In Depth interviews – August 28

This is the In Depth show blog. Here you can listen to the interviews, find more information about the guests on the show each day and links to additional resources.

Kim Weaver — Director of External Affairs, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board

You may not think of your Thrift Savings Plan account as the source of gripping video content. But the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board is looking at YouTube as a potential destination for answering questions about your TSP account.

Kim Weaver, the Director of External Affairs at the TSP, discusses the agency’s new social media strategy, which was also discussed at Monday’s TSP board meeting. Another topic discussed was the adoption rate of the new Roth TSP option. Weaver recapped both discussions for In Depth.

Coming soon to YouTube — Videos about TSP accounts

Tom Shoop — Editor-in-Chief, Government Executive

The death of former astronaut Neil Armstrong reminded some people that he may be the most famous civilian federal employee ever. He’s been called a “reluctant hero” which is a legacy befitting of a civil servant.

Tom Shoop, the editor-in-chief at Government Executive magazine, discusses Armstrong’s legacy as a federal civilian employee.

The Most Famous Civilian Federal Employee Ever (related link)

Winslow Wheeler — Director, Straus Military Reform Project, Center for Defense Information

The F-35 stealth fighter system won’t finish its testing and development phase for another seven years. But the Canadian government says it’s planning to purchase the aircraft as early as 2016.

Winslow Wheeler , the director of the Straus Military Reform Project with the Center for Defense Information at the Project On Government Oversight, recently testified before the Canadian Parliament about the F-35. As one of the most outspoken critics of the plan, Wheeler says the Canadian government should allow the aircraft to finish the testing phase before purchasing.

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.

Rosemary O’Leary — Distinguished Professor of Public Administration, Maxwell School, Syracuse University

Collaboration between agencies and federal employees have spurred innovative ways to change federal hiring practices, bring more benefits to veterans and improve national security research to name just a few.

At the center of that collaboration is the Senior Executive Service — the federal government top leadership corps — and they’re sharing what works and what doesn’t. Rosemary O’Leary, a distinguished professor of public administration at the Maxwell School of Syracuse University, co-authored a report on SES collaboration for the IBM Center for the Business of Government.

Alan Paller — Director of Research, SANS Institute

The White House wants federal contractors sharing government information to start maintaining some specific cybersecurity standards. NASA, the General Services Administration and the Defense Department have already released draft rules that require corporate-owned devices and federal data to be protected.

But cyber expert Alan Paller, the director of research at the SANS Institute, is skeptical about the new rules. He told Nextgov the proposed regulations are “worse than useless.”

SANS National Cybersecurity Innovation Conference

This story is part of Federal News Radio’s daily Cybersecurity Update. For more cybersecurity news, click here.

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