Podcasts about Sirota

Echoing Richard Nixon's infamous Saturday Night Massacre purge during Watergate, President Donald Trump this week moved to fire both Democratic commissioners at the Federal Trade Commission, which had been investigating some of Trump's biggest corporate boosters. These weren't routine pink slips given during an administration turnover. Trump fired Senate-confirmed commissioners at an agency that Congress — by law — deliberately created to be independent from the executive branch's control. Hours after receiving Trump's termination letter, FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya spoke with Lever Time's David Sirota about why this is a battle over not just one federal agency, but over whether the presidency will end up becoming a corrupt monarchy — one that will benefit only those who kiss the king's ring. Bedoya is now taking Trump to court in a battle that he says is barreling toward the Supreme Court. This is a free version of an episode that was released earlier for paid subscribers. To hear exclusive bonus content like this regularly, become a subscriber at www.levernews.com.

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 hard to imagine life without them. It's a situation that has caught the eyes of regulators and politicians, sometimes resulting in unexpected political alliances. Today on Lever Time, Senior Podcast Producer Arjun Singh sits down with several current and former regulators, including recently dismissed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Chair Rohit Chopra, to learn how the tech sector is rapidly changing society at the expense of the working class — and what the government can do to stop it.

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 — and why they're still struggling under Trump. Today on Lever Time, Senior Podcast Producer Arjun Singh sits down with Deluzio and reporter Amos Barshad to explore the history of the Democratic Party prioritizing unregulated free markets over the American worker — and how that's now left them unable to conceive a winning economic agenda.

Does the Notwithstanding clause turn off rights protected by the Charter? Does it preserve those rights by requiring courts to stay silent while legislatures alone interpret their bounds? Or are courts always available to provide a remedy? This episode features political science professor Geoffrey Sigalet and lawyer Eric Mendelsohn. For further reading, take a look at the following articles: Grégoire Webber, Eric Mendelsohn & Robert Leckey  "The faulty received wisdom around the notwithstanding clause" (Policy Options, 2019) Maxime St-Hilaire and Xavier Foccroulle Ménard, "Nothing to Declare: A Response to Grégoire Webber, Eric Mendelsohn, Robert Leckey, and Léonid Sirota on the Effects of the Notwithstanding Clause" (Constitutional Forum, 2020) Grégoire Webber, “Notwithstanding rights, review, or remedy? On the notwithstanding clause and the operation of legislation” (University of Toronto Law Journal, 2021) Robert Leckey & Eric Mendelsohn, “The Notwithstanding Clause: Legislatures, Courts, and the Electorate” ( University of Toronto Law Journal,   2022) Geoffrey Sigalet, "The Truck and the Brakes: Understanding the Charter's Limitations and Notwithstanding Clauses Symmetrically" (Supreme Court Law Review, 2022) Grégoire Webber, “The notwithstanding clause, the operation of legislation, and judicial review” (Queen's University Legal Research Paper, 2022) Geoffrey Sigalet, “Legislated Rights as Trumps: Why the Notwithstanding Clause Overrides Judicial Review” (Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 2023)

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. Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with a group of environmental writers and journalists to hear their experiences covering climate and what mainstream discourse around climate change is missing.  ––Need a new job in 2025? Build your resume in seconds at SheetsResume.com/Lever. Lever listeners get 25% off lifetime access with code LEVER—one-time fee, no subscriptions. If money's tight, email colin@sheetsresume.com for a free membership.

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 producer Arjun Singh sits down with Bill McGee, senior fellow for aviation at the American Economic Liberties Project and one of the country's foremost experts on the airline industry, to discuss the recent crashes and the state of airline safety regulations.The backbone of aviation safety in the United States of America is The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), an organization that oversees aerospace safety and efficiency and is being targeted by President Donald Trump's federal layoffs. But McGee says the FAA has been understaffed for years and has long been called “The Tombstone Agency” around Washington due to the organization's tendency to only respond with a full investigation when a tragedy occurs.To read an unedited transcript of the episode, click here.  ––Need a new job in 2025? Build your resume in seconds at SheetsResume.com/Lever. Lever listeners get 25% off lifetime access with code LEVER—one-time fee, no subscriptions. If money's tight, email colin@sheetsresume.com for a free membership.

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 companies reportedly tried to thwart Kennedy's confirmation, in part because they've known for decades just how unhealthy and addictive their products can be. Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh unpacks the food industry's colossal influence over the American food system — and how they're using the same playbook as Big Tobacco.To learn more about Andrew Gallegos' nonprofit Cultivating Community head here. 

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 producer Arjun Singh sits down with economist Brad Setser to discuss the history of tariffs, the complexity of the United States' trade relationships with Canada, Mexico, and China, and how the effects of these tariffs could potentially make the illegal drug trade worse. Setser was a senior adviser to the U.S. Trade Representative and writes about China's export economy in his newsletter Follow the Money.

