Lever Time

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He Sent One Email. Then Federal Agents Came To His Door. Feb 19, 2026

Show notes

In October, a Philadelphia man emailed an attorney for the Department of Homeland Security, criticizing a government policy. Hours later, federal agents and local police were banging on his door to interrogate him without a warrant. It feels like something out of a movie, but it's real.

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with ACLU attorney Steve Loney to ask some big questions: How are federal agencies obtaining your private data without a warrant? How are tech giants like Google enabling them? And what should you do if this happens to you?

For a full transcript of the episode, click here.

Click here to read more about this story in The Washington Post.

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A Message From David Sirota About The Lever's Master Plan Feb 17, 2026

Show notes

An important message about the future of The Lever's Master Plan podcast, from our host, David Sirota.

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When Disaster, Inc. Comes To Town (With Katya Schwenk) Feb 12, 2026

Show notes

In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, setting off a chemical disaster. Politicians and lawyers promised justice, and the railroad company swiftly settled for a historic $600 million.

Three years later, many victims haven’t seen a dime. Where did all that money go?

Today on Lever Time, producer Natalie Bettendorf is joined by Lever reporter Katya Schwenk, who scoured court documents and traveled to East Palestine to uncover the toxic secrets behind one of the largest disaster settlements in history.

Click here to read Katya's in-depth investigation.

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What Tech Wants: God In The Machine Feb 05, 2026

Show notes

While one tech CEO warns that artificial intelligence could “destroy all life on Earth,” other industry giants have declared war on rules that could limit AI’s power. Their battlefield? The 2026 midterm elections.

In Part Three of What Tech Wants, Lever Time’s investigation into why Silicon Valley is buying our democracy, producer Ariella Markowitz explores Big Tech’s latest obsession — artificial intelligence — and its crusade against anyone who stands in its way.

Click here for a transcript of the episode.

To listen to the first two episodes of this series, click here.

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What Tech Wants: Crypto Reign Of Terror (with Jacob Silverman and Molly White) Jan 29, 2026

Show notes

In 2024, the cryptocurrency industry spent more than $130 million to influence elections nationwide. Their campaign donations and lobbying efforts turned the tables for their risky boom-and-bust business, which is now poised to overtake our entire financial system.

In Part Two of What Tech Wants, Lever Time’s investigation into why Silicon Valley is buying our democracy, producer Ariella Markowitz reveals how crypto companies aligned with President Donald Trump to advance their agenda.

To listen to Part One of our series, click here.

Click here to subscribe to Molly White’s newsletter Citation Needed.

Click here to read Jacob Silverman’s book, Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley.

Click here for a full transcript of the episode.

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What Tech Wants: The San Francisco Experiment Jan 22, 2026

Show notes

In 2022, nonprofit neighborhood groups, backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, helped recall a progressive district attorney in San Francisco. What happened next would change the country.

In Part One of What Tech Wants, Lever Time’s investigation into why Silicon Valley is buying our democracy, producer Ariella Markowitz uncovers how a local experiment unlocked a new formula for political power.

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They Banned Parents From Recording Their Kids' Games. We Changed That. Jan 16, 2026

Show notes

As private investment companies encroach upon youth sports, how does that hurt the players — and their families? As Lever reporter Luke Goldstein discovered, there’s more at stake than just higher prices.

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota tells the story of how a Lever investigation into a shocking claim prompted a national outcry, one that led to a small but mighty victory against Black Bear Sports Group, one of the youth sports kingpins calling the shots.

Read Luke Goldstein’s reporting mentioned in the episode here and here.

Click here for a full transcript of the episode.

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Are We Trapped In Meaningless Jobs? (With Rutger Bregman) Dec 18, 2025

Show notes

Are we wasting our talents on meaningless jobs? Should our career choices reflect our morals? Author and historian Rutger Bregman thinks so. He argues that the most talented people in America are stuck in a real-life version of the movie Office Space — and that we should be trying to solve the world’s biggest problems instead.

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Bregman to ask: When did we lose our moral ambition? Are we greedy, cynical, or are we just trying to escape an ever-increasing affordability crisis?

Click here to learn about Bregman’s book, Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent And Start Making A Difference.

For a transcript of this episode, click here.

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It’s Not An AI Bubble. It’s A Black Hole. Dec 11, 2025

Show notes

2025 has been a tremendous year for the artificial intelligence industry. Stock prices for AI companies skyrocketed, soaring beyond expectations and propping up an otherwise stagnant U.S. economy. But everywhere, there’s talk of an AI bubble — one even bigger and more threatening than the 2008 housing bubble or the dot-com bubble of the early 2000s.

What makes this bubble so different? When is it likely to pop? And if it does, what does that mean for the rest of us?

In this episode of Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Ed Zitron and Sruthi Pinnamaneni, journalists covering the AI frenzy, to recap the year of the AI Bubble — and predict what will happen next.

To read Ed Zitron's blog, Where's Your Ed At, click here.

Click here to check out Sruthi Pinnamaneni's two part series on AI data centers.

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Parenting Advice From The World’s Worst Mom (With Lenore Skenazy) Dec 04, 2025

Show notes

As parents, we’re told homicidal maniacs, drug peddlers, and creeps are lurking in every shadow, waiting to grab your children. But is that true? Is our obsession with keeping our kids safe doing more harm than good?

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota investigates the difference between good parenting and overparenting — and the political history behind our fear that kidnappers are roaming the streets. David enlists the help of author and advocate Lenore Skenazy, a champion for “free-range parenting,” who was once labeled the World’s Worst Mom when she let her child ride the New York City subway alone.

Want to hear more? As an exclusive bonus to our paid subscribers, click here for David’s full conversation with Lenore Skenazy. Lenore explains how to protect kids on social media, how she developed her parenting philosophy, and so much more. Not yet a paid subscriber? Click here for a special membership offer exclusive to Lever Time listeners.

Click here for a full transcript of the episode.

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