Lever Time

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: Last October, grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons announced they planned to merge and become one of the largest grocery monopolies in the country. To learn what’s at stake, David Sirota is joined by journalist Moe Tkacik , who has been covering the story for months, and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser , who recently launched a multistate antitrust inves...

This mini-episode is part of our Inside The Story series, where we highlight some of The Lever ’s original reporting and speak with the journalists who wrote the story. Frank Cappello speaks with Julia Rock, who details their new story published by The Lever : Pharmaceutical giants rang in the new year by quietly announcing price hikes in the United States on more than 350 drugs — and they continu...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time : After the Southwest Airlines debacle that saw over 2,500 flights canceled and up to a million travelers stranded over the holidays, David Sirota explores how the U.S. airline industry became one of the most concentrated and despised industries in the country with the help of William J. McGee , a senior fellow for aviation and travel at the American Economic L...

This mini-episode is part of our Inside The Story series, where we highlight some of The Lever ’s original reporting and speak with the journalists who wrote the story. Frank Cappello speaks with Matthew Cunningham-Cook who details their new story published by The Lever : For years, the retirement savings of teachers, firefighters, and other government workers have been funneled by public official...

This mini-episode is part of our Inside The Story series, where we highlight some of The Lever ’s original reporting and speak with the journalists who wrote the story. Frank Cappello speaks with Rebecca Burns who details their new story published by The Lever : Amid a financial crime spree and spate of corporate convictions, federal regulators recently floated a proposed fix: strengthening an exi...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: In light of Elon Musk’s Twitter flippantly banning journalists last week, David Sirota chats with Producer Frank and Jordan Uhl about the broader implications. Is this just another culture war sideshow, or is it the most forward-facing example of what happens when oligarchs control the public discourse (1:50)?   Then, David is joined by Evan Greer , the direct...

This mini-episode is part of our Inside The Story series, where we highlight some of The Lever ’s original reporting and speak with the journalists who wrote the story. Frank Cappello speaks with Rebecca Burns who details her new story published by The Lever : BlackRock, the world’s largest investment company, has become a top target of the right’s crusade against so-called “woke capitalism” becau...

This mini-episode is part of our Lever News series, where we highlight some of The Lever ’s original reporting and speak with the journalists who wrote the story. Frank Cappello speaks with Andrew Perez who details his new story published by The Lever. Flush with money after receiving the largest-known political advocacy donation in U.S. history, conservative activist Leonard Leo and his associate...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: In light of the recent breakthrough in nuclear fusion technology, David Sirota sits down with UK plasma physicist Dr. Arthur Turrell to learn about this “holy grail” of scientific research. Could nuclear fusion be deployed to combat the climate crisis, and how long would it take to do so (8:37)? If you'd like access to Lever Time Premium, which includes extend...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is joined by New York Times global economics correspondent Peter S. Goodman to explore why President Biden and the Democrats chose to side with railroad barons by forcing rail workers to accept a contract they had already rejected. They also dig into why the rail workers’ demand for additional paid sick days became such a sticking point in negotia...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: Andrew Perez sits down with Lindsay Owens , executive director of the progressive think tank Groundwork Collaborative, to talk about why the upcoming fight in Congress over the debt ceiling is so pivotal. Owens explains how inflation will play a role in the negotiations, and discusses whether or not President Joe Biden will allow the conflict to be used as an...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota discusses one of the country’s first-ever dark money disclosure laws passed during the recent midterms — Arizona Proposition 211 — and speaks with former Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard , who has spent the better part of the last decade fighting to get the law passed (4:37).  Then, David is joined by Jordan Uhl , who has been covering last...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time : Progressive candidates win big! First, Producer Frank chats with The Lever ’s Jordan Uhl about his takeaways from attending a recent Congressional Progressive Caucus event welcoming eleven new members of the House Democrats’ progressive wing (6:49). Then, David Sirota discusses the recent implosion of the cryptocurrency market following the collapse of the FT...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: It’s the day after the midterm elections! David Sirota and The Lever’s entire reporting staff break down all the key takeaways , including the big progressive wins, the stunning MAGA losses, the victories for abortion rights, the surprising exit poll data, and the important ballot measures that passed (4:57). Then, David is joined by Krystal Ball , co-host of...

