Podcast appearances and mentions of David Sirota

You may have noticed that corruption is legal in our country. At this point, it's almost like the air we breathe or the water we swim in—it's everywhere, and so it almost feels natural, like something we just have to accept. But that's horseshit, according to David Sirota, investigative journalist and editor-in-chief of The Lever. David has spent his career uncovering and opposing corruption. So we asked him to help us understand how we got here (hint: it wasn't by accident), and how, for the love of all that's good and holy, we can claw our way out. This is an important one if you want to understand the state of our world today!Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Thom is joined by David Sirota, founder & editor-in-chief of The Lever , Oscar-nominated writer (”Don't Look Up”), former speechwriter for Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign. Topic: An oligarch-funded think tank is trying to preemptively undermine Medicare For All even before Democrats win back power. Some candidates are rejecting the ploy.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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 from Maine, who are running in hotly contested races that will likely decide control of Congress — and who are now facing opposition from House Democrats' big-money machine. Click here to read Luke Goldstein and Katya Schwenk's investigation into political action committees like Majority Democrats and The Bench. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 with Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison, hosts of the foreign policy and global affairs podcast American Prestige. They examine the deeper meaning and long-term consequences of Trump's war in Iran — including the Republican Party's internal divisions over U.S. foreign policy, the role of Israel and China in the conflict, whether high gas prices are the new normal, and why, despite everything, they're hopeful about our future. You can check out the American Prestige podcast here. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content, and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Subscribe now to skip the ads and get all of our episodes. Danny and Derek speak with David Sirota, founder and EIC of The Lever, about journalism, independent media, and the consolidation of presidential power. They discuss the difference between journalism and media, the attention economy, capitalist media, audience capture, the decline of local news, the Powell Memo, the unitary executive theory, war powers, and Donald Trump's use of executive power.Be sure to listen to The Kingmakers, the second season of David's investigative podcast Master Plan. Don't forget that AP's new, weekly livestream is back this Wednesday at 8pm ET on our YouTube channel. And keep your eyes peeled for Season 2 of Welcome to the Crusades. Recorded 4/27/26 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Danny and Derek speak with David Sirota, founder and EIC of The Lever, about journalism, independent media, and the consolidation of presidential power. They discuss the difference between journalism and media, the attention economy, capitalist media, audience capture, the decline of local news, the Powell Memo, the unitary executive theory, war powers, and Donald Trump's use of executive power.Be sure to listen to The Kingmakers, the second season of David's investigative podcast Master Plan.Don't forget that AP's new, weekly livestream is back this Wednesday at 8pm ET on our YouTube channel.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 today's episode of Lever Time, you'll hear Platner on where he thinks the Democratic Party went wrong, why he thinks the United States went from President Barack Obama to President Donald Trump, how he feels about combat and war, his latest views on gun policy, and, if he wins, what kind of senator he intends to be. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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.  Listen to the rest of Master Plan: The Kingmakers. Get ad-free episodes of Master Plan and Lever Time by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit levernews.com/upgrade To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the Iran War will reach its official 60-day mark. That's a critical deadline under the War Powers Resolution, a Nixon-era law created to limit presidential war-making. Under that law, President Donald Trump can claim a one-time, 30-day extension, so the Iran War will likely continue. But the War Powers Resolution also gives Congress a secret weapon to end this unpopular war — or any war — whenever it wants. So why has Congress never used it?  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.  Note: This bonus episode marks the start of our midseason intermission for Master Plan: The Kingmakers. We'll be back this summer with the remaining four episodes. Until then, please become a paid subscriber to keep receiving bonus episodes, updates, and more. Visit levernews.com/upgrade Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ralph welcomes Professor Nicholas Chater, co-author of “It's on You: How Corporations and Behavioral Scientists Have Convinced Us That We're to Blame for Society's Deepest Problems.” Then, as most of the media turns its attention to Iran, we return to the ongoing genocide in Gaza and welcome back Dr. Feroze Sidhwa to break down his three-part series published in Zeteo called “The Truth About Gaza's Dead.”Nick Chater is Professor of Behavioural Science at Warwick Business School. He has written and co-written more than two hundred research papers and six books, including It's on You: How Corporations and Behavioral Scientists Have Convinced Us That We're to Blame for Society's Deepest Problems (co-written with George Loewenstein).I was on a UK government committee as the representative of behavioural science for six years, where my role was (at least I understood my role to be) coming up with smart-aleck ideas about what individual nudges or bits of