Michael Lewis: DOGE’s Young Men Led With Cruelty and Contempt
Scott Galloway talks with author Michael Lewis about his new book Blockers, which follows career civil servants pushed out by DOGE. Lewis argues DOGE was worse than people imagined, and also discusses Elon Musk, sports betting and fatherhood.
The gist
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Lewis says DOGE's young staffers led with cruelty and contempt rather than curiosity, and one cut veterans contracts by keyword searching a file of 45,000.
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Lewis describes IRS privacy chief Kathleen Walters, who was run out after refusing to hand 7 million undocumented workers' tax returns to immigration enforcement.
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Lewis says Musk falsely claimed the US Institute of Peace paid a Taliban member, exposing a US-aligned Afghan whose family was then tortured.
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Lewis says prediction market Kalshi got regulated as a commodities exchange, letting it sidestep state gambling rules that limited FanDuel and DraftKings.
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Lewis argues being a VIP on a sports betting app should be seen as a red flag, not a badge of honor, rather than banning betting.
Also mentioned
11:56
The Big Short
· "It was like The Big Short, very similar as a literary exercise. It was a hairball of a story, like..."
12:43
The Fifth Risk
· "I had a Rolodex because of The Fifth Risk, and I knew people in various agencies."
27:05
Moneyball
· "When I read Moneyball and then when I read it was being turned into a movie, I thought this just does not..."
49:25
Polymarket
· "I lean on Kalshi and to a lesser extent Polymarket for election data."
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