldsmith, founder of Veterans Fighting Fascism, about the South Lawn spectacle: a parade of Trump-related interests promoted one after another, and the administration's habit of using the military to provide a veneer of respectability even as it hollows out everything that institution is supposed to represent. Check out Kris’s podcast here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDrygxhr4TorluaTe0zXF-SFhg0R8&si=kK2DpBHE--TECZZy Watch the Our Copa podcast on the VALOR Media Network: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDrygxhp-4opE43-fT8p1CygQe0MV&si=WbjPyUXqOYdM64bm Subscribe to...

Ken Harbaugh sits down with Alex Finley — a former CIA field operative from the Directorate of Operations whose real name she keeps hidden for good reason — to examine what happens when America's most secretive institution falls into the wrong hands, from the DNI raiding a Georgia elections office to the ominous nomination of Bill Pulte as her interim replacement. DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://JoinDeleteMe.com/ken and use promo code: KEN at checkout! Follow Alex Finley on Substack: https://substack.com/@alexzfinley Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit...

In this episode of Meidas Defense, Marine Corps veteran Joe Plenzler speaks with Mark Cancian, Senior Adviser at CSIS and retired Marine Corps Colonel, about what Cancian calls a major strategic failure in the Strait of Hormuz. While the administration is touting tactical victories against Iran, Cancian warns that the world’s most important energy chokepoint remains effectively closed to regular shipping. The conversation breaks down how Iran used mines, drones, missiles, speedboats, and asymmetric tactics to challenge U.S. naval power despite America’s overwhelming conventional advantage. Joe and Mark also examine the administration’s failure to explain its es...

Ken Harbaugh argues that the American middle class was built not by billionaires but by the labor movement — and that the current Trumpian crisis could be the catalyst for transformative, systemic change. He speaks with Harvard-trained UT Austin bankruptcy law professor Mechele Dickerson, whose New York Times bestselling book The Middle-Class New Deal makes the case for a wholesale reordering of America's economic life. Buy Prof. Dickerson’s book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-middle-class-new-deal-restoring-upward-mobility-and-the-american-dream-a-mechele-dickerson/cbd0d47d3c76b70c?ean=9780520423398&next=t Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for mo...

CNN just exposed it: the Pentagon told America the USS Gerald R. Ford fire was "no big deal." The reality? The fire-suppression system FAILED. Sailors fought the blaze for 30 HOURS. 600 lost their bunks. Nearly 600 toilets were broken the ENTIRE deployment. And it's not just the Ford. EVERY casualty number from this Iran war has been downplayed first, corrected later. It’s part of a deception strategy that has caused America to lose trust in the civilian leadership of its military. Retired Commander Bobby Jones breaks down why this matters. Subscribe:  @ValorMediaNetwork  Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! MeidasTouch relies on S...

Ken Harbaugh argues that America's eroding national security posture under the Trump administration creates real danger — and the World Cup may be the moment it's tested. He speaks with extremism researcher and Veterans Fighting Fascism founder Kris Goldsmith about the threat landscape surrounding the world's largest sporting event on American soil. Follow Kris’s show "On Offense" on the VALOR Media Network: https://youtu.be/K_ZrcoUfgEE Watch the "Our Copa" podcast here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLC5DhDrygxhp-4opE43-fT8p1CygQe0MV&si=W057s9UfTz94_squ Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ V...

Ken Harbaugh continues his conversation with award-winning war correspondent Caolan Robertson, whose latest reporting exposes how a Russian-controlled company is exporting a critical Irish resource that may be ending up in weapons killing Ukrainians — a story Robertson is pursuing despite death threats. Follow Caolan on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CaolanReports Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh sits down with award-winning war correspondent Caolan Robertson — recently decorated by President Zelensky with Ukraine's Order of Merit for his battlefield reporting — to assess Ukraine's strengthening position, Zelensky's extraordinary open letter to Putin proposing direct negotiations, and what it means for America to have traded its role as the "indispensable nation" for one of irrelevance. Follow Caolan on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CaolanReports Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!
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Pete Hegseth declared "Our Diversity Is Our Strength" the "single dumbest phrase in military history." Commander Bobby Jones says he's DEAD WRONG — and he can prove it. From the first Black general in 1940 to the first female four-star in 2008, these trailblazers didn't need a program. They needed a chance. And they earned every star. Subscribe:  @ValorMediaNetwork  Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh delivers his final dispatch from Ukraine — live from a field position alongside an anti-drone crew tracking incoming Shaheds — reporting on the ongoing Russian bombardments, nights embedded with Ukrainian air defense teams, civilians picking up the pieces in Kyiv, children sheltering underground in Kherson Oblast, and the mines threat still threatening Ukrainian civilians. DeleteMe: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to https://JoinDeleteMe.com/ken and use promo code: KEN at checkout! Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/

