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Trump’s New Merger Scandal Is Swampier Than Watergate Jul 31, 2025

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In a stunning reversal, the Trump administration just gave the green light to a major tech merger — and then fired two Justice Department lawyers who opposed it. Was corruption at play in the merger decision?

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with The Lever’s Luke Goldstein and UnHerd Magazine’s Sohrab Ahmari, who first exposed the “mergers over martinis” story behind the reversal. They dive into the MAGA power struggle inside the Justice Department and tackle the big questions: What triggered the reversal? Could a Watergate-era anti-corruption law bring the truth to light? And if Trump is now opening the floodgates to corporate mergers, what will that mean for your wallet?

To check out Sohrab Ahmari’s reporting, as referenced in this episode, click here.
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How AI Is Taking Over The U.S. Government Jul 28, 2025

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The Trump administration just unveiled a sweeping AI Action Plan that aims to achieve global dominance in the industry. Hiding deep within the document? A previously rejected scheme to ban oversight of tech oligarchs and let artificial intelligence run wild.

Today on Lever Time, producer Natalie Bettendorf investigates the challenges and political realities of reining in AI — and why Congress and the president seem determined to terminate AI regulations.

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The Fight For Control Of Your Money (with Matt Stoller and Nathan Tankus) Jul 24, 2025

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President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are dueling over interest rates set by America’s secretive central bank, the Federal Reserve. Is the Fed’s secrecy and independence good for the economy? Who should control the institution — the people, the president, or Wall Street? And why are so many experts in media, politics and business afraid to even consider challenging the status quo?

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota speaks with two provocative economic thinkers about what is really at stake in this battle between Trump and Powell, and how this clash over the Federal Reserve affects millions of Americans.

Check out Matt Stoller’s newsletter “Big” here.
Check out Nathan Tankus’s newsletter “Notes on the Crisis” here.

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Trump, Colbert, And The War On Truth (with David Enrich) Jul 21, 2025

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Why did CBS cancel Stephen Colbert’s show mere days after the company settled a lawsuit with Donald Trump? Are Trump’s lawsuits part of a larger movement to crush dissent? And which other billionaires, corporations, and politicians are trying to bully critics into silence?

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota speaks with New York Times journalist David Enrich, the author of the book Murder The Truth: Fear, the First Amendment, and a Secret Campaign to Protect the Powerful. Enrich brings listeners inside the legal movement to end Americans’ first-amendment right to express opposition to what’s happening in this country.

You can read an unedited transcript of this episode here.

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Why They’re Protecting Jeffrey Epstein’s Secrets (with Julie K. Brown) Jul 16, 2025

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Why is President Donald Trump’s right-wing voter base up in arms over Jeffrey Epstein? Which of the many conspiracy theories are based in truth? And what is Trump’s Department of Justice now trying to cover up?

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota speaks with the award-winning investigative journalist Julie K. Brown, who first broke the story of Epstein’s legal cover-up, to find out why we should keep pushing the Trump administration for answers.

To read more of Julie K. Brown’s groundbreaking reporting about the Epstein case, check out her book “Perversion of Justice: The Jeffrey Epstein Story.”

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8 Absurd Handouts Hiding In Trump’s Tax Bill (With David Dayen) Jul 14, 2025

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You’ve likely heard about the slashed health care for millions of Americans. Hospitals defunded. Massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. But guess what? Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" is even more absurd (and devious) than you think.

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with David Dayen of The American Prospect and The Lever’s Luke Goldstein to dig into the hidden details: How did these crazy handouts make it into the Big Beautiful Bill? What’s the larger agenda? And how is this going to affect you?

Read Luke Goldstein’s reporting here. Read David Dayen's article here.
As an exclusive bonus, click here to listen to an additional 35 minutes of this interview.
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Why America Isn't Prepared For The Next Big Flood Jul 10, 2025

Show notes

Even before the deadly July 4th floods in Texas, the United States had a problem. Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Lever reporter Freddy Brewster to discuss a technology that could help alert communities about flooding disasters — and the underlying political battle that's leaving 99% of America's waterways unmonitored.

You can read The Lever's exclusive reporting on streamgage technology here.

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The Case For Calling Gaza A Genocide (With Shadi Hamid) Jul 07, 2025

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Since Israel launched its war in Gaza a year and a half ago in response to Hamas’s October 7 attack, Israeli armed forces have killed tens of thousands of Palestinians in their quest to destroy Hamas. But more and more experts say what’s happening in Gaza isn’t just a war — it’s genocide.

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Washington Post columnist Shadi Hamid to talk about why so many have trouble using the word “genocide” to describe Israel’s mass violence, why that word must be in the discourse, and why linguistic choices can have lasting consequences.

You can read Shadi Hamid’s op-ed here.

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Why Did Trump Rush To Pass The Tax Cut Bill? (With Josh Shapiro) Jul 01, 2025

Show notes

Why did Republicans rush their massive tax cut bill through Congress? What are they hiding? As the media focuses on specific provisions, David Sirota digs into the bill’s far-reaching consequences, warning it could reshape society for generations.
He calls up an old friend, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who explains how the bill will hurt working-class voters and why its rationale is, in his words, “total bullshit.” They also talk political fear, arson, and whether lawmakers will be held accountable.

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Are We Closer Than Ever To Nuclear War? Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

Seventy-two minutes. That’s how long it could take from a country launching a nuclear weapon to global nuclear winter and the end of human civilization.

If that’s not scary enough, the United States is right now involved in two proxy wars involving nuclear powers — one in Ukraine, and the other in the Middle East.

Today on Lever Time, David Sirota asks acclaimed investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen, author of Nuclear War: A Scenario, the big bombshell questions: What scenarios are most likely to trigger a nuclear conflict? What can be done to pull us back from the brink? And just how close are we to the worst-case scenario?

As a bonus to our paid subscribers, we're also releasing our full interview with Annie Jacobsen, exclusively on Lever Time Premium. Click here to access that interview.

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