useful information we could give to the public—how that would help people reduce their carbon emissions. And I came away from that experience extremely chastened. Because almost all the interesting issues were nothing to do whatsoever with individual behavior. They were all about big systemic changes… And the shock for me was realizing that the tools that I was hoping to wield were in fact completely ineffective.Nick ChaterI think it's absolutely true that many of the things that behavioral scientists are supposedly “discovering” [are] the things that campaigners and activists and indeed people in the political world generally and journalists intuitively have long known, and indeed probably have good evidence for. It's simply— it's sort of a sad process of trailing-along-behind which I think the academic world has been engaged in, where we've been slowly realizing that things that everybody else knew initially are actually true after all.Nick ChaterOne of the most powerful things that each of us has is the ability to propagate our own perspective and to campaign for change…I think getting people pulling together and pushing for change can be incredibly powerful. So seeing ourselves as citizens who are actively able to have our voice, make our voices heard, I think that's where the real power lies. And I think that the campaigners and political activists and so on have always known this. And of course, also, big businesses have always known this too. And they certainly don't want us to be doing too much of that. They want us to be focusing on quite the opposite. They want us to be focusing on our own gardens and not worrying about the big picture. They don't want organized opposition.Nick ChaterDr. Feroze Sidhwa is a general, trauma, and critical care surgeon in California. He is also a humanitarian surgeon who has worked in Palestine, Ukraine, Haiti, Zimbabwe, and Burkina Faso. He most recently volunteered at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza. He was blocked from entering Gaza by Israel's Shin Bet intelligence service in November 2025.In the first 25 days of the assault on Gaza, more children were killed than in the entire worst year of conflict that Airwars had ever studied previously, which was Syria in 2016. In the first 25 days in Gaza, between 2,200 and 2,600 children were killed in Gaza, compared to 1,900 in Syria. So again, if you adjust for the size of the population (because Syria is a much bigger country than Gaza is a territory), the rate of killing of children in Gaza was 71 to 142 times higher than it was in the worst year on record for children in conflict—Syria in 2016.Dr. Feroze SidhwaGaza is a place where infants freeze to death if they are not sheltered. Well, there are no sheltered infants in Gaza for any practical purposes. They're all unsheltered. So we have a list of the actual names of a dozen or two dozen children who have actually frozen to death…And there is shelter—ready-made mobile shelters for hundreds of thousands of people right outside of Gaza. It's in Egypt and it's in Jordan. The only thing that's stopping anybody from bringing it in is the US and Israel…This is just dastardly. We should think about it for a second—we (meaning Americans) [are] living in a country where neither political party seems to care that we are freezing infants to death.Dr. Feroze SidhwaRight now, the Israelis are blocking cough medicine from going into Gaza. And the reason (they say) is because it contains glycerin. Now, glycerin, in theory, can be used to make explosives. But it's one picogram or something—it's just part of a pill or the syrup that goes into it, right? This is children's cough medicine. The idea that Hamas or Islamic Jihad or anybody else in Gaza has the laboratory equipment and facilities that would be needed to extract the 0.01% of glycerin that's in a pill or a medical syrup to then make a bomb is beyond idiotic. Furthermore, we all know that there's (and I'm speaking literally) hundreds of tons of unexploded Israeli bombs—actually I should say unexploded US bombs—all over the Gaza Strip. That's where Hamas gets all of its explosives from. It just repurposes unexploded Israeli munitions. So all of this is just sheer nonsense.Dr. Feroze SidhwaNews 4/24/26* Our top stories this week have to do with people losing their jobs. First up, Apple CEO Tim Cook – the handpicked successor of Steve Jobs who has led the tech giant for the past 15 years – announced this week that he would transition away from the CEO role. While he will remain on as Executive Chairman, John Ternus, the company's head of hardware engineering, will take over at the helm, PBS reports. Cook's tenure at Apple has received mixed evaluations, with many applauding the steady handed executive for adding an estimated $3.6 trillion in market value to the company, while others have critiqued his supposed lack of innovation compared to his predecessor. Some hope his more technical-minded successor will put more emphasis on product development moving forward. Like many tech CEOs, Cook went to great lengths to ingratiate himself with President Trump in his second term, donating $1 million to his inaugural committee and gifting Trump a glass plaque set in 24-karat gold last August.* Meanwhile, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned this week amid “an internal investigation into her conduct,” which included “instructing staff to buy her bottles of sauvignon blanc on work trips… [stashing] liquor in her office, [encouraging] young female staffers to ‘pay attention' to her father and husband, [having] an affair with a member of her security detail, and [arranging] work travel to visit family and friends,” per Vox. For the time being, the Labor Department will be headed by Keith Sonderling, whom POLITICO calls a “quintessential Washington insider who is well-connected in the capital's Republican circles and his home state of Florida.” Sources quoted in this piece identify Sonderling as a key behind-the-scenes player in the administration whose accumulated influence “extends well beyond DOL.” The choice of Chavez-DeRemer, a former Congresswoman who was seen as perhaps the most labor-friendly Republican in the House, was supported at the time by Trump-aligned Teamster boss Sean O'Brien; her ouster therefore, represents the latest humiliating setback for his strategy of cozying up to Trump to win favorable treatment for his membership. In the words of a recent Current Affairs piece published before the downfall of Chavez-DeRemer, “Sean O'Brien Sold Labor to Trump, and Got Nothing.”