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Left Face

Adam Gillard & Dick Wilkinson

Join Adam Gillard and Dick Wilkinson while they talk politics and community engagement in the Pikes Peak region from a Veterans' Point of View..

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21 episodes
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Avg 35 min
English

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October 3 · 36 min
Generals Out, Drones In: Hegseth's Plan for the Military
Adam Gillard and Dick Wilkinson start with the congressional hearing featuring former special counsel Jack Smith. They argue it was performative clip-hunting ahead of the midterms that buried what Smith actually said about January 6th. They also cover the senator whose "gotcha" text messages fell apart when it came out that Smith was at an Iowa Hawkeyes game, not in Atlanta. Most of the episode breaks down Secretary Hegseth's annual State of the Forces address, delivered this year to E-6s and O-3s instead of generals. The hosts go through the main pieces: Another 20 percent cut to general and flag officers by January Project Meridian, the think tank of Elon Musk, Newt Gingrich, and Palmer Luckey The new Autonomous Warfare Command The American Corps of Cadets ROTC push at schools like Liberty and Hillsdale A new Office of Religious Affairs reporting directly to Hegseth A proposed "Fortress America" megabase and an energy self-sufficiency mandate for every installation Dick, a former intelligence analyst, weighs in on where drone warfare is headed. Adam questions what the religious office and the school list are really for. They close with Tennessee's failed lethal injection and their views on the death penalty, deterrence, and the cost of getting it wrong.
October 2 · 26 min
LIVE from COATI: Why Veterans Check Out of Elections
In this live episode recorded at COATI, Adam Gillard and Dick Wilkinson talk about a contradiction in military life. Service members risk their lives to bring voting to other countries, but veterans and active-duty troops often vote at lower rates than the public they serve. The hosts share their own stories. They talk about checking out of local politics while moving between duty stations, voting absentee in home states they no longer followed, and not realizing that the Colorado they'd retire to was being shaped by elections they ignored. They make the case for Colorado to drop state income tax on active-duty pay so service members have a reason to register here. They also explain why Colorado Springs' southeast side, with turnout well below the rest of the city, has the most at stake. The conversation then turns to the midterms. They cover the Iran war as a motivator for military families, the eight suicide attempts the Navy confirmed in the Lincoln strike group, the growing gap between public will and military orders, and why veterans should use the credibility they carry at the family dinner table. Adam and Dick close with how they each went from active duty to civic engagement and running for office.
September 27 · 30 min
Wedding Gifts, Ballot Grabs, and a Showdown at the UN
Adam Gillard and Dick Wilkinson cover three stories this week. First, three Republican senators, including John Cornyn, are calling for an investigation after reports that a Russian oligarch with ties to Putin paid for part of Donald Trump Jr.'s wedding celebration. The hosts compare it to the Hunter Biden coverage and to a House ethics filing that let Rep. Jeff Crank accept wedding-related gifts from donors without itemizing them. Next, Dick gets on his soapbox about a Northern California sheriff who seized ballots without a warrant and was ordered to return them. The conversation turns to the "constitutional sheriff" folklore, pandemic-era standoffs in rural New Mexico, and a county clerk's publicity stunt about hiring Tina Peters. The episode closes with an expanded Hormuz Watch on the UN General Assembly, where Trump defended the war and Iran's president held up photos of the girls' school destroyed early in the conflict. Adam and Dick debate whether Iran's selective framing holds up, why the U.S. strike was so hard to defend given how much planning time there was.
September 19 · 37 min
The Strait of Hormuz Chaos Comes to the Pump
Adam and Dick record on backup equipment at Plan B Studios and cover a lot of ground. The episode opens with the Project Taurus town hall, where supporters and a bipartisan group of opponents spoke and City Council voted to delay its decision until a week after the next election instead of adopting a moratorium. Adam, who spoke at the meeting, and Dick, who has built data centers, dig into the military and classified-data sales pitch, the noise claims, and the push for an April moratorium ballot measure. From there: Rep. Thomas Massey's articles of impeachment against Pete Hegseth and whether Speaker Johnson sent the House home to avoid them, Mitch McConnell's return to the Senate, Libertarian Party yard signs and why the movement struggles to function as a party, and the Hormuz watch, covering diesel over $6 a gallon, fuel shortages abroad, reports of damage to U.S. bases, and Vice President Vance's back channel calls with generals. Next week's episode is live on Sunday afternoon, starting around 4:55.
September 13 · 33 min
Boot-Licking Diplomacy and Bribing the Midterms
