On this week’s episode of Lever Time, David Sirota introduces the Lever’s brand new podcast, Master Plan, which tells the gripping inside story of how extremists and tycoons orchestrated a system of legalized corruption in America. Hosted by David Sirota, the first season of this investigative series traces the untold history of how a small group of operatives and oligarchs used vast wealth to manipulate key U.S. government policies for personal gain at the expense of everyone else.  A transcript of this episode is available here.  Master Plan will be released in the summer of 2024. The Lever’s paid supporters will get first, exclusive access to the entire series. Click here to become a paid supporter.

 If you’d like to subscribe to the free version of Master Plan, click here to find it on your preferred podcast player. Or simply search for “Master Plan” in your podcast app and hit subscribe. Additionally, Lever Time will be taking a short hiatus to accommodate production needs. But stay tuned to this feed for more exciting Lever podcasts coming soon!

The Future Of Lever Podcasts

From LeverNews.com — Lever Time is the flagship podcast from the investigative news outlet The Lever. Hosted by award-winning journalist, Oscar-nominated writer, and Bernie Sanders' 2020 speechwriter David Sirota, Lever Time features exclusive reporting from The Lever’s newsroom, high-profile guest interviews, and expert analysis from the sharpest minds in media and politics.

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Today on Lever Time, we dive into the heart of Capital One and hear from a former employee about the credit card titan’s tactics to keep customers forever submerged in debt.  When President Joe Biden moved to cap credit card late fees in March, the financial industry revolted — filing multiple lawsuits against the administration of a man once dubbed one of the banking industry’s favorite senators. Why are the credit card giants so threatened by losing their junk fees? How exactly have they assumed so much control of our financial lives? In today’s episode of Lever Time, David Sirota and Arjun Singh go deep into the heart of the credit card industry and its lobbying army to hear how the industry has muscled its way into people’s wallets. 

Credit Card Companies Want To Keep You In Debt Forever

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Jerusalem-based journalist Nathan Thrall to discuss what life has been like in both Gaza and the West Bank since the Oct. 7 attack in Israel. The pair also explores what is motivating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue the war, and why Netanyahu’s iron-fisted approach to the Palestinian territories may be the norm, not an outlier, in Israeli politics. 

What Will It Take For Israel To End Its War?

For months, Joe Biden has struck a defiant tone in his support of Israel despite the concerns of allies and nationwide protests. Biden has been a fervent supporter of Israel throughout his political career, but his current moves appear to be driven by three close advisors who have consolidated control over the administration’s Israel policy.  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota and Arjun Singh look at the people shaping Biden’s Israel decisions and get an on-the-ground report on how the war has played out in Israel, Gaza, and the West Bank.  The Lever is subscriber supported. To become a subscriber, and get access to exclusive bonus content, head here: https://www.levernews.com/

Why Does America Provide So Much Support To Israel?

Since 2021, economists and pundits have tried to blame inflation on workers and rising wages. But a new bombshell exposé spotlights a different cause: oil companies engaging in an alleged price-fixing scheme with Saudi Arabia and other countries that may have fueled roughly one-third of all U.S. inflation in 2021.  A recent Federal Trade Commission case uncovered text messages and documents suggesting the founder of a big oil company colluded with the Saudi government and other oil-producing countries to keep energy prices high. Another lawsuit alleges multiple American oil companies were engaged in a price-fixing scheme.  Today on Lever Time, Matt Stoller of the American Economic Liberties Project discusses his groundbreaking reporting on the matter — and explains how this alleged collusion could have played a major role in the country’s inflation crisis. 

What A Fracking CEO’s Text Messages Tell Us About Inflation

As colleges and police departments crack down on campus protests, law enforcement are using tools borrowed from corporate America’s ballooning surveillance regime to spy on students — and anyone else they deem a threat.  When New York City police raided Columbia University on Tuesday to remove student protesters from a building they’d occupied, Mayor Eric Adams justified the move by claiming “outside agitators” had infiltrated the group. If the claim was even true, how did authorities get that information? What sort of technologies are authorities using to monitor the protesters — and where did these spy tools come from? This week on Lever Time, David Sirota and producer Arjun Singh look at college protests in the age of total surveillance. They talk with Alistair Kitchen, a student journalist who’s been reporting from Columbia’s campus, and explore how corporate America has taught the intelligence community new ways to use consumer data to spy on people everywhere If you’d like to follow Alistair Kitchen’s reporting, subscribe to his newsletter here: https://substack.com/@alistair  Our work is subscriber supported. If you want to support us, and hear exclusive podcast content, head to levernews.com 


The Future Of Lever Podcasts

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