Jennifer PahlkaThis must be the placeSomething happened to me last week, and I’m still trying to understand what it was and what it means. Writing helps. But the narrative…Jul 2989Jul 2989
Jennifer PahlkaI wrote a policy book?? I wrote a policy book!I spent yesterday pinching myself. (Serious brag alert here.) Ezra Klein’s interview with me dropped, and he starts out with “My pitch for…Jun 7, 20237Jun 7, 20237
Jennifer PahlkaBad News for Procedure FetishistsHow do procedures that are not required by law or policy become required in practice? It happens because as soon as one person in a risk…Feb 14, 20233Feb 14, 20233
Jennifer PahlkaNot throwing away our shotI need to start writing again. I used to write pretty often, and then I went and wrote a book, which weirdly means I didn’t write for a…Feb 6, 20232Feb 6, 20232
Jennifer PahlkainGENWhy Biden’s Executive Order on Customer Experience Could Be a Game-ChangerUnlike prior initiatives to simply digitize the bureaucracy, this one could actually improve access to government servicesDec 14, 20212Dec 14, 20212
Jennifer PahlkaSlow TrainThe people in sleeping compartments on the Sunset Limited from New Orleans to Los Angeles see each other mostly in the dining car, which…Jul 12, 20214Jul 12, 20214
Jennifer PahlkainOneZeroPitting Private Tech Against the Public Sector is Bad for EveryoneHow Marc Andreessen’s criticism of governmental responses to Covid misses the markJun 29, 20216Jun 29, 20216
Jennifer PahlkainOneZeroHow the Government’s Multibillion-Dollar Plan to Modernize Its Tech Could Go Horribly WrongOur ‘Kill It with Fire’ MomentApr 20, 20215Apr 20, 20215
Jennifer PahlkaWhat on earth is SME-QA and why should you care about it?A stunning announcement about how federal government hires recently passed largely unnoticed. Only in the age of vaccine rollout drama…Feb 4, 20214Feb 4, 20214
Jennifer PahlkainU.S. Digital ResponseWhat states must do about Pandemic Unemployment AssistanceTens of millions of people are suddenly out of work. Your Lyft driver, your hairdresser, your barista, the waiters at your favorite…Apr 17, 2020Apr 17, 2020