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Marine Corps veteran and Meidas Defense host Joe Plenzler sits down with award-winning journalist and author Kevin Maurer to break down the escalating conflict in the Middle East, the Pentagon’s handling of the war, and the strategic fallout from Trump and Pete Hegseth’s approach. Maurer explains why the conflict has become a quagmire, how U.S. military power is being tested in dangerous new ways, and why America’s alliances and global leadership may be entering uncharted territory. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh reports from Ukraine, bringing a ground-level picture of a country absorbing Russia's largest bombardment of the war while gaining strategic momentum at the front. Ken sits down with Senator Ruben Gallego in Odesa — just before an air raid alarm sends the Senator to a bunker — for a conversation on what Ukraine needs, what the U.S. has withheld, and what's actually happening on the battlefield. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! MeidasTouch relies on SnapStream to record, watch, monitor, and clip the news. Get a FREE TRIAL of Sna...

Three months since the bombs fell on Tehran and the American people still don't know whats going. Retired Navy Commander Bobby Jones gives you an overview of where the U.S. Military stands since starting Operation Epic Fury. Visit https://meidasplus.com for more! Support the MeidasTouch Network: https://patreon.com/meidastouch Add the MeidasTouch Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-meidastouch-podcast/id1510240831 Buy MeidasTouch Merch: https://store.meidastouch.com Follow MeidasTouch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/meidastouch Follow MeidasTouch on Facebook: https://facebook.com/meidastouch Follow MeidasTouch on Instagram: https://instagram.com/meidastouch Follow MeidasTouch on TikTok...

She served in a war zone. She resigned rather than appease Putin. Now she's coming for Tom Barrett's seat — and she's got receipts. Retired Navy Commander Bobby Jones sits down with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, the Democrat fighting to flip Michigan's 7th Congressional District. Brink spent three years on the front lines of America's most critical foreign policy challenge, then watched the Trump administration throw it all away. When she came home, she was diagnosed with breast cancer — and watched Republicans vote to gut healthcare for 25,000 people in her own district…..she’s running for Congress...

Ken Harbaugh sits down with award-winning journalist James Verini to discuss his new book, “The Theater”, about the bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater — the single deadliest act of mass civilian killing of the Ukraine war — and the impossible ethical weight of reporting on such an unspeakable atrocity.Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/Buy James Verini's book here: https://bookshop.org/p/books/the-theater-courage-and-survival-in-the-defining-atrocity-of-the-ukraine-war-james-verini/f3c82727c46f4eb2?ean=9781668062203&next=tVisit https://meidasplus.com for more! MeidasTouch relies on SnapStream to record, watch, monitor, and clip the news. Get a FREE TRIAL of SnapStream...

Ken Harbaugh sits down with Navy veteran and congressional candidate Rebecca Bennett to assess the unresolved endgame of America's war with Iran — who controls the Strait of Hormuz, and whether Trump has any chance of closing a deal on a war he never should have started. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Support Rebecca Bennett’s campaign here: https://rebeccabennettforcongress.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!

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Ken Harbaugh sits down with Senator Tammy Duckworth to cover the real costs of Trump's war of choice against Iran — 13 dead, hundreds wounded, gas above five dollars a gallon — and the Republican “invertebrates" who enabled it. They also dig into the case of Deisy Ortega, the Army wife detained by ICE while her husband served on active duty, and the $1.8 billion slush fund Trump is using to pay off January 6th rioters while ignoring the Capitol Police officers they attacked and injured. Subscribe to Ken’s Substack here: https://thekenharbaughshow.substack.com/ Visit https://meidasplus.com for more!
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Retired Commander Bobby Jones sits down with Josh Turek — two-time Paralympic gold medalist, Iowa state legislator, and the Democrat making Republicans nervous about a Senate seat they've held since 2008. Turek isn't a typical candidate. Born with spina bifida after his father's exposure to Agent Orange in Vietnam, he survived 21 surgeries by age 12 — and went on to win gold for Team USA. Then he won a state House seat in a district Trump carried twice, by six votes, confirmed by recount. Now he's taking that same underdog energy into one of the most consequential Senate races of the 2026 cycle. Subscribe:  @Valor...