* In the House, Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick resigned her seat this week, just minutes before the House Ethics Committee was set to weigh punishment for the Congresswoman, whom the panel had previously found guilty of “a slew of ethics violations, including accusations that she stole millions in pandemic relief funds and used it to bolster her 2021 campaign,” according to CNN. Cherfilus-McCormick was one of the four Members of Congress included in the proposed bipartisan expulsion deal some weeks ago, along with Representatives Swalwell, Gonzales, and Mills. With the first two gone, a tremendous amount of pressure is sure to be exerted on Congressman Mills to resign as well. Prior to resigning, Cherfilus-McCormick was already facing a stiff primary challenge from young progressive Elijah Manley. Now, it seems her seat – representing hundreds of thousands in Broward and Palm Beach counties – could remain vacant until a new member is sworn in next January, with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis unlikely to call a special election before then.* Also in Congress, Axios reports Representative David Scott of Georgia, a powerful Black Georgia Democrat who served in the lower house for over 20 years, passed away this week at age 80. Scott, who rose to become the first Black chair of the key House Committee on Agriculture, had filed to run again in 2026 despite rumored resistance from his colleagues. His death leaves Georgia's 13th district without representation in the House and amounts to a stunning fourth death-based Democratic House vacancy in the past year. Like the ones that preceded it, this must be seen as a bright red warning signal to Democratic leadership.* In DC more broadly, the employment picture looks even worse. According to a new report in the Guardian, the combined purging of 300,000 jobs from the federal government – the piece notes this is the “region's largest employer” – by Elon Musk's absurd Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, with another 13,000 job cuts in the private sector, has left DC with the highest unemployment rate in the nation at 6.7%. With little sign of increased hiring in the public or private sectors, there is no indication this trend will reverse itself any time soon.* Elsewhere in the DMV, this week Virginia voters approved a referendum to amend the state constitution allowing Democrats to redraw the state's congressional districts in their favor. Currently, Virginia Democrats hold six districts to the Republicans' five; under the new map, Democrats are poised to hold 10 districts and the Republicans just one. This is the latest episode in the mid-decade redistricting fight begun last year, when Texas Republicans sought to redraw the Lone Star state's maps to be more favorable to the GOP. This set off a stampede of states seeking to redraw their district lines. Now, in light of the Virginia referendum passing, Florida is threatening to redraw their maps to the detriment of Democrats there. The Hill reports House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, taking a sharper tone than usual, responded to news of the Florida redistricting attempt with a statement reading “If Florida Republicans proceed with this illegal scheme, they will only create more prime pick-up opportunities for Democrats, just as they did with Trump's dummymander in Texas…[he vowed] maximum warfare, everywhere, all the time.”* In California, the downfall of Eric Swalwell has resulted in the unexpected rise of another candidate – former Congressman, California Attorney General, and Biden-era Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. Between April 10th and April 22nd, Becerra surged from a polling average of under 4% to an average of 13% – and in some polls, even moved into first place. While Becerra seeks to consolidate this spike in support, progressives are airing long-held grievances. David Sirota, former Bernie Sanders campaign advisor and founder of the Lever, cited that publication's 2021 report on how “As California AG, [Becerra] demanded the HHS secretary use existing law to lower medicine prices - and then he became HHS secretary & literally refused to do that.” Others have pointed out that, according to Transparency USA, Becerra's campaign has received massive donations from the likes of Chevron. Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer on the other hand this week received the endorsement of Our Revolution, closely aligned with Bernie Sanders, which noted that “Yes, Tom Steyer is a billionaire. But it matters what he is doing with that power: pushing for taxes on the wealthy, expanding universal programs, and dismantling corporate influence in our politics.”* In another case of politics making strange bedfellows, the Chicago Tribune reports the political arm of Planned Parenthood is making an endorsement in the race to succeed retiring Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García in Illinois 4th congressional district. Except, in this case, the reproductive rights group is not endorsing the Democrat in the race. Listeners may recall that Congressman García was sharply criticized for his maneuvering to ensure his chief of staff Patty García would be the Democratic nominee. This has forced other potential aspirants to run as independents. These include DSA-aligned Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-López and activist Mayra Macías – the latter of whom won the Planned Parenthood Action endorsement this week. The Tribune notes that Macías served on the board of Planned Parenthood Action until the beginning of this year. In a statement, Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson called Macías “a proven leader,” who “will be unrelenting in the fight to protect access to sexual and reproductive health care.”