Michael Lewis in conversation with David Shipley

Literary Arts is pleased to present #1 New York Times bestselling author and host of Apple’s #1 rated podcast Against the Rules, Michael Lewis, in conversation with The New York Times editor-at-large David Shipley, about his new book, Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State. If you’re a high school educator interested in bringing students to this event, please contact our Director of Youth Programs at [email protected] About the book: In Blockers, Lewis views the “meteor strike” of the second Trump administration through the eyes of the public servants targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). As he says, “Every now and then the world hands you the material for a wild story. The collision between the Trump administration and the civil service is one of those moments. “I’ve had so much fun writing this book that at times it has been hard to know whether to laugh or cry.” As Lewis explains, in the new Washington, being a Blocker was the worst thing you could be—especially if you worked in the federal government and wanted to keep your job. A Blocker was a holdover, an impediment, someone who didn’t get the message—and, most of all, someone who didn’t belong. In Blockers Lewis tells the story of seven people who believed they had a calling, who were convinced they were doing something the country couldn’t do without, and then discovered they were no longer wanted. One kept Americans’ most sensitive tax data out of the wrong hands, and another made sure that politicians and civil servants played by the rules. One figured out how to stop wildfires from destroying suburban neighborhoods, another helped uncover the mysteries of cystic fibrosis. There was also a security guard. It should come as no surprise that the writer who made subprime mortgages gripping (The Big Short) and turned baseball statistics into poetry (Moneyball) could transform the first two years of the second Trump administration into a thriller about federal employees. But he does. And he also puts before us a clear question: If these public servants can’t survive in government today, then what does that say about us? To create access for our wider community, we need the support of event sponsors. If you or your company is interested in sponsorship, please email [email protected].