Michael Lewis, acclaimed author of The Big Short, Moneyball and The Fifth Risk joins Lovett to discuss his most recent book, Who is Government? Lewis and his coauthors profile the civil servants whose thankless and unglamorous work prevents mines from collapsing, castaways from drowning, and rare diseases from killing people. He and Jon talk about why it’s so important to break down the “bureaucrat” stereotype right now, why Lewis is convinced Elon Musk has no idea how to run DOGE, and what leads the people he writes about to stand up to Trump or succumb to their personal ambition. CHECK OUT THESE DEALS FROM OUR SPONSORS VIIA HEMP: https://viia.co/CROOKED Code: CROOKED ZOCDOC: https://www.zocdoc.com/crooked QUINCE: https://www.quince.com/crooked ZBIOTICS: https://www.zbiotics.com/CROOKED code: CROOKED CHAPTERS 0:00 - Intro 0:20 - Keeping track of the numbers 5:27 - The unsung heroes of the Government 16:48 - How to talk about the good in Government 22:03 - Ad break 25:19 - Republicans Vs. Democrats 36:10 - Trump's Government & DOGE 40:30 - Ad Break 42:37 - Trump And Elon’s Attempts to Destroy The Government 54:15 - Why Are Some Republicans Finding Bravery Where Others Aren’t? 1:01:50 - How Has Journalism Changed? Want Pod Save America ad-free? Subscribe to Friends of the Pod: http://crooked.com/friends Subscribe to our channel! https://www.youtube.com/crookedmedia?sub_confirmation=1 Photos courtesy of AP Photo Archive Crooked believes that we need a better conversation about politics, culture, and the world around us—one that doesn’t just focus on what’s broken, but what we can do to fix it. At a time when it’s increasingly easy to feel cynical or hopeless, former Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, and Tommy Vietor have created a place where people can have sane conversations that inform, entertain, and inspire action. In 2017 they started Crooked with Pod Save America—a no-bullshit conversation about politics. Since then, we continue to add shows, voices, and opportunities for activism, because it’s up to all of us to do our part to build a better world. That’s it. End of mission. Learn more about Crooked at http://www.crooked.com Follow the pod on Twitter https://twitter.com/podsaveamerica Follow Crooked on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/CrookedMedia/ Follow Crooked on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/