Food Stamps, Grants, Loans, and Behavioral Economics with Michael Lewis

For the second time this year we have a repeat guest on Better Off. When you have a chance to grab Michael Lewis, you grab him, and that’s what we did! In early June, Michael was on the pod to discuss his latest book, The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds. (He’s a prolific writer and chances are you’ve picked up at least one of his books, including Moneyball, The Big Short or Flash Boys.) Since the Undoing Project is now out in paperback, and Richard Thaler was just awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences, it made for a perfect opportunity to revisit the topic of behavioral economics. But that was only part of this interview. The bulk of it was spent talking to Michael about his current work, which is penning articles for Vanity Fair. His latest piece, Inside Trump’s Cruel Campaign Against the U.S.D.A.’s Scientists, is a wild tale about various Department of Agriculture programs that are under siege. From food stamps to meat inspection, to grants and loans for rural development, to school lunches, these programs impact millions of Americans, though most of us have no idea what exactly the agency does. Some of the things you hear in this interview will surprise you...and maybe scare you. Stay tuned for more of Michael’s excellent work...he is unstoppable! “Better Off” is sponsored by Betterment. We love feedback so please leave us a rating or review in iTunes. "Better Off" theme music is by Joel Goodman, www.joelgoodman.com. For a recap of every episode, visit https://www.betterment.com/resources/topics/inside-betterment/better-off-podcast/ Connect with me at these places for all my content: http://www.jillonmoney.com/ https://twitter.com/jillonmoney https://www.facebook.com/JillonMoney https://www.instagram.com/jillonmoney/ https://www.youtube.com/c/JillSchlesinger https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillonmoney/ https://soundcloud.com/jill-schlesinger http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jill-on-money http://betteroffpodcast.com/ https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/better-off-jill-schlesinger/id431167790?mt=2 To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices