S2 Ep1005: Michael Lewis: Government Workers Aren't the Corrupt Ones
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What news stories are being highlighted by Tim?
Hey guys, just a couple of programming notes. There are two news stories that me and my colleagues have our hair on fire about and I did not get to them on this podcast. I want to direct you to where you can find our Scorch Not Takes. For me, it is the continued revelations around the men that we have sent to this world. barbarische El Salvador-Prisonkampfeuer. Und die Tatsache, dass, laut ihren Anwälten, zumindest ein paar von ihnen tatsächlich nichts illegal gemacht haben, hier legal unter dem venezuelischen temporären Schutzstatus waren und verletzt wurden, basierend auf einer Missverständlichkeit ihrer Tattoos oder einer Regierung, die nicht kümmert oder intensiv schuldig ist. Wir werden die Wahrnehmung herausfinden.
Aber es ist einfach so krass und so unamerikanisch. Ich habe einen 11-Minuten-Rant über das gemacht, als mein Blut letzte Nacht heiß war. Ihr könnt das entweder auf unserem YouTube-Feed oder jetzt, wir verändern das in einen Podcast. Sucht für Bulwark Takes. in your podcast feed, subscribe to that feed, and then you can see it's under the headline Breaking the New News about the El Salvador Deportations. So, in addition to that, Adrian Carrasquillo in his newsletter for us, Huddled Masses, writes about this tattoo issue and gives you some historical examples of how the government has screwed this up before, misunderstanding the tattoos of the people that they're detaining. So please go read that as well. One other thing, George Conway,
His hair was on fire over Paul Weiss' law firm's capitulation to Donald Trump. Trump extorted them. It's a complicated story, but essentially an executive order that was going to target the firm because of their work on some of the investigations against Trump. The head of Paul Weiss went to the White House, groveled, cut some deal where they're going to do 40 million in pro bono services for Trump. It's absolutely insane. George Conway knows all the players. So we taped an emergency episode of George Conway explains it all together. So go check that out on that podcast feed or also on YouTube. So those are the news stories. We got a good one coming for you next. It is Michael Lewis of Moneyball fame and Sarah Vowell. They have a new book out about who is government, which is very relevant right now, given everything that's happening with Doge. So stick around for that. Hello and welcome to the Bullwark Podcast. I'm your host, Tim Miller.
Who is Michael Lewis and what is his new book about?
Could not be more delighted to welcome today the pride of Newman High School right around the corner from me. His many books include The Big Short Moneyball and The Blind Side. He's the editor of a new collection of essays, Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service, which came out this week. We'll have one of those essayists, Sarah Vowell, join us in Segment 2. But first, it's Michael Lewis. What's up, Michael?
Good to see you, Tim. This is maybe the first interview I've ever done where the host is in New Orleans.
Well, there you go. Proud to do it. Walter's never interviewed you?
Not from there. Not from there, no. Walter has interviewed me, but in person in New York.
All right. Well, I could hit your high school with a three wood from here. So we're right in the hood. I've got another... Ich möchte zuerst auf dich wagen, bevor wir in den Buch kommen. Als ich geschrieben habe, warum wir das gemacht haben, das war meine Reflexion darauf, wie die Republikanische Partei dort ist, hat der Redakteur mich gefragt, welches Buch ich nachmodellieren wollte. Ich gab ihm zwei Bücher. Einer davon war «Losers». Your 1996 campaign book that is maybe the least acclaimed of all your works. But I loved it because you did not get boxed in by the conventions of political reporting and treated the characters as three-dimensional people. And it's just delightful. So people are looking for a political book that is from a time when the stakes were much lower.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What news stories are being highlighted by Tim?
0:20–2:50
2
Who is Michael Lewis and what is his new book about?
2:50–7:05
3
Why are government workers not the corrupt ones?
7:05–10:30
4
What are some stories from the new book 'Who Is Government'?
10:30–20:33
5
How does politicizing economic data pose a risk?
20:33–33:19
6
What are the challenges faced by government agencies today?
33:19–51:13
7
How do current administration policies affect federal workers?
51:13–1:00:53
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from The Bulwark Daily
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