Hormuz and the Red Sea heat up as tankers burn and a Saudi pipeline goes dark. Witkoff and Kushner cozy up to Putin in Moscow. The GOP's midterm convention delivers culture-war theater and Trump's out-of-nowhere $5,000 bribe. Plus: the reflecting pool scandal nobody saw coming.
September 5 · 32 min
Institutional Knowledge Under Fire: The Leadership Purge Continues
Adam and Dick break down a rough stretch for military leadership and election security. The Secretary of the Army just resigned amid friction with Pete Hegseth, following the ousting of the Army Chief of Staff and roughly 80 general officers pushed out or sidelined — more than half of them women or people of color. They talk through what that institutional knowledge loss actually costs, and where AI-driven weapons systems are already outpacing the ethical debate around them. Then: the Supreme Court's ruling letting the Postal Service restrict mail-in ballot delivery in states that haven't handed over voter rolls, why that looks like a direct federal intrusion on a state-run process, and what it could mean in a state like Colorado where the vast majority of ballots go through the mail. They close with an update on CD5VC's veteran outreach training for candidates and staff, and a preview of the September 27th "Our Voice, Our Future" podcast marathon, including a segment on veteran suicide with the team behind the documentary In Country: The Battle at Home.
August 28 · 38 min
Kid Rock gets General Fired?
Left Face returns with hosts Adam Gillard and Dick Wilkinson digging into the ouster of the Army's chief of staff following an inquiry into a costly helicopter flyby at Kid Rock's property, then turn to a rare competitive debate in Colorado's 5th District between Rep. Jeff Crank and challenger Jessica Killen — covering inflation, tariffs, and each candidate's attempt to distance themselves from their party's edges (Bernie Sanders on one side, Thomas Massie on the other). The hosts dig into tensions between the Democratic Socialists of America and the party's moderate wing, a local data-center moratorium petition effort, the ongoing Hormuz shipping standoff, new "economic D-Day" tariffs on Canada, and the Kennedy Center's contested ballroom/bunker expansion. Veteran perspective, unfiltered commentary, Pike's Peak Region.
August 22 · 33 min
Economic D-Day, Air Force One Decoys, and a Major's Last Stand
After a few weeks off, Left Face is back with a "Russian roulette" grab-bag episode covering the fallout from the Strait of Hormuz standoff — including new casualty numbers, extended ship deployments, and reports of a mental health crisis aboard a carrier still in theater. We break down Trump's Air Force One decoy maneuver leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, an Air Force major's court-martial-bound protest, and a full political roundup: Jon Ossoff's viral shot at the White House, Lindsey Graham's sister stumbling through a Senate debate, and the FBI raid tied to Rep. Eric Swalwell's past ties to a convicted Chinese spy. Veteran perspective, unfiltered commentary, Pike's Peak Region.
August 2 · 35 min
Pleading the Fifth, Missing the Point
Dick and Adam cover Fauci's contempt-of-Congress hearing before Rand Paul's committee, the fallout from Lindsey Graham's death and his sister's appointment to his seat, and the ongoing "where's Mitch McConnell" saga. They dig into Trump's request to the Supreme Court to restrict mail-in voting without an underlying case, the SAVE Act, and what mechanisms — if any — exist to check the 60-day War Powers cycle on Iran. Also: the Hormuz Strait closure, Saudi's muted role in the escalation, and the Doge-cuts-to-food-safety thread connecting a wave of measles cases and blueberry recalls back to the broader budget fight. Plus, a first look at the upcoming live all-day 809 Podcast Collective event downtown.
July 19 · 27 min
A Convenient Simmer
Adam and Dick track the widening Iran conflict as Trump's war notification clock resets past 60 days, unpack Hegseth's testosterone screening order alongside his beard-waiver crackdown, and dig into a rough week for ICE — shootings in Maine, Houston, and Aurora tied to unqualified personnel and no accountability footage. Adam also reports from inside El Paso County's election audit (spoiler: it checked out, again) before closing on the DSA-backed Maine Senate campaign that torched itself over a Nazi tattoo and a vetting firm's failure.
July 12 · 42 min
America at 250: A Veteran's Reckoning
This week Dick and Adam sit down with Pablo for a change of pace: no headlines, just three veterans reflecting on why they joined and where America stands 250 years in. Each guest walks through their enlistment story, from Adam's post-9/11 decision to Pablo's path through the Sea Cadets to naval aviation to Dick's Army enlistment at 17 with a baby on the way. From there the conversation turns to whether the country is really at its lowest point right now, with Pablo laying out a case that backlash after racial progress (Reconstruction, the 1920s Klan resurgence, the post-Obama years) follows a recognizable pattern going back to before the Civil War. They close on what comes next: America's ability to recover on the world stage, and why veterans in particular need to vote and organize around their values instead of assuming their service already covered the debt.
July 1 · 30 min
Election Day, SCOTUS Chaos, and a $14 Million Reflecting Pool Lie
