Master Plan

The Lever

How did our democracy get replaced by a kleptocracy.

  • 3 minutes 15 seconds
    An Announcement About Master Plan

    Master Plan host David Sirota has a big announcement about a possible Master Plan Season 2. But we need your help. Go to masterplanpodcast.com 

    29 December 2024, 10:00 am
  • 16 minutes 16 seconds
    From Lever Time: Sirota—The Health Care Crisis Is The Democracy Crisis

    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 explores the health care crisis as a symptom of a deeper democracy crisis and asks what it will take for Americans to finally demand change.

    Listen to the Lever Time episode Why America Is Mad As Hell About Health Care.


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    17 December 2024, 10:02 am
  • 34 minutes 36 seconds
    From Drilled: The Big Oil Origins of Corporate Free Speech

    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 efforts in the 1970s set the stage for the climate lawsuits moving through U.S. courts today. Explore the rest of Drilled Season 9 at https://drilled.media/.


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    3 December 2024, 9:00 am
  • 52 minutes 55 seconds
    BONUS: The Master Planners’ Election (With Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse)

    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 transparency back to democracy. Plus, the Master Plan team answers audience questions.

    Binge the entire season of the award-winning Master Plan now. Paid subscribers enjoy ad-free episodes, score exclusive bonus content, and help support the show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com.


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    4 November 2024, 9:40 pm
  • 1 hour 2 minutes
    Hell Or High Water

    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? 


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    29 October 2024, 7:00 am
  • 1 hour 1 minute
    The Heist

    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 off with the loot. 


    Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com


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    22 October 2024, 7:00 am
  • 59 minutes 17 seconds
    Going Big

    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 devastate campaign finance law.

    Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com.


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    15 October 2024, 7:00 am
  • 48 minutes 4 seconds
    Shock and Awe

    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 trusted legal aide for a Supreme Court vacancy, the conservative legal movement launches an insurgency. This is part two of our story about the creation of the Roberts Court.


    Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com


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    8 October 2024, 7:00 am
  • 53 minutes 29 seconds
    Rise of the Machine

    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 the bottom up. This is part one of a two-part story about how the Roberts Court was built.

    Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com


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    1 October 2024, 7:01 am
  • 57 minutes 43 seconds
    The Maverick

    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 ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com


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    24 September 2024, 7:01 am
  • 48 minutes 3 seconds
    Corporations Are People, My Friend

    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. 

    Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, score exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com


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    17 September 2024, 7:00 am
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