Lever Time
From LeverNews.com — Lever Time is the flagship podcast from the investigative news outlet The Lever. Hosted by the award-winning journalist, Oscar-nominated writer, and Bernie Sanders' 2020 speechwriter David Sirota, Lever Time features exclusive reporting from The Lever’s newsroom, high-profile guest interviews, expert analysis, ideas and opinions from the sharpest minds in media and politics.
Episodes
June 18, 2026 • 55 mins
California voters are poised to vote on a one-time billionaire tax that would fund schools, food assistance, and Medicaid. Silicon Valley is spending big to keep the precedent-setting initiative off the November ballot, but the campaign's most powerful opponent isn’t a tech oligarch — it’s California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic power broker and potential presidential candidate.
Today on Lever Time, Da...
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June 11, 2026 • 55 mins
Perhaps the key to understanding modern American politics isn't an academic think tank report, but instead rambunctious cult classic films, like Caddyshack and Animal House, that pit low-status underdogs against high-status bluebloods, preps, and jocks. In an essay for Politico, author Dan Brooks argues that movies like these hardwired Americans to root for the rude, rule-breaking outsiders over the buttoned-up establishment, and i...
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June 4, 2026 • 34 mins
Hawaii just enacted a groundbreaking law challenging Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that unleashed unlimited corporate spending in elections. It’s a major victory against big money’s grip on democracy — but powerful interests are already gearing up for a legal showdown.
On today’s Lever Time, David Sirota speaks with Hawaii state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, one of the law’s architects, abou...
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May 28, 2026 • 35 mins
Everyone knows Jeffrey Epstein as a sex trafficker who died in 2019. But Epstein’s story goes further back than most people realize — and includes surprising links to the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s.
Today on Lever Time, producer Natalie Bettendorf speaks with Drop Site News journalist Murtaza Hussain about his investigation into Epstein's ties to Iran-Contra and how Epstein built his wealth and connections in the...
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May 21, 2026 • 53 mins
It’s primary season, and powerful political forces within the Democratic Party are stomping into local races, trying to pick winners and losers. Today on Lever Time, we’re diving into The Lever’s exclusive investigation that exposed billionaires and party operatives pulling strings behind the scenes.
Then, David Sirota sits down with two Democratic candidates, Randy Villegas from California and Matt Dunlap ...
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Despite recent claims from President Donald Trump that the war in Iran has “terminated,” hundreds of ships are still stranded in the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, and the ceasefire has never fully taken hold. Meanwhile, gas prices keep climbing, shortages are spreading, and economic uncertainty is growing. Is this really Trump’s “best plan ever?”
Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down...
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May 8, 2026 • 78 mins
David Sirota buckles up for a drive through rural Maine with the Senate candidate that the Democratic establishment doesn’t want — but can't afford to lose.
Just two days after Gov. Janet Mills dropped out of Maine’s U.S. Senate race, David Sirota hopped in a car with Graham Platner — the long-shot candidate who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee — for an unfiltered, on-the-road interview.
In ...
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April 30, 2026 • 52 mins
Congress has the power to stop Trump’s unpopular war in Iran — but lawmakers have never used it before. Their excuse? An obscure immigration case from 1983. In this special episode, David Sirota tells the wild story of how a Kenyan-born immigrant and a Ralph Nader-aligned lawyer unwittingly expanded the powers of the president — and left Congress believing that it’s powerless to stop unauthorized wars. ...
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April 23, 2026 • 33 mins
Last week, California Democrats killed CalCare, a proposed single-payer health care bill. Will the state ever achieve its dream of universal health care?
Tom Steyer — a gubernatorial candidate who ran ads against single-payer health care in 2020 — says he is now the Golden State’s best bet. He also wants higher taxes for the rich, stronger environmental protections, and the abolition of ICE. The catch? He&r...
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April 15, 2026 • 34 mins
Tax Day sucks — confusing forms, piles of receipts, and expensive tax prep software. But it doesn’t have to be this way. A simple fix called return-free filing, proposed by Ronald Reagan decades ago, could save Americans millions of hours and billions of dollars. So who keeps shooting it down?
Today on Lever Time, David Sirota traces the 40-year dogfight over your tax return.
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April 9, 2026 • 47 mins
Right now, Big Tech is mobilizing a network of super PACs with more than $100 million in the bank to influence the 2026 midterm elections. Their number-one target? One of their own: a former Palantir engineer who's running for Congress in New York’s 12th District.
On this week's episode of Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with New York Assemblymember Alex Bores to find out exactly what he did to land on the AI industry's m...
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April 2, 2026 • 45 mins
Hours-long TSA lines, air traffic controller shortages, and skyrocketing flight prices. Deadly crashes, failing safety regulations, and international threats. There’s no doubt about it: U.S. air travel has been a hot mess in 2026. How did we hit such turbulence? And how does the current crisis tie into a decades-long master plan to hold airplane safety hostage for political gain?
Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down w...
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March 26, 2026 • 52 mins
Earlier this month, FBI Director Kash Patel admitted under oath that the FBI has been buying Americans’ location information from data brokers, sidestepping traditional warrant requirements.
Lawmakers like Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) have been on the front lines trying to ban this practice, but that requires reforming FISA Section 702, one of the country’s most powerful — and least understood — surveilla...
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March 19, 2026 • 12 mins
This week on Lever Time, we’re sharing an excerpt from our investigative series Master Plan: The Kingmakers. In this new season of our award-winning podcast, David Sirota and our team of journalists expose the decades-long plot to turn the president into a king.
Visit MasterPlanPodcast.com to hear the full episode and subscribe to Master Plan: The Kingmakers.
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March 12, 2026 • 44 mins
When American bombs dropped on Iran, a mysterious shortwave radio station began broadcasting a list of numbers in Farsi across the globe. Reminiscent of Cold War spy communications, the broadcast raises serious questions: Where is the broadcast coming from, and who is listening to it? Is Iran sending messages to terrorist sleeper cells in the United States? And how is the Trump administration addressing these concerns, if at all?&n...
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March 5, 2026 • 45 mins
On February 28, the United States and Israel began bombing Iran — with no congressional declaration, public debate, or clear endgame. For those who grew up watching the Ayatollah cast as America’s original supervillain on the nightly news, it wasn’t exactly a surprise. Donald Trump pitched the idea 46 years ago. We’ve been expecting this for decades. But why?
On today’s episode of Lever Time, Iranian...
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February 26, 2026 • 55 mins
On Friday, the Supreme Court ruled that President Donald Trump’s tariffs were illegal, striking a blow to his favorite geopolitical strategy. The decision could make it far harder for any president to wield tariffs as a weapon, but how will the ruling affect your wallet?
Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with trade expert Lori Wallach, director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project...
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February 19, 2026 • 33 mins
In October, a Philadelphia man emailed an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security, criticizing a government policy. Hours later, federal agents and local police were banging on his door to interrogate him without a warrant. It feels like something out of a movie, but it's real.
Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with ACLU attorney Steve Loney to ask some big questions: How are federal agencies obtaining your pri...
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February 16, 2026 • 2 mins
An important message about the future of The Lever's Master Plan podcast, from our host, David Sirota.
Become A Paid Subscriber To The Lever
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Order Our Companion Book, Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America
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February 12, 2026 • 38 mins
In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, setting off a chemical disaster. Politicians and lawyers promised justice, and the railroad company swiftly settled for a historic $600 million.
Three years later, many victims haven’t seen a dime. Where did all that money go?
Today on Lever Time, producer Natalie Bettendorf is joined by Lever reporter Katya Schwenk, who scoured court...
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