* Turning to international news, in South Africa, leftist politician and leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party Julius Malema was sentenced to five years in prison this week for “firing a rifle in ⁠the air at a party rally,” Al Jazeera reports. Unsurprisingly, given that the EFF is the fourth largest political party in South Africa, this case has become a rallying cry for Malema's supporters, with those same supporters accusing the prosecution of being politically motivated. Presiding Magistrate Twanet Olivier disputes this, contending that it “is not a political party who has been convicted here … it is a person, an individual.” Malema's lawyers immediately applied for – and were granted – leave to appeal, but if these appeals fail Malema could be barred from serving as a Member of Parliament.* Finally, in more positive news from abroad, Reuters reports that the much-trumpeted summit of the global Left held in Barcelona this week – designed to help progressives rally their forces to defeat modern reactionary Right-wing nationalism characterized by figures like Trump – drew over 6,000 attendees from over 40 countries. Headline speakers included Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Brazilian President Lula, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, Colombian President Gustavo Petro and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. From the United States, an ecclectic group addressed the summit, ranging from video messages of support from Hilary Clinton to Bernie Sanders to Zohran Mamdani, with an in-person address by Minnesota Governor and former Vice-Presidential candidate Tim Walz. A recurrent theme, hammered home by Isabel Allende, former Senate president ​of Chile and daughter of Salvador Allende, Chile's leftist president ousted in a U.S.-backed coup and replaced with the dictator Augusto Pinochet, was that the left has become too distant from the daily concerns of workers, stating in no uncertain terms that “It's unimaginable to fight against the right ‌if we can't ⁠get closer to ordinary people.”This has been Francesco DeSantis with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

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's a billionaire running a self-financed campaign.  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager turned philanthropist, to discuss the collapse of Rep. Eric Swalwell's (D-Calif.) campaign, whether billionaires are a policy failure, and the chaotic governor's race that has left Republicans leading in the polls. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Millions of Americans have attended “No Kings” protests, voicing outrage that President Donald Trump has turned the presidency into an imperial platform from which to launch wars of choice, levy illegal tariffs, and unleash armed agents against his political adversaries. Isn't the American system of checks and balances supposed to prevent this?“The Kingmakers” is a new podcast hosted by journalist David Sirota that looks at how those checks have been steadily undermined. The podcast explores how the unitary executive theory, once a fringe idea that grants kinglike powers to the American president, was germinated in the Nixon administration, flowered in the Reagan administration, and is now the blueprint for Trump's power grab. “The Watergate scandal, where the president is using the various pieces of the political machine and apparatus of the presidency to target his political opponents … is seen as the zenith of the imperial presidency,” said Sirota. After Nixon's resignation, Congress tried to rein in executive powers. President Reagan responded by “making a much grander argument that any statutes that come from Congress that constrain the executive's authority to control the federal government is itself not just illegal, but unconstitutional.”Reagan's aggressive assertion of executive power led to the Iran-Contra scandal, when White House officials brazenly flouted and misled Congress. “The ideology (is) that we are above the law, the law does not apply to us. The president is essentially not a co-equal branch of government, but an elected king,” Sirota said.Sirota is founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever, an independent investigative news outlet. He was the screenwriter for the Oscar-nominated film “Don't Look Up.” His new podcast is the second season of his award-winning series “Master Plan,” which examines how corruption became legal in American politics. Sirota has also worked for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, most recently as speechwriter and senior adviser in his 2020 presidential campaign. He credits Sanders as a mentor, teaching that “it's not really the two parties. It's really money versus everybody else.” “If you're an oligarch you try to turn the one-person, one-vote democracy into a $1, one-vote oligarchy … turning elections into auctions. That's one way you deal with the democracy problem,” said Sirota. His podcasts trace the origins of the “master plan” hatched in the 1970s “to consolidate as much power as you can in the hands of one person so that when you get into power and you use the legalized corruption system to buy that office, then you can do whatever you want,” as he described it.Sirota believes that “people are disgusted with the endemic corruption that's out there.” He cites as evidence the election of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who relied on public financing in his campaign.“The pendulum swings here,” said Sirota. “We are now at a moment where anti-corruption can be a central theme with a real policy objective. We must give people a way to run for office where they can run a robust, competitive and competitively financed campaign without having to rely on oligarch money. That is possible. That is realistic.”

On Monday, Donald Trump exploded in telling tirades. In one, he raged that he (just he) is winning the war “BY A LOT” and bizarrely stressed that “I'm in charge!” In another, he emphasized that he feels “under no pressure whatsoever” to reach a deal with Iran. Why is Trump so fearful of appearing to lose control? Well, The Wall Street Journal has a striking new report relating that gas prices and the war recently had the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis “looming large in his mind. He's “grappling behind the scenes with just how badly things could go wrong.” In short: He fears looking like Jimmy Carter as the midterms approach. Indeed, Politico reports that prices have some Republicans sounding “alarm bells” about this fall. We talked to The Lever's David Sirota, narrator of the “Master Plan” podcast, whose new season focuses on the hyper-powerful presidency. We discuss Trump's growing fears that events are slipping from his grasp, how this is rooted paradoxically in his assertion of an imperial presidency, how decades of failure led to this moment, and how Democrats can run against his imperial rule. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, Donald Trump exploded in telling tirades. In one, he raged that he (just he) is winning the war “BY A LOT” and bizarrely stressed that “I'm in charge!” In another, he emphasized that he feels “under no pressure whatsoever” to reach a deal with Iran. Why is Trump so fearful of appearing to lose control? Well, The Wall Street Journal has a striking new report relating that gas prices and the war recently had the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis “looming large in his mind. He's “grappling behind the scenes with just how badly things could go wrong.” In short: He fears looking like Jimmy Carter as the midterms approach. Indeed, Politico reports that prices have some Republicans sounding “alarm bells” about this fall. We talked to The Lever's David Sirota, narrator of the “Master Plan” podcast, whose new season focuses on the hyper-powerful presidency. We discuss Trump's growing fears that events are slipping from his grasp, how this is rooted paradoxically in his assertion of an imperial presidency, how decades of failure led to this moment, and how Democrats can run against his imperial rule.  Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Monday, Donald Trump exploded in telling tirades. In one, he raged that he (just he) is winning the war “BY A LOT” and bizarrely stressed that “I'm in charge!” In another, he emphasized that he feels “under no pressure whatsoever” to reach a deal with Iran. Why is Trump so fearful of appearing to lose control? Well, The Wall Street Journal has a striking new report relating that gas prices and the war recently had the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis “looming large in his mind. He's “grappling behind the scenes with just how badly things could go wrong.” In short: He fears looking like Jimmy Carter as the midterms approach. Indeed, Politico reports that prices have some Republicans sounding “alarm bells” about this fall. We talked to The Lever's David Sirota, narrator of the “Master Plan” podcast, whose new season focuses on the hyper-powerful presidency. We discuss Trump's growing fears that events are slipping from his grasp, how this is rooted paradoxically in his assertion of an imperial presidency, how decades of failure led to this moment, and how Democrats can run against his imperial rule. Looking for More from the DSR Network? Click Here: https://linktr.ee/deepstateradio Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Lincoln beat up politics with history as good or better than I could. David Sirota and the Left's use of executive power. A few questions from listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 most-wanted list. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at ⁠levernews.com/join⁠. To leave a tip for The Lever, ⁠click here⁠. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 with Bill McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic Liberties Project, to answer the question everyone is asking: Is it still safe to fly? Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Have we forgotten about George W. Bush and how much today's politics were defined during his administration? Does Congress have any role anymore? Have we reached a point where Congress not only has less power but doesn't want to use what it has? Over the years, federal power has shifted from Congress to the President, with particular acceleration since Reagan and George W. Bush's Presidencies. David Sirota of The Lever Podcast and Master Plan Podcast joins us to talk about this trend and how it is a planned effort with people of both parties involved. His podcast, Master Plan, is available at: https://podcasts.apple.com/br/podcast/master-plan/id1723377799 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump's so-called "excursion" to Iran appears to be short lived.  The President says Operation Epic Fury, now in it's 5th week, should be over in another two to three weeks.  Trump is talking about checking out of the conflict even without a deal. We'll discuss it with political analyst John Rothmann,  Comedian J-L Cauvin will stop by to help us celebrate April Fool's DayBelinda Waymouth returns with "It's the Planet Stupid!" and a look at a whale birth that will lift your spirits. David Sirota, with The Lever, will join us to talk politics. Oh...and it's time for  Mark's Madness. Here's how to play: Fill out your Mark's Madness 2026 bracket here:https://officepoolstop.com/Brackets/29877id: 29877pw: ironrodYou have until Thursday 4/2 8pm ET -- 5pm PT to fill out your bracketThe Mark Thompson Show 4/1/26Patreon subscribers are the backbone of the show! If you'd like to help, here's our Patreon Link:https://www.patreon.com/themarkthompsonshowMaybe you're more into PayPal.  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=PVBS3R7KJXV24And you'll find everything on our website: https://www.themarkthompsonshow.comThe Mark Thompson Show has an official new Facebook page.  Please join! Here's the link: https://m.facebook.com/TheMarkThompsonShow/Show sponsors:coachellavalleycoffee.com  - use code MarkT at check out to save 10%Zelmins.com - use code MarkT to save a 15% off your first orderSuite106bakery.com use code MarkT to save 15%

