Donald Trump loves to complain about the deep state while Elon Musk 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. Michael Lewis discusses Trump and Musk, and then talks about the new collection of essays that he edited—profiles of 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 recordkeeper at the National Archives for the new book—join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes
The new book, "Who Is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service"
Tim's "Bulwark Takes" on some of the men taken taken to the El Salvador prison camp
Adrian's "Huddled Masses" newsletter on ICE deportations based on tattoos
George Conway emergency pod on the Paul Weiss law firm caving to Trump
Michael's book, "Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House"
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