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 of leverage over trillions of public dollars.Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with journalist Nathan Tankus to discuss the depth of Musk's control and how the tycoon's recent actions could imperil the nation. Tankus is the author of the newsletter Notes on a Crisis and one of lead reporters covering Musk's takeover. 

In this episode, we talk to Mike Sirota the young prospect that came over in the Gavin Lux trade from the Cincinnati Reds. We get his reaction to the trade, what to expect as he makes his way through the Dodgers system. We also have updates from DodgerFest. We got timelines on Shohei Ohtani's injury and when he may start pitching, Freddie Freeman updates his injury and surgery plus a whole lot more

Donald Trump has been president for less than two weeks, and the government is already in chaos. Amidst a flurry of executive orders, Trump suspended all federal spending earlier this week. The move sent panic throughout the federal government and upended critical services like Medicare and school funding. Is there an ideology behind the chaos? Or was the chaos the point? And what should the country make of it? Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh recaps how Trump's orders reverberated throughout the country — and explores what could come next.

Fifteen years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that fundamentally changed American politics —  In a 5-4 judgment in Citizens United v FEC, the court struck down restrictions on corporate spending in elections and paved the way for the mountains of dark money in our politics today. But there's more.In The Lever's recent series Master Plan, David Sirota and a team of journalists dove deep into the litigious roots of the Citizens United case, starting with the nearly-forgotten story of a small-town Indiana lawyer, as well as the vast political consequences of the high court's landmark decision. Today on Lever Time, we're sharing that episode with listeners to mark the anniversary of the ruling.

Donald Trump is back — and this time, he's bringing corporate America. Trump's decisive victory in November sent a shockwave through corporate C-suites. Now, Trump is preparing to outsource much of his governing to a small cabal of the nation's wealthiest people. In anticipation, many of the nation's most powerful CEOs have pledged loyalty to Trump. That includes Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon's Jeff Bezos, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who are funding his inauguration festivities and reportedly sitting with Trump's cabinet during his inauguration. To make sense of it all, David Sirota and senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sit down with David Dayen, executive editor of The American Prospect, and Ryan Grim, co-founder of Drop Site News, discuss the power players in Trump's orbit and the state of the nation he's about to inherit on a special Inauguration Day episode of Lever Time.

Today's data landscape is undergoing a seismic shift with increasing regulatory pressures, rapid acceleration to the cloud, and AI adoption. Join BigID's CEO and Co-Founder, Dimitri Sirota, to learn how organizations can adopt a holistic approach to their data security and compliance strategy to keep up with the revolution in data, transforming their data into a competitive advantage. This segment is sponsored by BigID! Start protecting your sensitive data wherever your data lives at https://securityweekly.com/bigid. I've been so excited to see the external attack surface management (EASM) market take off in the past few years. This market category focuses exclusively on security issues exposed to the public Internet - issues ANYONE can see. All organizations have exposure management problems, but industries that are traditionally underfunded when it comes to cybersecurity and IT are particularly worse off. We see breaches in these industries every day - industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and education. Of course, exposure issues don't stop at the network boundary - all organizations have internal exposures to worry about as well. With all the breaches we see every week, we've become somewhat desensitized to them. Is it possible to address even just the most critical exposures (a fraction of 1% of all vulnerabilities) in one of the most underfunded industries? In this episode, we dive into how a small school system in New Mexico took on this challenge. This week in the enterprise news - Cymulate acquires CYNC Secure, Tidal Cyber acquires Zero-Shot, Amazon ransomware attack, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-390

Today's data landscape is undergoing a seismic shift with increasing regulatory pressures, rapid acceleration to the cloud, and AI adoption. Join BigID's CEO and Co-Founder, Dimitri Sirota, to learn how organizations can adopt a holistic approach to their data security and compliance strategy to keep up with the revolution in data, transforming their data into a competitive advantage. This segment is sponsored by BigID! Start protecting your sensitive data wherever your data lives at https://securityweekly.com/bigid. I've been so excited to see the external attack surface management (EASM) market take off in the past few years. This market category focuses exclusively on security issues exposed to the public Internet - issues ANYONE can see. All organizations have exposure management problems, but industries that are traditionally underfunded when it comes to cybersecurity and IT are particularly worse off. We see breaches in these industries every day - industries like manufacturing, healthcare, and education. Of course, exposure issues don't stop at the network boundary - all organizations have internal exposures to worry about as well. With all the breaches we see every week, we've become somewhat desensitized to them. Is it possible to address even just the most critical exposures (a fraction of 1% of all vulnerabilities) in one of the most underfunded industries? In this episode, we dive into how a small school system in New Mexico took on this challenge. This week in the enterprise news - Cymulate acquires CYNC Secure, Tidal Cyber acquires Zero-Shot, Amazon ransomware attack, and more! Visit https://www.securityweekly.com/esw for all the latest episodes! Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-390