It's primary election day in Colorado Springs, and Adam and Dick take a breather from door-knocking to break down a trio of Supreme Court rulings dropped the same day: loosened coordination rules between parties and campaigns, a ban on transgender athletes in women's sports, and an upheld (for now) birthright citizenship precedent that agencies seem to be ignoring anyway. Then it's back to Hormuz watch as the Iran-Israel ceasefire collapses almost exactly on schedule, followed by a breakdown of Trump's reflecting pool conspiracy theory at the July 4th 250th anniversary event.
June 20 · 32 min
The Spectacle and the Surrender
Dick and Adam break down the UFC 250 spectacle on the White House lawn — the production value, the military band, the Colby Covington antics — and the disturbing details of a foiled domestic terror plot targeting the event. Then they dig into the new Iran ceasefire deal: who's calling it a surrender, what it means for U.S. troop posture in the Middle East, and why nobody trusts an IAEA inspection regime. Plus: a minor league team's pride night forfeit, the reflecting pool algae bloom, and a reminder to get your primary ballots in.
June 14 · 33 min
The Platner Problem: Is the Democrats' Best Hope Also Their Biggest Risk?
This week on Left Face: the Graham Platner saga in Maine takes center stage, breaking down the SS death's-head tattoo controversy, the womanizing allegations from a Republican lobbyist with timing that raises eyebrows, and what it means when a populist grassroots phenomenon becomes a national liability for Democrats. Then it's Hormuz Watch, where Adam and Dick try to make sense of the on fire status of the Strait, a wild story about an Apache crew rescued by an unmanned drone boat, and whether Trump's Iran strategy is coherent or just a mouse in a maze. Plus: is Elon Musk really a trillionaire, or just very good at shell games? Back home, the guys cover Colorado's primary logistics (ballot drop boxes, signature verification, and why the system actually works), Tina Peters' post-release media tour, and Polis vetoing the Hold ICE Accountable bill on his way out.
June 1 · 44 min
Staring Into the Cistern: Iran Stalemate, Conspiracy Mad-Libs, & more
Adam and Dick open with this week's Hormuz Watch — the strait is still closed, the news cycle is exhausted, and the administration has no endgame beyond getting back to where things were before. Then it's the debut of Conspiracy Corner: the Lone Star tick, Alpha-Gal syndrome, and the theory that Bill Gates bioengineered a meat allergy to save the planet (as explained by a sitting congressman on Joe Rogan, naturally). From there, the guys break down the Texas Senate Republican primary — Ken Paxton's runoff win despite Trump's late endorsement and the national Senate GOP committee going publicly against him — and what it means for Colin Allred's chances in the general. Plus: Tulsi Gabbard's six-hour news cycle, Pam Bondi on the Hill throwing Todd Blanche under the bus on the Epstein files, and RFK Jr. getting repeatedly bitten by snakes on Dr. Oz's porch. A perfectly normal week in American politics.
May 24 · 37 min
Polis, Peters, and Political Favors
A naval blockade letting every ship through, a clemency that may have been a political trade, a $1.8 billion fund of questionable legality, and one Kentucky libertarian willing to torch his career over Epstein. This week on Left Face.
May 17 · 41 min
Wagging the Dog
Project Taurus stirs up the neighborhood, Iran stays nuclear-adjacent, and Israel reminds everyone who's really driving U.S. Middle East policy.
May 9 · 37 min
The Strait is Ajar & Redistricting straight to 1984
The Hormuz situation has a third status now — not open, not closed, just barely cracked. Adam and Dick break down the asymmetric threat keeping ships from moving, the 90-day war powers shuffle, and why we're headed for Obama's deal with Trump's signature and a lot of dead people in between. Virginia let the people vote and the Supreme Court threw it out anyway. A Supreme Court nominee won't commit to the 22nd Amendment. And an untrained guy with a gun almost did the unthinkable because a cop didn't listen to his dog.
May 5 · 40 min
The War That Isn't: Dangling Keys, Distraction, and Doublespeak
Adam and Dick break down the administration's Iran war messaging — from the 60-day war powers clock getting "paused" by a tweeted ceasefire, to Hegseth's belligerent non-answers before Congress. They unpack the marijuana reclassification as a shiny distraction, dig into the Supreme Court's gutting of the Voting Rights Act and what Louisiana's governor did within 48 hours, and get into a genuinely interesting debate about whether racial gerrymandering — even the remedial kind — was ever the right fix. Plus: the military as an authoritarian proving ground, the "common sense" doublespeak both parties use, and why Democrats need to put the pillows down and actually throw a punch.
April 26 · 42 min
Hormuz Watch: Congress, Corruption, and a Very Ballsy Bet
Dick and Adam break down a chaotic week in American politics — four congressional departures in seven days, from Swalwell's swift fall to a Texas Republican who only left when the margin gave him no cover. They dig into the soldier who bet on his own classified mission in Venezuela, what it reveals about the dangers of betting on anything, and why the genie is very much out of the bottle. Plus: Kash Patel's lawsuit against The Atlantic, a cabinet secretary who took her staff to a strip club, and why the CD5 race is finally getting national money for the first time ever. And yes — the Strait of Hormuz is still closed.

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