How did an assignment to write about sports betting turn into a gambling compulsion? Pretty easily

When Atlantic writer McKay Coppins was offered the opportunity to spend an NFL season exploring sports betting by wagering on the games' outcomes and writing about it, he shrugged off a trusted advisor's simple warning: "Be careful."

By the time the season was over, a frazzled Coppins had lost more than $9,000 of the $10,000 the Atlantic had advanced him for the project. Coppins writes, "When I'd started this project, I had presented it to my bishop as journalism; at some point it had veered into obsession."

He joins host Robin Young to talk  about"Sucker: My Year As A Degenerate Sports Gambler," a deep dive into what he learned about the industry, its powerful grip on the nation, and the allure of having a "casino in your pocket."