Step one was getting permission from his bishop. Coppins is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which prohibits gambling. But since it wasn’t his money and it was for work, he got the go-ahead. And so began what Coppins calls his year as a degenerate gambler — because it wasn’t long before he started feeling, well, kind of addicted. He’s joining us to talk about sports betting, how it changed him, and how it came to be that last year alone Americans bet $160 billion on touchdowns scored, yards gained, buckets made and pretty much any other outcome you could imagine in sports.
GUEST –
McKay Coppins | Staff writer at The Atlantic. His story is called “Sucker: My Year as a Degenerate Gambler.”
Airdate: Mar. 18, 2026