David Sirota (former Bernie Sanders speechwriter, Don't Look Up co-writer, The Lever founder) joins Matt to break down Season 2 of his award-winning podcast Master Plan. They trace the decades-long plot — from Nixon and Watergate to Dick Cheney, Reagan's Justice Department, and Ed Meese — that transformed the presidency into an "imperial" office via unitary executive theory, setting the stage for Trump's aggressive use of power today.They also discuss:— Whether Dick Cheney and Ed Meese ever regretted empowering someone like Trump ("leopards ate my face")— Bipartisan complicity: Obama's drone strikes, DACA, and the temptation for Democrats to wield the same power— Gridlock, corruption (Season 1 tie-in), public demand for a "king who gets things done," and the Founders' anti-monarch vision— Plus: Bernie Sanders' long-game impact, Don't Look Up's warning about distraction machines, and why deep storytelling mattersSubscribe to Matt Lewis on Substack: https://mattklewis.substack.com/Support Matt Lewis at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattlewisFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattLewisDCTwitter: https://twitter.com/mattklewisInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattlewisreels/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVhSMpjOzydlnxm5TDcYn0A– Who is Matt Lewis? –Matt K. Lewis is a political commentator and the author of Filthy Rich Politicians.Buy Matt's books: FILTHY RICH POLITICIANS: https://www.amazon.com/Filthy-Rich-Politicians-Creatures-Ruling-Class/dp/1546004416TOO DUMB TO FAIL: https://www.amazon.com/Too-Dumb-Fail-Revolution-Conservative/dp/0316383937Copyright © 2026, BBL & BWL, LLC

As millions of Americans protest Donald Trump under the slogan of “No Kings,” it isworth asking how the nation ended up with such an authoritarian president. David Sirotaand the team at The Lever have provided a great answer to this question in their new podcast series Master Plan: The Kingmakers, which looks at the revival of the ImperialPresidency after the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s. I talked to David about thehistory uncovered in this podcast and why Trump is merely a symptom of a muchdeeper problem.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

As millions of Americans protest Donald Trump under the slogan of “No Kings,” it is worth asking how the nation ended up with such an authoritarian president. David Sirota and the team at the Lever have provided a great answer to this question in their new podcast series Master Plan: The Kingmakers, which looks at the revival of the Imperial Presidency after the Watergate scandal of the early 1970s. I talked to David about the history uncovered in this podcast and why Trump is merely a symptom of a much deeper problem. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 — surveillance laws.  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Wyden and Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress, to ask some big questions about the executive branch's abuse of spy powers: How has a post-9/11 loophole quietly allowed federal agencies to access Americans' phone calls, texts, and emails? Why have efforts to rein in these executive powers repeatedly stalled? And what happens as AI gives the government new tools to conduct warrantless surveillance? Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Majority Report’s Sam Seder stops by to talk about the unprecedented corruption in the Trump administration. The Lever’s David Sirota joins us to discuss his new reporting on the unitary executive theory and its threats to our democracy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Air Date: 3–18-26 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - The dark history of money in politics, aka: corruption Ch. 2 - What the left must do to actually win Ch. 3 - What the rest of the world can teach America SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): The reports of Christian fundamentalist "talk" in the military as the US attacked Iran   Leave us a message on our new system!   FOLLOW US ON: YouTube (This episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please subscribe and share!) Bluesky Instagram Facebook Mastadon Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e   REFERENCES David Sirota Explains How Money Rewrote American Democracy - Current Affairs The Left Is Losing Because We're Not Confrontational Enough - (From 2022) Current Affairs Searching the Globe for Answers to America's Thorniest Problems - Current Affairs   BACKSTAGE U.S. Troops Were Told Iran War Is for "Armageddon," Return of Jesus - Jonathan Larsen (Substack) https://open.substack.com/pub/jonathanlarsen/p/us-troops-were-told-iran-war-is-for US troops were told war on Iran was 'all part of God's divine plan', watchdog alleges - The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/03/us-israel-iran-war-christian-rhetoric   EXTRAS: (Buying these books, or another book, after clicking the links below helps support indie bookstores and this show!) BOOK: "Master Plan: the Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America" by David Sirota and Jared Jacang Maher  PODCAST: "Master Plan" by The Lever ARTICLE: JD Vance and SCOTUS Case - Rolling Stone BOOK: "Hostile Takeover" by David Sirota BOOK: "Another World is Possible" by Natasha Hakimi Zapata ARTICLE: How Candidates Are Using Winks and Posts to Seek Crypto and A.I. Cash - The New York Times ARTICLE: "The Huge Billionaire Election Influence In Numbers—Nearly One-Fifth Of All Donations" - Forbes   TAKE ACTION: Stop Trump's Wars In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach No Kings - March 28th One Million Rising Trainings How to Support Minneapolis Communities Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY 5calls.org Find your Indivisible group - or start one   Join our Discord Server Reach us via Signal: Bestoftheleft.01 Leave a message   Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

The BP team takes a look at Netanyahu demanding ground troops invade Iran, Hegseth caught lying about conversations with the families of dead U.S. service members, and then David Sirota of The Lever joins us to talk about season 2 of The Master Plan and how the oligarchs have constructed the current moment with Iran. David Sirota: https://the.levernews.com/master-plan/ To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.comMerch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second season of his podcast Master Plan, host David Sirota asks: if the founders wrote the Constitution to prevent a king, how did Trump gain so much power?

