The Outsize Life and Quiet Death of the Steele Dossier

This episode contains strong language. The Steele Dossier — compiled by Christopher Steele, a British former spy — was born out of opposition research on Donald J. Trump, then a presidential candidate, and his supposed links to Russia. The document, full of salacious allegations, captured and cleaved America. But now, a main source of the dossier’s findings — Igor Danchenko, a Russian analyst — has been charged with lying to federal investigators. Guest: Michael S. Schmidt, a Washington correspondent for The New York Times.