Contracting Officer Podcast Continues to Bring Context to both sides of Government Contracting
Clearwater, FL – February 18, 2025 – On March 7, 2025, the Contracting Officer Podcast will celebrate a major milestone—its 500th episode. Launched in 2014, the Contracting Officer Podcast is the longest-running podcast focused on government contracting. Hosts Kevin Jans and Paul Schauer, both former Contracting Officers, created the podcast to close the knowledge gap between government buyers and industry sellers.
From an Idea to an Industry Staple – Jans and Schauer spent over a decade and a half working as Contracting Officers for the Department of Defense. They realized that clients and colleagues were coming to them with many of the same questions, challenges and issues. They were answering these questions individually – and then decided to launch a podcast because they recognized they could help more people by scaling their knowledge-sharing through the podcast.
“Podcasts were not mainstream at the time [2014], so we had no idea if it would work,” said Kevin Jans. “We committed to recording 50 episodes to see if anyone noticed. If no one cared, we’d stop. It took about 20 episodes [five months] before the first listener noticed… and reached out to us.”
What started as an experiment has now surpassed 1.5 million downloads and continues to grow. The mission of the podcast remains: bring context to both sides of GovCon to make government contracting better, one contract at a time.
A Decade of Growth and Impact – The Contracting Officer Podcast has evolved over the years. It has become a go-to resource for professionals navigating the complexities of GovCon because each episode delivers engaging examples, real-world insights from both sides of government contracting, and provides regulation-based application of how to do government contracting. The episodes cover a wide range of topics, including:
- How to build government acquisition strategies to compete and award contracts
- How to manage government contracts to meet contract requirements and support meeting government missions
- How to write and evaluate proposals including technical, past performance, and pricing elements
- How to navigate the rules, regulations, and complexity of delivering and performing on government contracts
Jans and Schauer also curated the episodes into groups, known as Podcast Playlists, to help listeners find relevant episodes for their needs. The podcast’s impact is evident in the feedback from its audience. “I find the Contracting Officer Podcast truly valuable in helping my team understand the world they live in. You can’t truly master the bureaucracy until you understand it,” said a USAF Program Manager who subscribes to the podcast.
More Than a Podcast: An Interactive Resource – Jans and Schauer hold Podcast Feedback Sessions to engage directly with listeners and to improve the podcast based on listeners’ needs. These sessions help shape future episodes and have led to the creation of new training courses, consulting services, and the Contracting Officer Mentorship Program.
One surprising insight from listener feedback: the value of humor. Listeners appreciate the chemistry of the hosts, how they seem to always find a way to insert a funny metaphor or story, or how they add occasional blooper reels to reinforce that even government contracting can have its lighthearted moments. Humor is now a part of the podcast’s eight-step quality control process to ensure every episode is both educational and entertaining.
Celebrating Episode 500 – As the podcast approaches its 500th episode, Jans and Schauer remain committed to the original podcast mission. This milestone episode will be available at skywayacq.com/500 and promises to reflect on the podcast’s journey while looking ahead to the future of training, education and mentoring in GovCon.
For more information on or to subscribe to the Contracting Officer Podcast visit skywayacq.com/podcast.
