“Our politics has gotten way out of touch with the culture. I don’t think the nastiness, the cruelty, and the tribalism is how people live their lives.”
-Michael Lewis, episode 470 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
“The Trump administration was betting that if they broke the law fast enough,” writes Michael Lewis, “the law would never catch up to them.”
On the heels of his new book, Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State, the bestselling author of Moneyball and The Big Short returns to the show. We discuss how watching Trump’s 2017 inauguration inspired The Fifth Risk, (4:30), the rise of DOGE (9:30), and Elon Musk’s mass firing of public servants (11:00). Then, Lewis unpacks the country’s growing national debt (26:00), parallels to the 2008 financial crisis (29:30), and the attack on non-partisanship in government (35:00).
On the back half, we walk through his approach to profiling people (39:39), the criticism surrounding Going Infinite and his proximity to Sam Bankman-Fried (44:10) and the controversy behind The Blind Side (53:45). To close, we talk about how he approaches difficult subjects (1:07:20), finding hope in dark times (1:13:30), and writing through grief following the loss of his daughter, Dixie (1:17:00).
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As always, our email: talkeasypod@gmail.com.
Watch this conversation on YouTube:
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Show-notes:
- Read Blockers and listen to the audiobook.
- Find more books by Michael Lewis on his website.
- Listen to his Pushkin podcast Against the Rules.
- Hear our past talks with Michael in 2021 and 2023.
- Follow Michael on Instagram.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
Photographs by Sarah Schneider. Design by Derek Gabryszak and Will Tuddenham.
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