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. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another No Kings protest is planned in Denver next week, and Colorado is grappling with President Trump's looming imperial tendencies – what happens if Governor Polis chooses not to grant Tina Peters clemency? What could the state lose in retaliation? In the second season of Master Plan: The Kingmakers, host David Sirota and his team at The Lever dig into a decades-long scheme to make the American presidency more like a monarchy. Sirota joins host Bree Davies and producer Paul Karolyi to explore the local connections to this presidential power grab. Plus, we continue our conversation on “captive pricing,” drilling down specifically into concessions contracts at Denver International Airport, and take a look at an underrated Nuggets player. We discussed the 9News investigation comparing prices on goods at DIA and the Denver Post's coverage of the city auditor's 2022 report on questionable airport concessions contracts. Paul talked about local airport concessions big shot Rod Tafoya. For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm What do you think? Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 Did you enjoy today's sponsored interview with Elizabeth Martinez from Compass Real Estate? Learn more here. Learn more about the sponsors of this March 19th episode: Denver Health Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

David Sirota, who is based in Denver, Colorado, has some very strong views about money and politics. His book is called "Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America." There are 11 chapters which reflect the 11 episodes of his podcast, "Master Plan." In order to tell his story, he points his finger at the 1971 Powell secret memo. That's former US Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis Powell, who served on the Supreme Court from 1972 to 1987. He died in 1998 at age 90. Author Sirota, who is 50, writes that the Powell memo laid out a comprehensive step-by-step strategy for corporate America to regain control, protect its interests, and reshape the political and legal system of the United States to favor business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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?  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Shane Harris from The Atlantic to get some answers.  For a transcript of this episode, click here. Read Shane's original story in The Atlantic.⁠ Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Sirota had no idea that getting assigned to a little-known congressman from New England would end up shaping the rest of his life. That New England congressman was Bernie Sanders, and David quickly learned why our political and economic systems work the way they do, and that it's no accident. Caleb talks to David about his life and career, how corruption entrenched itself in our lives, and the one indulgence that is capable of corrupting him. SponsorsWurthy - https://partners.wurthy.co/UNC - https://ohmyfraud.promo/UNCCONNECT WITH DAVIDhttps://www.davidsirota.com/https://x.com/davidsirota Get NASBA Approved CPE or IRS Approved CELaunch the course on EarmarkCPE to get free CPE/CEDownload the app:Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/earmark-cpe/id1562599728Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.earmarkcpe.appQuestions? Need help? Email support@earmarkcpe.com.CONNECT WITH CALEBLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calebnewquist/Sources:French biathlete guilty of fraud wins Olympic gold while scammed teammate comes 80th [Guardian]David Sirota [Wikipedia]Master Plan [The Lever]The Lever

Ryan and Emily discuss US Dubai consulate struck, US pushes Iran civil war, Spain rebukes Iran war, gas prices soar. Murtaza Hussain: https://x.com/MazMHussain?s=20 Dave Weigel: https://x.com/daveweigel David Sirota: https://x.com/davidsirota To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.comMerch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ryan and Emily discuss James Talarico defeats Crockett, Dan Crenshaw goes down in Texas. Murtaza Hussain: https://x.com/MazMHussain?s=20 Dave Weigel: https://x.com/daveweigel David Sirota: https://x.com/davidsirota To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.comMerch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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. Lori and David unpack the weaponization of trade policy, the messy reality of tariff refunds, and who will pay — or get paid — following the court's decision. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. Tired of the doom scroll? Click here to subscribe to Lever Daily, a free once-a-day email that delivers the most important and underreported news in less than five minutes. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Sirota, who is based in Denver, Colorado, has some very strong views about money and politics. His book is called "Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America." There are 11 chapters which reflect the 11 episodes of his podcast, "Master Plan." In order to tell his story, he points his finger at the 1971 Powell secret memo. That's former US Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis Powell, who served on the Supreme Court from 1972 to 1987. He died in 1998 at age 90. Author Sirota, who is 50, writes that the Powell memo laid out a comprehensive step-by-step strategy for corporate America to regain control, protect its interests, and reshape the political and legal system of the United States to favor business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

David Sirota, who is based in Denver, Colorado, has some very strong views about money and politics. His book is called "Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America." There are 11 chapters which reflect the 11 episodes of his podcast, "Master Plan." In order to tell his story, he points his finger at the 1971 Powell secret memo. That's former US Supreme Court Associate Justice Lewis Powell, who served on the Supreme Court from 1972 to 1987. He died in 1998 at age 90. Author Sirota, who is 50, writes that the Powell memo laid out a comprehensive step-by-step strategy for corporate America to regain control, protect its interests, and reshape the political and legal system of the United States to favor business. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 private data without a warrant? How are tech giants like Google enabling them? And what should you do if this happens to you? For a full transcript of the episode, click here. Click here to read more about this story in The Washington Post. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 ⁠Become A Paid Subscriber On Apple Podcasts⁠ ⁠Make A One-Time Donation⁠ ⁠Order Our Companion Book, Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An important message about the future of Master Plan, from our host, David Sirota. Become A Paid Subscriber To The Lever Become A Paid Subscriber On Apple Podcasts Make A One-Time Donation Order Our Companion Book Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

New campaign finance reports just released show a combined $9 million coming in for both Senator Michael Bennet and Attorney General Phil Weiser's gubernatorial campaigns. But where all that money is flowing from is a little murky. David Sirota, editor in chief of The Lever, joins host Bree Davies to dig into the dark money dirt, as well as President Trump's recent meddling in Colorado's attempt to cap credit card interest rates and the financial fallout from the recent Telluride ski patrol strike.  Bree mentioned a post from the ski blog Peak Rankings and The Lever's excellent podcast and newly released book, Master Plan. Sirota talked about the Clean Campaign Act of 2019.  What do you think about Sirota's dark money loophole proposal? Should legislators close it? We want to hear from you! Text or leave us a voicemail with your name and neighborhood, and you might hear it on the show: 720-500-5418 For even more news from around the city, subscribe to our morning newsletter Hey Denver at denver.citycast.fm. Follow us on Instagram: @citycastdenver Chat with other listeners on reddit: r/CityCastDenver Support City Cast Denver by becoming a member: membership.citycast.fm Looking to advertise on City Cast Denver? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads at citycast.fm/advertise

As private investment companies encroach upon youth sports, how does that hurt the players — and their families? As Lever reporter Luke Goldstein discovered, there's more at stake than just higher prices.  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota tells the story of how a Lever investigation into a shocking claim prompted a national outcry, one that led to a small but mighty victory against Black Bear Sports Group, one of the youth sports kingpins calling the shots. Read Luke Goldstein's reporting mentioned in the episode here and here.  Click here for a full transcript of the episode. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It kind of seems like political corruption should be illegal, doesn't it? Whether it's happening on the right or the left, the whole filthy ordeal has made our government more dysfunctional for everyone. How did we get to this place where corruption isn't just allowed but expected? This week, Adam talks with investigative journalist David Sirota about his new book, based on his podcast, MASTER PLAN: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America. Find David's book at factuallypod.com/books--SUPPORT THE SHOW ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/adamconoverSEE ADAM ON TOUR: https://www.adamconover.net/tourdates/SUBSCRIBE to and RATE Factually! on:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/factually-with-adam-conover/id1463460577» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0fK8WJw4ffMc2NWydBlDyJAbout Headgum: Headgum is an LA & NY-based podcast network creating premium podcasts with the funniest, most engaging voices in comedy to achieve one goal: Making our audience and ourselves laugh. Listen to our shows at https://www.headgum.com.» SUBSCRIBE to Headgum: https://www.youtube.com/c/HeadGum?sub_confirmation=1» FOLLOW us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/headgum» FOLLOW us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/headgum/» FOLLOW us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headgum» Advertise on Factually! via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Are we wasting our talents on meaningless jobs? Should our career choices reflect our morals? Author and historian Rutger Bregman thinks so. He argues that the most talented people in America are stuck in a real-life version of the movie Office Space  — and that we should be trying to solve the world's biggest problems instead.  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Bregman to ask: When did we lose our moral ambition? Are we greedy, cynical, or are we just trying to escape an ever-increasing affordability crisis?   Click here to learn about Bregman's book, Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent And Start Making A Difference. For a transcript of this episode, click here. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2025 has been a tremendous year for the artificial intelligence industry. Stock prices for AI companies skyrocketed, soaring beyond expectations and propping up an otherwise stagnant U.S. economy. But everywhere, there's talk of an AI bubble — one even bigger and more threatening than the 2008 housing bubble or the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s. What makes this bubble so different? When is it likely to pop? And if it does, what does that mean for the rest of us?  In this episode of Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Ed Zitron and Sruthi Pinnamaneni, journalists covering the AI frenzy, to recap the year of the AI Bubble — and predict what will happen next. To read Ed Zitron's blog, Where's Your Ed At, click here. Click here to check out Sruthi Pinnamaneni's two part series on AI data centers. Got three minutes? Please take our end-of-year survey! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Senator Chuck Schumer posted this week in part, “Trump's only principles are hypocrisy and corruption. Bombing unmarked boats in the Caribbean one day, pardoning notorious drug traffickers the next.” How can such high levels of corruption happen and what has led us to this point? Journalist and author David Sirota points out that the staggering levels of corruption that we're seeing within U.S. politics right now is the result of a decades long agenda to essentially make anti-bribery laws unenforceable. Sirota is a co-author of “Master Plan: The Hidden Plot To Legalize Corruption In America” and the founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever. He joins WITHpod to discuss historical parallels to the present moment, corruption being normalized and more. Sign up for MS NOW Premium on Apple Podcasts to listen to this show and other MS podcasts without ads. You'll also get exclusive bonus content from this and other shows. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Krystal and Saagar discuss Mearsheimer warns on ceasefire, Newsom short circuits on AIPAC, China says Trump will fold. David Sirota's Book: https://www.levernews.com/master-plan-the-hidden-plot-to-legalize-corruption-in-america/ To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.comMerch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Krystal and Saagar discuss Trump greenlights CIA in Venezuela, debate on totalitarianism, Dems screwed in 2026 amid SCOTUS rulings. David Sirota's Book: https://www.levernews.com/master-plan-the-hidden-plot-to-legalize-corruption-in-america/ To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: www.breakingpoints.comMerch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.