S2 Ep1005: Michael Lewis: Government Workers Aren't the Corrupt Ones

S2 Ep1005: Michael Lewis: Government Workers Aren't the Corrupt Ones

Trump loves to complain about the deep state while Elon claims he's rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse with all his mass firings. But DOGE should be looking higher up the food chain to target the graft: for example, the South African immigrant whose car company would not have gotten off the ground without the taxpayer money he still collects. In contrast, government workers are mainly mission-driven and they're not in it for the money. Michael's new collection of essays takes a look at some of the characters who populate our federal workforce, including people performing small miracles without fame and glory. Plus, the risk of Trump politicizing economic data and his plan to destroy whatever trust people still have in the government.

Michael Lewis—and Sarah Vowell, who profiled a record keeper at the National Archives for the new book—join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes

Episoder(500)

Bill Kristol: A Madman's Way of War

Bill Kristol: A Madman's Way of War

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Amanda Carpenter: Let the Media Dinosaurs Die

Amanda Carpenter: Let the Media Dinosaurs Die

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Jonathan Chait: The World's Worst People

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No matter how often Trump tries to change the subject, he keeps getting caught in his own attempted diversions. He blames Somali immigrants for importing bribery, corruption, and lawlessness while he ...

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Susan Glasser: Trump’s Industrial-Scale Lies

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Charles Duhigg: What MAGA Can Teach Democrats

Charles Duhigg: What MAGA Can Teach Democrats

Apart from all the lies MAGA is forced to say in defense of Donald Trump, the movement is actually better at political organizing than Democrats. So while the Dems can pull off the massive No Kings ra...

24 Feb 58min

Jonathan V. Last: Trump's Decadence Is Rubbing off on Americans

Jonathan V. Last: Trump's Decadence Is Rubbing off on Americans

With a shooting at Mar-a-Lago and some real counterterrorism issues associated with Trump's threat of war on Iran, Kash Patel probably had more important matters to attend to than shotgunning beer wit...

23 Feb 1h 5min

Michael Weiss: Trump’s Fee-Fees Are Hurt

Michael Weiss: Trump’s Fee-Fees Are Hurt

Of course, SCOTUS struck down Trump’s stupid tariffs. Nearly every legal expert in America said they were unconstitutional, but we have had to live with them for more than a year. Now, he’s threatenin...

20 Feb 59min

Sen. Tina Smith: The Bulwark LIVE from Minneapolis

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The junior senator from Minnesota joined Tim on Wednesday for the first show of a two-night Bulwark run at the historic Pantages Theatre in Minneapolis—the city that caught ICE off-guard with its "rad...

19 Feb 39min

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