Lever Time

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The Corporate Merger No One’s Talking About Jan 11, 2023

Show notes

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 investigation into the potential merger (10:00).

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A rough transcript of this episode is available here.

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INSIDE THE STORY: How Big Pharma Actually Spends Its Massive Profits Jan 06, 2023

Show notes

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 continue to insist these price hikes are necessary for innovation. But new research shows that the business model of America’s largest pharmaceutical companies involves far more spending on enriching shareholders and executives than on research and development.

To read the full story, click here.

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How The Airline Industry Became A Living Nightmare Jan 04, 2023

Show notes

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 Liberties Project. William explains to David the history of airline deregulation and the federal preemption that left oversight of the industry solely in the questionable hands of the Secretary of Transportation (10:50).

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If you’d like to leave a tip for The Lever, click the following link. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. levernews.com/tipjar

A rough transcript of this episode is available here.

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INSIDE THE STORY: The Battle Over The Side-Letter Scam Dec 23, 2022

Show notes

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 officials to secretive Wall Street firms that charge high fees in exchange for the false promise of outsized returns. But as the stock market plummets and asset values drop, there are new fears that pensioners will be unable to access their cash, while insiders will be allowed to pull their money out before things get worse.

Now, Wall Street firms and their political allies — including a U.S. Senator with substantial private equity holdings — are trying to stop federal regulators from intervening to protect retirees by banning firms from giving some investors preferential treatment. And there are no rules requiring lawmakers with investments in private equity to disclose whether they are being given special investment preferences while they lobby to protect those asset managers.

To read the full story, click here.

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INSIDE THE STORY: Banks’ Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Card Dec 22, 2022

Show notes

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 existing rule designed to bar criminal banks from managing — and profiting off — trillions of dollars of retirement funds.

To read the full story, click here.

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Elon Musk’s Twitter Is The Opposite Of Free Speech Dec 21, 2022

Show notes

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 director of the digital rights advocacy group Fight For The Future, who helps unpack the significance of Twitter’s implosion. Unlike other social media websites, Twitter is both a news source and a town square, which makes Elon’s unilateral control of the company all the more concerning. They also dig into the practicalities of content moderation and why freedom of expression is so crucial in the digital age (21:02).

If you'd like access to Lever Time Premium, which includes extended interviews and bonus content, head over to LeverNews.com to become a supporting subscriber.

If you’d like to leave a tip for The Lever, click the following link. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. levernews.com/tipjar

A rough transcript of this episode is available here.

https://www.fightforthefuture.org/

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INSIDE THE STORY: BlackRock’s Stealth Anti-Climate Agenda Dec 16, 2022

Show notes

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” because of its rhetoric around climate change and sustainable investing. But when it comes to climate action, the giant asset manager isn’t presently all that far apart from its GOP detractors. Both BlackRock and congressional Republicans are fighting — albeit through different strategies — to defang a forthcoming regulation that would force companies to disclose their carbon emissions and the risks that climate change pose to their business models.

To read the full story, click here.

If you enjoyed this story and want to support independent journalism, you can go to LeverNews.com to subscribe to our free newsletter or become a paid supporter.

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INSIDE THE STORY: Leonard Leo’s Latest Supreme Court Play Dec 15, 2022

Show notes

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 associates are spending millions of dollars to influence some of the Supreme Court’s most consequential recent cases, newly released tax documents obtained by ProPublica and The Lever show. (This story was reported in partnership between The Lever and ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.)

To read the full story, click here.

If you enjoyed this story and want to support independent journalism, you can go to LeverNews.com to subscribe to our free newsletter or become a paid supporter.

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The Scientific Breakthrough That Could End Climate Change Dec 14, 2022

Show notes

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 extended interviews and bonus content, head over to LeverNews.com to become a supporting subscriber.

If you’d like to leave a tip for The Lever click the following link. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. levernews.com/tipjar

A rough transcript of this episode is available here.

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Why Biden Betrayed Railroad Workers Dec 07, 2022

Show notes

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 negotiations, and what a potential rail strike could mean for the U.S. economy (6:24).

Then, The Lever’s Julia Rock sits down with journalist and filmmaker Blake Zeff to discuss his new documentary Loan Wolves, which details the history of America’s student debt crisis, which politicians are to blame, and how student debt has impacted Americans across the country (30:24).

If you'd like access to Lever Time Premium, which includes extended interviews and bonus content, head over to LeverNews.com to become a supporting subscriber.

If you’d like to leave a tip for The Lever click the following link. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. levernews.com/tipjar

A rough transcript of this episode is available here.

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