On this bonus episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is on the campaign trail tracking key Pennsylvania races in the lead-up to next week’s midterms. First, David interviews Summer Lee , the Democratic candidate for Pennsylvania’s 12th congressional district. David speaks with Summer about the flood of money that has been spent against her, first in the Democratic primary and now in the general elect...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is joined by Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold , who also serves as the chair of the Democratic Secretaries of State Association. David and Jena discuss the slate of election-denying Republican candidates who are running to oversee their state’s elections, and why the results of this year’s secretaries of state races are so vital (7:46). T...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is joined by MSNBC host Chris Hayes for a deep-dive discussion on this year’s midterm elections, the responsibility of the media in covering unprecedented threats to democracy, and what it’s like being the lead anchor of one of the country’s largest cable news networks (6:27). Then, David sits down with journalist and author Anand Giridharadas to...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is joined by The Lever ’s reporters Julia Rock and Rebecca Burns to discuss recent news, including a climate protest that made international headlines for dousing a Van Gogh painting in tomato soup (4:38), and a sketchy financial bait-and-switch by Microchip giant Intel (9:00). Julia and Rebecca also break down their massive stories on Republican...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: On this week’s episode of Lever Time Premium: Joel Warner speaks with attorney and drug policy expert Shaleen Title about Joe Biden’s recent announcement on marijuana decriminalization and reform. Joel and Shaleen break down every aspect of Biden’s plan, as well as the corporate interests hoping to turn a profit from marijuana legalization (6:03). Then, David...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David is joined by comedian Dave Anthony and screenwriter Josh Olson , hosts of the Lever’s new “educational” podcast, The Audit . David, Dave, and Josh break down the news of the week, including shocking revelations about Herschel Walker and Dr. Oz, new GOP Facebook ads attempting to monetize their cruelty towards migrants , and the new slate of high-profile...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is joined by Andrew Perez and Jacobin staff writer Luke Savage to analyze a moment of open corruption during a House committee meeting (1:57), discuss how Joe Manchin’s dirty pipeline bill is getting “ greenwashed ” (12:46), and score an inside look at Savage’s new book, The Dead Center , about the failures of modern Liberalism (23:03). Then, Davi...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David is joined by New York Times’ global economics correspondent Peter S. Goodman and Labor Notes reporter Jonah Furman to break down the looming railroad workers strike , which could potentially bring the U.S. economy to a screeching halt (7:03). Then, David interviews Charlie Crist , the Democratic nominee running for governor of Florida against Ron DeSanti...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is joined by The Lever ’s Andrew Perez and ProPublica ’s Andy Kroll , who break down their follow-up reporting on Barre Seid, the secretive Chicago billionaire responsible for the single largest political advocacy donation in U.S. history (3:25). Then, David sits down with political sportswriter Dave Zirin to discuss his new documentary about the...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time Premium: David Sirota discusses Joe Biden’s recent comments on what he considers the biggest threat to American democracy (2:35); Julia Rock breaks down her reporting on the dark side of Biden’s student debt policy, including how his Justice Department is fighting debtors in bankruptcy court (9:38); and Matthew Cunningham-Cook updates us on how a corporate Demo...

On this week’s episode of Lever Time: David Sirota is joined by The Lever ’s Andrew Perez and Matthew Cunningham-Cook to discuss Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan and dissect the internet’s obsession with ‘Dark Brandon' (3:15). Then, David sits down with author, filmmaker, and co-founder of the Debt Collective, Astra Taylor , and Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Utah, Marsh...