Today's data landscape is undergoing a seismic shift with increasing regulatory pressures, rapid acceleration to the cloud, and AI adoption. Join BigID's CEO and Co-Founder, Dimitri Sirota, to learn how organizations can adopt a holistic approach to their data security and compliance strategy to keep up with the revolution in data, transforming their data into a competitive advantage. This segment is sponsored by BigID! Start protecting your sensitive data wherever your data lives at https://securityweekly.com/bigid. Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-390

Today's data landscape is undergoing a seismic shift with increasing regulatory pressures, rapid acceleration to the cloud, and AI adoption. Join BigID's CEO and Co-Founder, Dimitri Sirota, to learn how organizations can adopt a holistic approach to their data security and compliance strategy to keep up with the revolution in data, transforming their data into a competitive advantage. This segment is sponsored by BigID! Start protecting your sensitive data wherever your data lives at https://securityweekly.com/bigid. Show Notes: https://securityweekly.com/esw-390

Los Angeles is infamous for its sprawling urban landscape that has prioritized low-density housing, often at the behest of the state's powerful real estate industry. Despite the known risks of building in fire zones, developers continued to do so with the approval and encouragement of government regulators. But in the wake of the devastating fires in L.A., some are questioning the wisdom of urban sprawl, particularly in California. Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh unpacks how California's housing policies contributed to the devastation  of L.A.'s recent wildfires, and how the city can rebuild in an era when climate disaster is becoming ever more common. 

For bonus content, please join us on Patreon at - https://www.patreon.com/posts/live-now-special-11972532 This special show on what REALLY caused the LA wildfires features David Sirota, Yasha Levine, Natali Segovia, Steven Donziger, Meagan Day & Josh Olson. David Sirota is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author living in Denver, Colorado. He was nominated for an Academy Award for helping Adam McKay create the story for the film DON'T LOOK UP. Sirota is the founder and editor of The Lever, the creator of Audible's MELTDOWN podcast and . the MASTER PLAN podcast. Natali Segovia (Quechua) is an international human rights attorney who currently serves as Executive Director of the Water Protector Legal Collective. Natali's work focuses on the protection of the Earth and the rights of Indigenous Peoples affected by forced displacement, and human rights violations as extractive industry and mass development projects. Over the past 15 years, her international work has focused on addressing human rights violations as a result of extractive industry and mass development projects in rural, "unseen" areas in countries including Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. She currently serves on the Scientific Committee of the Monique and Roland Weyl People's Academy of International Law and on the Board of Directors for Indigenous Peoples Rights International. Yasha Levine is a Russian-American investigative journalist, writer, and filmmaker. He's the author of "Surveillance Valley: The Secret Military History of the Internet," "A Journey Through California's Oligarch Valley," "The Koch Brothers: A Short History" and "The Corruption of Malcolm Gladwell." He's the co-host of The Russians podcast and writes at https://yasha.substack.com/ Steven Donziger is a human rights and environmental lawyer who was imprisoned for successfully suing Chevron for poisoning the water in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The prosecution of Steven Donziger, which has been condemned by the United Nations, Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Amazon Watch, and 64 Nobel Laureates, was a literal corporate prosecution. After the Southern District of New York refused to prosecute Donziger, the judge assigned a corporate firm which had represented Chevron to go after him. The judge also made the unusual move of handpicking the judge to oversee the case and chose a judge who is part of the Right Wing Federalist Society which gets funding from.... you guessed it... Chevron! Meagan Day is a writer and editor focusing on class, labor issues, economic inequality, and US politics. She is an editor at Jacobin, where she was previously a staff writer. The author of Maximum Sunlight (2016) and co-author of Bigger than Bernie (2020), her articles have appeared in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Guardian, and The New Republic In 2022 she addressed the Oxford Union on the topic of the "American Dream" in a global context. Josh Olson is an Oscar nominated screenwriter, writer of the "Bronzeville" podcast, and host of "The Movies That Made Me." Dave and Josh co-hosted the podcasts "West Wing Thing" and "The Audit." ***Please support The Katie Halper Show *** For bonus content, exclusive interviews, to support independent media & to help make this program possible, please join us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpershow Get your Katie Halper Show Merch here! https://katiehalper.myspreadshop.com/all Follow Katie on Twitter: @kthalps

The Los Angeles fires pose huge questions about the future of life in America: Where is it safe to live? How can you protect yourself from such disasters? Is home insurance even obtainable anymore? And will our society finally respond in a serious way to the climate emergency?In the first of a two-part Lever Time series, David Sirota speaks with New York Times writer David Wallace-Wells, New Yorker staff writer Elizabeth Kolbert, and former California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones about what makes this blaze different from past fires — and how we prepare for the next one.

Over the holidays, when President-elect Donald Trump said he would appoint an Indian-American immigrant to serve in the White House, key members of Trump's base were apoplectic. On X, formerly Twitter, prominent Trump supporters like Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer argued the move was antithetical to Trump's pledge to scale back immigration. That put them at odds with billionaire advisor Elon Musk and other tech executives who are leaning on Trump to embrace the use of H-1B visas, which allow highly skilled foreign workers to work in the U.S. and have proven to be a boon for the tech industry. Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh unpacks the history of high-skilled immigration to the United States and why the matter has become a flash point within Trump's coalition. 

Lever Time is taking a break this week, but we'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Today, we wanted to re-air one of our favorite episodes from 2024.  --The National Basketball Association wants you to gamble. Since 2014, the league has championed the legalization of sports betting nationwide, partially due to its own business interests in gambling. But the emergence of online gambling has coincided with a rise in troubling health outcomes like increased rates of depression and substance abuse. Today on Lever Time, we explore the recent growth of online gambling, sitting down with sports writers and an addiction expert to learn how it's impacted society and changed the very nature of sports and fandom. Sports fans are familiar with the companies DraftKings and FanDuel. In the NBA, their commercials are now as synonymous with the game as slam dunks — and both have transformed how viewers watch the game. In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a federal law prohibiting gambling in most states — within the same year several states swiftly moved to legalize sports gambling, leading to more widespread usage of online sportsbooks. Today, millions of fans include betting as part of their viewing experience, but it's a trend that worries public health experts, athletes, and longtime fans, who believe the NBA's promotion of gambling will have long-term negative consequences.

  A new law enacted by North Carolina Republican legislators that purports to be about Hurricane Helene relief is, for the most part, anything but. Rather than providing desperately needed relief and recovery dollars to devastated families and businesses, Senate Bill 382 is a 131-page power grab bill that seizes duties from newly elected Democrats […]

When Iron Man hit theaters in 2008, it didn't just launch the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe — it also, with the Pentagon's help, became a bombastic symbol of modern military might in the digital age. Now, can the same comic book character be used to critique the military-industrial complex and the War on Terror?When Marvel wanted to make an Iron Man film in the early aughts, executives turned to a longstanding relationship between Hollywood and the Pentagon, allowing the Defense Department to approve the movie's storyline in exchange for access to military equipment. The U.S. military was able to alter significant parts of Iron Man's script, allowing the film to also serve as a marketing device for the military. Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Spencer Ackerman is flipping the script. A veteran war reporter, Ackerman is writing a new Marvel comic book series of Iron Man, in which he's applying the lessons he learned over two decades of covering the War on Terror. Decidedly more critical of the military-industrial complex that the movies championed, the books are reshaping the iconic hero into a parable about the impact of excessive wealth concentrated in the hands of one billionaire, Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with Ackerman and Dave Gonzales, co-author of the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios and the host of the podcast Trial By Content, to discuss how the Pentagon pushed Marvel to use Iron Man as a piece of propaganda, and how events like 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars influenced the way superhero is seen today.Read Spencer Ackerman's newsletter Forever Wars by clicking here. 

What up guys & gals hope yall had a blessed and safe week! So on this episode i have Mr. Chris Sirota. Chris has an insane testimony and experiences from family blood lines in the acult that tie into Voodoo & Freemasonry, to his Supernatural Gifts to a 7 ft Demon stalking him and his family in his own Home!!! Get ready for a wild ride! Ways to Support and Connect with Chris:  ✅ https://www.instagram.com/bird_dog_drone_services_/profilecard/?igsh=MW5yaDc5OHNvdHNpdA%3D%3D https://www.instagram.com/wildpursuitspodcast/profilecard/?igsh=MXNsMzFqMG1pYTl1ZQ%3D%3D https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61570384949869&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=gHMP2reYxC4Tm1Zv#   Buy me A Coffee ☕️ (Monthly or one time donation keeps the show going): We know there is room for improvement and have decided to ask you (Our amazing fans) to help us grow! This will help us with better audio, expedition funding, and much more!  ✅ https://shorturl.at/rNarN      Email me:  Podcast Cryptidwarfare@gmail.com   Critter/Cryptid Control C.WOPPS@protonmail.com C.woperations17905@gmail.com         Help support our mission in giving you the best podcast on

