The spy who saved us from nuclear war

When DOGE slashed and burned the federal workforce, those who stood up to the carnage were called “Blockers.” Best-selling author Michael Lewis joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the people who called out illegality and were punished for it, the haphazard ways DOGE went about cutting jobs, and why he feels all of it was a distraction from a larger power grab by the White House. His book is “Blockers: Rebels in the Deep State.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If the definition of “green” is yellow plus blue, how do you define “yellow” and “blue”? Kory Stamper is a lexicographer who has written dictionaries for nearly 30 years at Merriam-Webster, Cambridge Dictionaries and Dictionary.com. She joins host Krys Boyd to discuss the difficulty of defining colors, why they are nearly indescribable, and why it took the help of scientists to create descriptions of everything around us. Her book is “True Color: The Strange and Spectacular Quest to Define Color – from Azure to Zinc Pink.”This episode originally aired April 17th, 2026. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Grammar hounds might despise it, but “like” is both ubiquitous and necessary in our everyday speech. Megan C. Reynolds, editor at Dwell magazine, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss one little word that defines so much of modern speech: like – from approval on social media to, like, the way we all casually talk today – and why we should all give it a second look. Her book is “Like: A History of the World’s Most Hated (and Misunderstood) Word.”This episode originally aired, September 9th 2025. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Ever feel embarrassed about oversharing at a cocktail party? Turns out, you might’ve been on the right track. Leslie John, James E. Burke Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why sharing our feelings garners trust, why we’re so often reluctant to let people into our lives, and why there is a cost to undersharing. Her book is “Revealing: The Underrated Power of Oversharing.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

If you were given thousands of dollars in free money to gamble, would you find yourself a little — or a lot — addicted to the games? McKay Coppins, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins host Krys Boyd to discuss how his magazine gave him $10,000 to use as seed money as he explored the rise of online sports gambling, why he was surprised at how much the gambling interfered with his family life and sleep and how he received special dispensation from his church to take part in the experiment. His article is “My Year as a Degenerate Gambler.”This episode originally aired, March 31st, 2026. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

As President Trump threatens Iranian annihilation today, there was actually another nuclear threat there in the 1980s, thwarted by a Russian spy. Ben McIntyre, writer-at-large for The Times (UK), joins guest host John McCaa to discuss the man with the code name “Redwood,” how he was key to avoiding nuclear disaster when the Russians and Americans were strategizing what to do after the Iranian Revolution, and the reasons he was ready to leave the KGB. His book is “Redwood: The Untold Story of the Cold War’s Most Extraordinary Spy.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

U.S. foreign policy was once focused on spreading democracy, but that has changed. Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic, joins guest host John McCaa to talk about her reporting during which she’s witnessed government workers – under the guise of diplomatic efforts – making self-serving deals with short-term goals, how that’s rewiring American foreign policy, and how this is making the world rethink the United States’ reputation. Her article is “Empire of Grift.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

After devastating floods, fires, heat and hurricanes changed their lives, a support group was formed to connect families affected by climate change. David Gelles is a correspondent for The New York Times on the climate desk, where he leads the Climate Forward newsletter and event series. He joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss Extreme Weather Survivors, a nationwide support group for families upended by climate disasters that’s grown to 2,500 people, how the network helps survivors navigate red tape and insurance woes and how they plan to use their collective power to lobby congress. His article is “Six Strangers Connected by Disaster.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

It’s not just exorbitant amounts of money that’s needed to win elections – they also take time – something working people are often short on. Nicholas Carnes, Z. Smith Reynolds Professor of Public Policy and professor of political science and sociology at Duke University, joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss why working-class people are so often not considered electable, how party gatekeepers vet people who can afford to put in more time, and why ordinary citizens are not offered a seat at the table. His book, written with co-author Noam Lupu, is “Keeping Workers Off the Ballot: How Democracy Undermines Working-Class Representation.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

When we hold up our phones to film a concert for our feeds, we’re not just capturing the action, we’re signaling to followers who we are. Kathryn Jezer-Morton is author of the biweekly Brooding column at The Cut, and she joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss how capturing content shapes the way we view ourselves, how we store our histories through social media and how we’re changing the way we behave to better fit the algorithm. Her book is “The Story of Your Life: How Social Media Shapes the Way We Experience Everything.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices