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A secret plot. A public theft. A democracy corrupted. Discover the truth on Master Plan, winner of the 2024 Signal Awards for News & Politics and Best Writing. Hosted by David Sirota, former speechwriter for Bernie Sanders and Oscar-nominated co-writer of Don’t Look Up, Master Plan uncovers a deliberate scheme to legalize corruption in the U.S., enabling the wealthy to buy policies that serve them at the public’s expense. How did our democracy become a kleptocracy? The Lever has unearthed ne ...
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Pundits Pub is "America's Public House" where YOU become the pundit. We'll discuss the major political, social and cultural issues facing the American People today. Pundits Pub is a feast for the mind, a special place to relax with a cocktail, or your favorite soft drink, and maybe have a few laughs while we discuss some pretty darn important issues. Bracing for the intellect, invigorating your artistic soul, Pundits Pub is your alternative multi-media destination.
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Master Plan host David Sirota has a big announcement about a possible Master Plan Season 2. But we need your help. Go to masterplanpodcast.comBy The Lever
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From Lever Time: Sirota—The Health Care Crisis Is The Democracy Crisis
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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 explore…
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From Drilled: The Big Oil Origins of Corporate Free Speech
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Today, we’re sharing an episode of Drilled, a podcast about climate change hosted by investigative journalist Amy Westervelt. This is the first in a three-part miniseries on how Mobil Oil VP Herb Schmertz helped pave the way for corporate free speech, linking the Powell Memo to key Supreme Court cases like Bellotti and Citizens United. These effort…
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BONUS: The Master Planners’ Election (With Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse)
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In a special Master Plan bonus episode, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins David Sirota to break down the impact of the Supreme Court’s’ 2010 Citizens United ruling on 2024's super PAC spending spree. The two dig into billionaires like Elon Musk openly backing candidates and the hidden power of dark money, and discuss current reforms efforts to bring…
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We all live in the master planners’ world now, immersed in an ocean of corruption. The 2024 Republican presidential campaign is bankrolled by billionaires, while corporate interests’ power was in full display at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. What will it take to reclaim our democracy? Is there any hope of reversing the master plan? Follo…
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Unleashed by the Citizens United ruling, the master planners launch a three-part heist to crack the vault protecting democracy itself. First, the schemers take out the security cameras monitoring dark money. Then, they disarm the last campaign finance cops on the beat. Finally, they pull off a getaway so prosecutors can’t charge them as they run of…
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An anti-abortion legal activist starts using the federal courts to chip away at campaign finance restrictions, setting his sights on the Supreme Court. Indiana lawyer James Bopp Jr. engineers the Citizens United case and hand-tailors it for Justice Anthony Kennedy’s storied swing vote — setting him up for an explosive 5-4 ruling that would devastat…
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As President George W. Bush declares “Mission Accomplished” in the Iraq War, his administration wages a different war with swing-state senators defying his judicial nominees. Operatives like Leonard Leo and Brett Kavanaugh seize the moment to try to dramatically shift the balance of the Supreme Court. But when Bush goes off script and nominates a t…
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After a series of setbacks in the push to legalize corruption, the master planners know they must take over the U.S. Supreme Court and halt the trend of Republican-appointed justices siding with campaign finance reformers. So in the early 2000s, they deploy their new judicial machine in an epic battle to try to permanently change the courts from th…
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When five U.S. senators get caught pressuring a regulator on behalf of a financial magnate, they become known as the “Keating Five.” The public is predictably outraged. But what no one expects is that one of those senators will learn from his mistakes and become the staunchest campaign finance reformer in decades. Get Master Plan episodes early and…
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You might remember Mitt Romney’s infamous line: “Corporations are people, my friend.” But where did this idea come from? In this episode: how the Ford Administration and the Powell Memo movement turned to the Supreme Court to establish the precedent that legalized corruption: money is speech, and corporations are entitled to First Amendment rights.…
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How did corporate executives and politicians turn Lewis Powell’s memo from a blueprint into a master plan — and begin executing it? In this episode, we uncover proof of a secret “Powell Memo Task Force,” as well as clandestine meetings involving America’s most powerful businessmen, a future president, and an ambitious young media consultant. The re…
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A seemingly moderate corporate lawyer grows alarmed by anti-corruption reformers’ policy wins and writes a manifesto detailing how corporations and oligarchs can dominate American politics. Months later, he’s confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court by senators unaware that his manifesto is going viral among the business elite. View related materials he…
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There’s a lost tale behind Watergate: corporate bagmen, suitcases of illegal cash, and Nixon circumventing the very campaign finance rules he’d just signed into law. Amid the blowback, Nixon leaves a ticking time bomb in the heart of Washington. Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusiv…
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Ever wonder how America became so corrupt? It didn’t have to be this way. Our series begins in 1971, a time when hot pants were hot, bell bottoms were swinging, and campaign cash flowed like… milk. Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content and support this show. Visit masterpla…
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A secret plot. A public theft. A democracy corrupted. Discover the truth. The first two episodes of Master Plan, a new podcast from The Lever, will be available on August 27 wherever you get your podcasts. Listen early and ad-free at masterplanpodcast.comBy The Lever
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Pundits Pub #6: Left v. Right: It's the Biology, Stupid!
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Why do many conservatives refuse to admit that climate change is real and caused by human activity? Why do many liberals refuse to admit that the world is a dangerous place? Why does it seem that America is divided more than ever? We are joined by Professor John R. Hibbing of the University of Nebraska, co-author of Predisposed: Liberals, Conservat…
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Pundits Pub #5: The Powell Memo and the Neoliberal Coup
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Going solo, Stephen Love riffs on Neoliberalism, using the Powell Memorandum as foundation. How is it that we have turned into a society that atomizes the individual---praising the cult of self over any sort of connection to community? Was there a slow-motion Neoliberal Coup?By Pundits Pub with Stephen Love
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Pundits Pub #4: Starving for Change: Toward a New Food Paradigm
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Bonnie Blodgett joins us to discuss the urgent need to transform our relationship to food. Bonnie is an OpEd columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where she writes about politics, and business and social issues. She is also one of America's foremost writers on gardening. She is the author of several books, including Remembering Smell: A Memoi…
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Pundits Pub #3: Neoliberalism and the Obliteration of Education
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Our special guest is Vincent Marano, a playwright and educator in New York City. Vincent is a teacher and assistant principal in a South Bronx High School. We trace the infiltration of the Economic Darwinism of Neoliberalism through all corners of Society, with special focus on the War on Public Education. We'll bring in our Contributing Editor Fal…
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Pundits Pub #2: Oil, Climate, and the Madness of the Merchants of Death
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Pundits Pub was embedded with the 200,000 marchers at the People's Climate March in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, April 29. The urgent yet festive activists condemned the berzerk climate-denying Trump and his administration of gangsters. We'll look at the administration assault on Planet Earth so far, and examine the relationship between the Fossil…
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Pundits Pub #1: The Corporate News Media Sucks
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Bill is a veteran newsman and investigative reporter. He was an anchorman on Radio and TV around the country, and he was News Editor at CBS News for a couple of decades, where he won the Edward R Murrow Award for Best Coverage of a Major Breaking News Event for the coverage of the Yitzhak Rabin assassination. Bill is the author of Smooth Criminal: …
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