David Sirota reflects on the shocking murder of United Health CEO Brian Thompson and the surge of public anger it unleashed against America's broken health insurance system. Why hasn't this longstanding outrage translated into universal health care — a system every other wealthy nation already has?Tracing decades of broken promises and corporate influence — from the Clinton and Obama administrations to today — Sirota looks at how political corruption has trapped Americans in a system that profits from their suffering. Drawing on JFK's 1960s warnings about social stability and justice, this audio essay explores the health care crisis as a symptom of a deeper democracy crisis — and asks what it will take for Americans to finally demand change.Click here to read the written version of David Sirota's essay, "Murder By Spreadsheet". This episode was made possible by Lever Premium subscribers. Consider becoming a paid member to get more content like this, early and ad-free. www.levernews.com/subscribe/

In this special episode from Lever Time, David Sirota reflects on the shocking murder of United Health CEO Brian Thompson and the surge of public anger it unleashed against America's broken health insurance system. Tracing decades of broken promises and corporate influence—from the Clinton and Obama administrations to today—this audio essay explores the health care crisis as a symptom of a deeper democracy crisis and asks what it will take for Americans to finally demand change.Listen to the Lever Time episode Why America Is Mad As Hell About Health Care. Follow us on socialX: @LeverNewsYoutube: @LeverNewsInstagram: @LeverNewsFacebook: /TheLeverNewsSend feedback, questions, or ideas to podcasts@levernews.com

Brian is a Financial Representative with extensive knowledge and understanding of Financial Products to assist clients in planning for their retirement needs.Learn More: https://besfinancial.com/Securities and investment advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Insurance products may be offered through Brian E. Sirota, also Known as BES Financial which is not affiliated with Osaic Wealth.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-sirota-founder-of-bes-financial-discussing-inheriting-money

Brian is a Financial Representative with extensive knowledge and understanding of Financial Products to assist clients in planning for their retirement needs.Learn More: https://besfinancial.com/Securities and investment advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Insurance products may be offered through Brian E. Sirota, also Known as BES Financial which is not affiliated with Osaic Wealth.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-sirota-founder-of-bes-financial-discussing-inheriting-money

Amid the shocking assassination of a health insurance executive and an upswell of anger towards the country's fragile health care safety net, the health insurance industry is suddenly facing a reckoning. Among the best experts to make sense of it all is Wendell Potter.When Wendell Potter left his job as a public relations executive for a health insurance company he was sure of one thing: his former employer was harming people every day. Potter, a former vice president of the insurance giant Cigna, became a whistleblower over a decade ago, and though he does not condone the recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, he understands the fury many in the country feel towards the insurance industry. Today on Lever Time, Potter shares what he learned about how insurance companies hurt patients and more than a decade as an insurance industry insider. Journalist Jonathan Cohn, a veteran health care reporter and the author of the book The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage, also joins the show to unpack the decades-long political battle to reform the health care industry. 

Brian is a Financial Representative with extensive knowledge and understanding of Financial Products to assist clients in planning for their retirement needs.Learn More: https://besfinancial.com/Securities and investment advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Insurance products may be offered through Brian E. Sirota, also Known as BES Financial which is not affiliated with Osaic Wealth.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-sirota-founder-of-bes-financial-discussing-income-planning

Brian is a Financial Representative with extensive knowledge and understanding of Financial Products to assist clients in planning for their retirement needs.Learn More: https://besfinancial.com/Securities and investment advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Insurance products may be offered through Brian E. Sirota, also Known as BES Financial which is not affiliated with Osaic Wealth.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-sirota-founder-of-bes-financial-discussing-income-planning

Brian is a Financial Representative with extensive knowledge and understanding of Financial Products to assist clients in planning for their retirement needs.Learn More: https://besfinancial.com/Securities and investment advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Insurance products may be offered through Brian E. Sirota, also Known as BES Financial which is not affiliated with Osaic Wealth.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-sirota-founder-of-bes-financial-discussing-indexed-annuities

Brian is a Financial Representative with extensive knowledge and understanding of Financial Products to assist clients in planning for their retirement needs.Learn More: https://besfinancial.com/Securities and investment advisory services offered through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC and a registered investment advisor. Insurance products may be offered through Brian E. Sirota, also Known as BES Financial which is not affiliated with Osaic Wealth.Influential Entrepreneurs with Mike Saundershttps://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/interview-with-brian-sirota-founder-of-bes-financial-discussing-indexed-annuities

With the recent surge in artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, one of the most exciting fields it could revolutionize is health care and, more specifically, the field of cognitive care and research. Dr. Marina Sirota and Alice Tang join the podcast to share their research on how AI could be used to predict one's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease based on their electronic health records. They also discuss what needs to be done to improve these algorithms and other ways this technology could be used in Alzheimer's disease research. Guests: Marina Sirota, PhD, associate professor, University of California San Francisco (UCSF), principal investigator, Sirota Lab, and Alice Tang, MD/PhD student, University of California San Francisco, postdoctoral fellow, Sirota Lab Show Notes Read Alice Tang and Dr. Sirota's study, “Leveraging electronic health records and knowledge networks for Alzheimer's disease prediction and sex-specific biological insights,” online through the journal Nature.. Learn more about Sirota Lab on their website. Learn more about Dr. Sirota on her UCSF profile. Connect with us Find transcripts and more at our website. Email Dementia Matters: dementiamatters@medicine.wisc.edu Follow us on Facebook and Twitter. Subscribe to the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center's e-newsletter. Enjoy Dementia Matters? Consider making a gift to the Dementia Matters fund through the UW Initiative to End Alzheimer's. All donations go toward outreach and production.

President-elect Donald Trump's penchant for exaggeration has pushed the boundaries of how elected officials communicate with the public. Trump's conspiracy theories and shock-and-awe approach to campaigning propelled him back into the White House — leaving millions wondering how he was able to pull it off.Recent studies into the science of magic, examining how magicians utilize deception to manipulate their audiences, may provide an answer. Today on Lever Time, Lois Parshley, a senior investigative reporter at The Lever, explains why a recent groundbreaking magic contest holds the keys to understanding how people can be manipulated in a post-truth world. 

Billionaire families contributed roughly 18% of all money raised during the 2024 election cycle. And many of those mega donors are being tapped for high-level positions in the incoming Donald Trump administration. This begs the question: Is the U.S. government controlled by the ultra rich? David Sirota, founder and editor in chief of The Lever, said he believes the U.S. resembles an oligarchy. On the show today, Sirota explains how the erosion of campaign finance regulations has created a culture in which big money in politics is normalized. Then, we’ll get into China’s latest move in the ongoing chip trade war with the United States. Plus, what’s the correct way to pronounce “pecan”? Here’s everything we talked about today: “Election 2024: How Billionaire Avengers Destroyed Democracy” from The Lever “What's different about billionaire donor Elon Musk's relationship with Trump” from Vox “How billionaires are influencing the 2024 U.S. election” from Axios “Battle of the billionaires: the mega rich spending to swing the US election” from Financial Times “Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it’s wrong.” from Vox “China bans export of critical minerals to US as trade tensions escalate” from Reuters “SpaceX Weighs Tender Offer Raising Valuation to $350 Billion” from Bloomberg “​​Yes We Pecan, with Martha Stewart” from NPR It’s Giving Tuesday! Your donation will be matched today when you support Marketplace.

Billionaire families contributed roughly 18% of all money raised during the 2024 election cycle. And many of those mega donors are being tapped for high-level positions in the incoming Donald Trump administration. This begs the question: Is the U.S. government controlled by the ultra rich? David Sirota, founder and editor in chief of The Lever, said he believes the U.S. resembles an oligarchy. On the show today, Sirota explains how the erosion of campaign finance regulations has created a culture in which big money in politics is normalized. Then, we’ll get into China’s latest move in the ongoing chip trade war with the United States. Plus, what’s the correct way to pronounce “pecan”? Here’s everything we talked about today: “Election 2024: How Billionaire Avengers Destroyed Democracy” from The Lever “What's different about billionaire donor Elon Musk's relationship with Trump” from Vox “How billionaires are influencing the 2024 U.S. election” from Axios “Battle of the billionaires: the mega rich spending to swing the US election” from Financial Times “Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it’s wrong.” from Vox “China bans export of critical minerals to US as trade tensions escalate” from Reuters “SpaceX Weighs Tender Offer Raising Valuation to $350 Billion” from Bloomberg “​​Yes We Pecan, with Martha Stewart” from NPR It’s Giving Tuesday! Your donation will be matched today when you support Marketplace.

Billionaire families contributed roughly 18% of all money raised during the 2024 election cycle. And many of those mega donors are being tapped for high-level positions in the incoming Donald Trump administration. This begs the question: Is the U.S. government controlled by the ultra rich? David Sirota, founder and editor in chief of The Lever, said he believes the U.S. resembles an oligarchy. On the show today, Sirota explains how the erosion of campaign finance regulations has created a culture in which big money in politics is normalized. Then, we’ll get into China’s latest move in the ongoing chip trade war with the United States. Plus, what’s the correct way to pronounce “pecan”? Here’s everything we talked about today: “Election 2024: How Billionaire Avengers Destroyed Democracy” from The Lever “What's different about billionaire donor Elon Musk's relationship with Trump” from Vox “How billionaires are influencing the 2024 U.S. election” from Axios “Battle of the billionaires: the mega rich spending to swing the US election” from Financial Times “Remember that study saying America is an oligarchy? 3 rebuttals say it’s wrong.” from Vox “China bans export of critical minerals to US as trade tensions escalate” from Reuters “SpaceX Weighs Tender Offer Raising Valuation to $350 Billion” from Bloomberg “​​Yes We Pecan, with Martha Stewart” from NPR It’s Giving Tuesday! Your donation will be matched today when you support Marketplace.

In a special Lever Time post-election bonus episode, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) details how he was nearly excommunicated from the Democratic Party after he raised early concerns about the party's electability in 2023.The group discusses how Democrats' culture of blind loyalty to the party elite and extreme deference to wealthy donors leave them hopelessly out of touch with voters — and what can be done to change that.

Arjun Singh interviews Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney about The Bibi Files, a new documentary he produced that uncovers explosive new police footage from the corruption trial of increasingly besieged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The podcast comes the same week the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu — and the U.S. Senate voted down a measure to block military aid to Netanyahu's government. The conversation touches on the broader implications of Netanyahu's actions, his role in the Gaza conflict, and how his leadership has contributed to widespread division within Israel. Gibney draws comparisons to other corrupt leaders he's documented, exploring the psychology behind political misconduct, right-wing authoritarianism, and the lengths some will go to stay in power.

No matter what, the cryptocurrency industry was going to win the election. After spending hundreds of millions to influence politicians in both parties, the industry defeated some of its fiercest critics and scored bipartisan support, particularly from President-elect Donald Trump, despite crypto's potential risks for consumers and the financial system. Today on Lever Time, Lever reporter Freddy Brewster discusses crypto's emergence as a political power broker and what industry insiders are hoping for in return for their massive donations. Then, Senior Podcast Producer Arjun Singh sits down with documentarian Cullen Hoback to discuss his new film Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, in which Hoback alleges to have discovered the identity of the enigmatic inventor of the groundbreaking cryptocurrency Bitcoin. 

Donald Trump easily won reelection with the help of voters who were once considered bedrocks of the Democratic base. In this election, the former president managed to win over more working-class voters than in his 2016 campaign and made historic inroads with nonwhite voters. Why did this happen — and how can Democrats win them back?Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with political analyst Krystal Ball, host of the show Breaking Points, to discuss why Trump's authoritarian, populist rhetoric may have struck a chord with voters. Then David Sirota speaks with Jeff Weaver, architect of Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) two presidential runs, to hear how Sanders built a similar multiracial coalition of working class voters during his campaigns and why those voters may have now migrated to Trump.Have a comment or a pitch about the show? Reach out to Arjun directly at asingh@levernews.com or follow him on X and Instagram at lever_singh. 

If elected, former president Donald Trump has promised to implement mass deportations, target journalists, and carry out other unprecedented actions. How could he pull it off? Project 2025, a radical plan to reshape the government under Trump, highlights the key to his sweeping agenda: Schedule F, a policy that would expose federal workers to political interference and give the president broad leeway to govern through fear. Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh unpacks this radical strategy for Trump's second term — and explores the religious fundamentalism and free-market ideology driving the creators of Project 2025, the right-wing think tank called The Heritage Foundation. In the early 1980s, the Heritage Foundation became the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement and today wields huge influence over the Republican party. Unlike other conservative think tanks, the Heritage Foundation was unique in blending the principles of free market capitalism with Christian nationalism, creating a blueprint for conservative politics that has now become the status quo. Over the past four years, a brain trust within the foundation has been drawing up Project 2025, laying the groundwork for how Trump could warp the tools of government and deliver ineradicable changes.

A biopic of former president Donald Trump released right before the election seems ripe for box office success. But when screenwriter Gabriel Sherman looked for a distributor for his new film The Apprentice, Trump threatened legal action, and major studios got cold feet. Today on Lever Time, Sherman sits down with David Sirota and Arjun Singh to discuss the battle to release The Apprentice and how Wall Street's Hollywood takeover is making it more difficult for political films to get made.In the early 2000s, a seismic shift happened in Hollywood. After decades of movie-studio dominance, media deregulation and favorable market conditions opened the doors for Wall Street to move in and consolidate the industry. the balance of power shifted from filmmakers to bankers. Now, with a potential Trump presidency looming, some filmmakers are concerned it could cast a chill over the industry and frighten studios from backing films that could be seen as critical of Trump or his allies.

Here's a preview of the final episode of MASTER PLAN, The Lever's investigative audio series exposing the 50-year plot to legalize corruption in America—winner of awards for Best Writing and Best News & Politics Podcast. To listen to the whole series for free, search Master Plan in your podcast app or visit MasterPlanPodcast.com.

This is a preview of a bonus episode exclusive for premium subscribers. To become a premium subscriber go here.

For decades, major labor unions like the Teamsters have endorsed the Democratic ticket in presidential elections — but not this year. In a surprise move, the Teamsters declined to endorse either former President Donald Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris. The development — and Trump's surprising levels of support from blue-collar and union voters — suggests something's changing in the world of working-class politics.Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh unpacks the cultural and economic trends that have turned working-class voters away from the Democratic Party and explores how the Republican Party is now working to win them over.

Donald Trump is heading to Aurora, Colorado, on Friday — a city that Trump has repeatedly portrayed as crime-ridden and taken over by Venezuelan gangs, despite the refutations of city officials and police. Ahead of Trump's Colorado rally on Friday, David Sirota joined the podcast City Cast Denver to explain why Trump has focused on Aurora and the signal he's sending with his rally in the Denver suburb.

It's Hump Day! Sam speaks with David Sirota, founder and editor-in-chief of The Lever, and host of its new investigative podcast Master Plan. First, Sam runs through updates on Harris' economic plan, election polling, Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza, Gaza's polio vaccination effort, Trump's newest demand of Congressional Republicans, Trump corruption allegations, RFK's ballot access fiasco, Tim Sheehy, student loan forgiveness, Russian offensives in Ukraine, labor action, and starvation in Sudan, before watching Conservative media attempt to pull a half-baked accent conspiracy about Kamala Harris out of their ass. David Sirota then joins, diving right into the recent reporting on his podcast tracing the blueprint for legalized corruption in the form of deregulated campaign finance law and gutted bribery statutes back to the Watergate scandal, a scheme funded by illegal corporate donations, and a memorandum response by one Lewis Powell to growing calls for campaign finance reform that would go on to define the American conservative movement for the next half-century. Expanding on this, Sirota walks through how the recommendations found in Powell's memo would be implemented seamlessly over the next few decades, filling attempted congressional reforms with loopholes for corporate backs, and bringing about multiple successful Supreme Court cases (decided, in part, by the now Justice Powell) that would set the stage for the Citizen's United decision's unbridling of corporate spending on elections, before looking at the myriad ways (many obvious) in which this legalized corruption completely undermines democratic governance. After touching on the constant (and, at points, prevalent) backlash to growing corruption in US politics, David and Sam explore the normalization of this corruption to a point beyond complacency, but of a refusal to even call it out, dissecting the hold corporate money has on our elections and what that means for candidates seeking to reform the system, and diving deep into the central role the Supreme Court has played in advancing American conservative agenda as an acting super-legislature. Wrapping up, David briefly assesses Harris' 90-day candidacy, the importance of simplifying your agenda when given such a short window of time, and the state of the Democratic Party in 2024. And in the Fun Half: Sam talks with Kimmy from Kentucky about JD Vance's ongoing embarrassments, Jesse Watters unpacks the non-controversy of… Trump staff harassing employees of Arlington Cemetery, and the MR Team reflects on Mark Robinson's all-American activities that preceded his moralist stances of today. Eric from Chicago explores an Aurora Colorado slumlord's attempt to capitalize on anti-immigrant sentiment in a PR campaign, Tim Pool breaks down over the “operative” allegations as he further immiserates himself in slander and libel accusations, and Jimmy Dore has a conspiracy theory about – get this – a far-left politician actually being a US intelligence asset. Randy from New Jersey on the “No Arena in Chinatown” effort in Philly, plus, your calls and IMs! Follow David on Twitter here: https://x.com/davidsirota Check out The Lever here: https://www.levernews.com/ Check out "Master Plan" here: https://www.levernews.com/tag/master-plan/ Find out more about the "No Arena Chinatown Solidarity Group" event in Philadelphia this weekend!: https://www.instagram.com/nacsphilly/?hl=en Donate IF YOU CAN to friend of the show Mohamed Aldaghma's Gaza Bakery project to help displaced families: https://www.gofundme.com/f/gaza-bakery-feeding-displaced-families Check out the LIMITED EDITION Vergogna shirt on the MR shop!: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/collections/all-items/products/the-majority-report-vergogna-t-shirt Check out Tony Y, who designed the Vergogna shirt's website!: https://linktr.ee/tonyyanick Buy Anne from Portland's Vergogna t-shirt here!: https://www.bonfire.com/store/pictrix-design/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Follow us on TikTok here!: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here!: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here!: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here!: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Join Sam on the Nation Magazine Cruise! 7 days in December 2024!!: https://nationcruise.com/mr/ Check out StrikeAid here!; https://strikeaid.com/ Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: Delete Me: Take control of your data and keep your private life private by signing up for DeleteMe. Now at a special discount for our listeners. Today get 20% off your DeleteMe plan by texting MAJORITY to 64000. Text  MAJORITY to 64000. That's MAJORITY to 64000.  Message and data rates may apply. See terms for details. Smalls Cat Food: For 50% off your first order, head to https://Smalls.com/MAJORITY and use code MAJORITY. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/