Why Government Makes Us Miserable

2026-09-05 · 81 min · episode 249 · 9 entities

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Asserted relationships

→ discusses Society & Culture concept

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→ discusses News concept

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Feed category: News
→ discusses Technology company

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→ hosted by Audioboom company

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Feed author/publisher: Audioboom
→ hosted by Crooked Media company

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Feed author/publisher: Crooked Media

Entities found in this episode

companys 6

mentioned Audioboom company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Audioboom
mentioned Crooked Media company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Crooked Media
mentioned Technology company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Technology
discusses Technology company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Technology
hosted by Audioboom company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Audioboom
hosted by Crooked Media company

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evidence rules-v5
Feed author/publisher: Crooked Media

concepts 3

mentioned Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses Society & Culture concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: Society & Culture
discusses News concept

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evidence rules-v5
Feed category: News

Episode description as stored

Americans don’t trust the government anymore. Annie Lowery, Atlantic staff writer and author of the new book The Time Tax , joins Offline to identify the culprit: a plodding, vindictive, racist bureaucracy that people must navigate to get government services and benefits. The paperwork, lines and emotional strain—just to feed your kids or renew your driver’s license––adds up to a “time tax” that falls most heavily on low-income Americans. Annie and Jon take stock of the Kafka-esque system and discuss why, if Democrats don’t do something to change it, people will continue to tune out the party that wants to build something better. Hate listening to ads? Become a Friends of the Pod subscriber for ad-free episodes of Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Lovett or Leave It, Runaway Country, Offline with Jon Favreau, and more—plus exclusive content, including bonus episodes of Pod Save America. Subscribe now at crooked.com/friends , on Apple Podcasts, or through the Pod Save America YouTube channel. To watch this episode with subtitles, click here and turn on closed captions (CC). You can request a transcript by emailing transcripts@crooked.com . Include the podcast name, episode title, and air date. Please allow 48 hours for delivery.