Lever Time

There’s a new evil genius on Capitol Hill, one that privacy experts warn could empower tech billionaires like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg to issue their own private currencies. The Senate is poised to pass the GENIUS Act, which would give so much free rein to such “stablecoins” that it could destabilize the rest of the economy.

Today on Lever Time, Arjun Singh sits down with Lever reporter Luke Goldstein to understand the...

He came in with a bang but is going out with a whimper. After his 24/7 role on Trump’s election stage and his high-profile rampage through the federal government, billionaire Elon Musk says he’s scaling back his work for the administration and ramping down his political spending. With his image tarnished and businesses facing turbulence, is Musk down for the count — or planning his return as America’s most infamous oligarc...

One of the most powerful Republicans in the country has been called a teddy bear. Grover Norquist, the head of the activist group Americans for Tax Reform, certainly doesn’t come across as an anarcho-capitalist power player. 

Recently, Norquist has waged a vendetta against “traitors” in the White House — staffers who are reportedly considering raising taxes on the rich, which may include Vice President J.D. Vance, and the a...

Former President George H.W. Bush once thought supply-side economics was so ludicrous he deemed it “voodoo economics.” But that was before Ronald Reagan transformed the Republican Party into a trickle-down, tax-cutting cult. 

To follow in Reagan’s footsteps, Bush promised conservatives that he would never raise taxes — but then did something nobody expected. That decision would seal his fate, with the anti-tax movement maki...

How a small group of economists shaped Reagan’s tax policy and the future of the Republican party. 

This is Part 2 of Tax Revolt, a new miniseries from Lever Time revealing how free-market radicals hijacked American politics and set the stage for Elon Musk, DOGE, and Donald Trump’s presidency.

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In the 1970s, an eccentric anti-tax crusader launched a radical campaign to dismantle California’s tax system — a movement that still defines American politics today.

This is Part 1 of Tax Revolt, a new mini-series from Lever Time revealing how free-market radicals hijacked American politics and set the stage for Elon Musk, DOGE and Donald Trump’s presidency.

Want more? Become a paid subscriber to get ad-free episodes and ex...

The president of one of America’s largest industrial unions made headlines last month when he declared that some of Trump’s tariffs are the beginning of the end of a trade policy that has harmed America’s working class. On this episode of Lever Time, David Sirota speaks to United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain about blue-collar workers’ experience with 30 years of existing free trade policies. 

They discuss whether Trump...

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump unveiled his plans for far-reaching new tariffs on almost all imported goods entering the United States. The move has plunged the global economy into turmoil amid fears of a wider trade war and higher consumer prices. 

The tariffs are the culmination of a populist backlash simmering since NAFTA and the 2000 China trade deal. The elimination of trade barriers at the time hammered America’...

If you own a Fortune 500 business, you probably incorporated it in Delaware. The state has long been favored by corporate America, offering tax benefits and a bespoke, pre-Revolutionary War court system tailored to business needs. But now Delaware’s standing as the country’s top corporate haven is under attack.

This week on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with The Lever’s Katya Schwenk and Luke Gol...

In a special interview recorded just hours after his illegal firing, FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya speaks with David Sirota about Donald Trump’s unprecedented move to purge the Federal Trade Commission.

Echoing Nixon’s infamous Saturday Night Massacre, Trump has fired both Democratic commissioners at the FTC—an agency that by law is supposed to operate independently from the White House. The FTC had been investigating seve...

Does Donald Trump have what it takes to challenge Big Tech? Despite the elevation of Silicon Valley billionaires and insiders within his administration, the Department of Justice is still pursuing antitrust cases against Google and Microsoft. But some worry these efforts may be too little, too late. Today, technologies owned and operated by Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft are so deeply embedded in society that it’s h...

Chris Deluzio, a young Democratic representative from western Pennsylvania, just penned an unorthodox op-ed in The New York Times urging Democrats to embrace Trump’s contentious tariffs. Could he be on to something? Deluzio, who outperformed his party in a working-class swing district last November, says Democrats’ failure to address the economic concerns of everyday Americans is the reason they lost the 2024 election — an...

Are extreme weather events becoming normalized? Over the past few months, devastating wildfires have scorched Los Angeles, and Hurricane Helene left a trail of carnage across the Southeast. The science is clear: The planet is heating up, and it’s because of us. 

But then why does it feel like nobody is taking the problem seriously? Despite the growing threat, climate change still struggles to capture people’s attention. Tod...

A Delta flight flipping over while landing in Toronto. A missing commuter plane in Alaska. A medical transport jet crash in Philadelphia. A catastrophic midair collision over Washington, D.C. Plane accidents seem to be happening at a greater frequency than ever before. But is that actually the case? And what, if anything, do these disasters tell us about the state of aviation safety?

Today on Lever Time, Senior podcast prod...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was just confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing the nation’s food and health standards. He’s drawn controversy for opposing many positions of the medical establishment — except when it comes to junk food. Kennedy has repeatedly said ultraprocessed foods are harmful to public health, a position shared widely among medical professionals and nutritionists. 

Food companie...

President Donald Trump is implementing sweeping tariffs to ostensibly tighten border security and crack down on the fentanyl trade. The moves include a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, blanket 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, and potentially steep tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. These actions could have monumental consequences for the global economy. 

Today on Lever Time, senior podcast prod...

Elon Musk has bought his way into the Trump administration and is now busy muscling his way into every federal agency. But the unelected billionaire who’s been forcibly installing his allies while purging career civil servants throughout the federal government just faced his first roadblock when a judge prevented him from accessing the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, a move that would have given him an unprecedented amount o...