When Iron Man hit theaters in 2008, it didn’t just launch the wildly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe — it also, with the Pentagon’s help, became a bombastic symbol of modern military might in the digital age. Now, can the same comic book character be used to critique the military-industrial complex and the War on Terror?

When Marvel wanted to make an Iron Man film in the early aughts, executives turned to a longstanding relationship between Hollywood and the Pentagon, allowing the Defense Department to approve the movie’s storyline in exchange for access to military equipment. The U.S. military was able to alter significant parts of Iron Man’s script, allowing the film to also serve as a marketing device for the military. 

Now, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Spencer Ackerman is flipping the script. A veteran war reporter, Ackerman is writing a new Marvel comic book series of Iron Man, in which he’s applying the lessons he learned over two decades of covering the War on Terror. Decidedly more critical of the military-industrial complex that the movies championed, the books are reshaping the iconic hero into a parable about the impact of excessive wealth concentrated in the hands of one billionaire, 

Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with Ackerman and Dave Gonzales, co-author of the book MCU: The Reign of Marvel Studios and the host of the podcast Trial By Content, to discuss how the Pentagon pushed Marvel to use Iron Man as a piece of propaganda, and how events like 9/11 and the Iraq and Afghanistan wars influenced the way superhero is seen today.

Read Spencer Ackerman's newsletter Forever Wars by clicking here. 

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. Why hasn’t this longstanding outrage translated into universal health care — a system every other wealthy nation already has?

Tracing decades of broken promises and corporate influence — from the Clinton and Obama administrations to today — Sirota looks at how political corruption has trapped Americans in a system that profits from their suffering. Drawing on JFK’s 1960s warnings about social stability and justice, 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.

Click here to read the written version of David Sirota’s essay, "Murder By Spreadsheet".

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Amid the shocking assassination of a health insurance executive and an upswell of anger towards the country’s fragile health care safety net, the health insurance industry is suddenly facing a reckoning. Among the best experts to make sense of it all is Wendell Potter.

When Wendell Potter left his job as a public relations executive for a health insurance company he was sure of one thing: his former employer was harming people every day. Potter, a former vice president of the insurance giant Cigna, became a whistleblower over a decade ago, and though he does not condone the recent murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, he understands the fury many in the country feel towards the insurance industry. 

Today on Lever Time, Potter shares what he learned about how insurance companies hurt patients and more than a decade as an insurance industry insider. Journalist Jonathan Cohn, a veteran health care reporter and the author of the book The Ten Year War: Obamacare and the Unfinished Crusade for Universal Coverage, also joins the show to unpack the decades-long political battle to reform the health care industry. 

President-elect Donald Trump’s penchant for exaggeration has pushed the boundaries of how elected officials communicate with the public. Trump’s conspiracy theories and shock-and-awe approach to campaigning propelled him back into the White House — leaving millions wondering how he was able to pull it off.

Recent studies into the science of magic, examining how magicians utilize deception to manipulate their audiences, may provide an answer. Today on Lever Time, Lois Parshley, a senior investigative reporter at The Lever, explains why a recent groundbreaking magic contest holds the keys to understanding how people can be manipulated in a post-truth world. 

In a special Lever Time post-election bonus episode, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) details how he was nearly excommunicated from the Democratic Party after he raised early concerns about the party's electability in 2023.

The group discusses how Democrats’ culture of blind loyalty to the party elite and extreme deference to wealthy donors leave them hopelessly out of touch with voters — and what can be done to change that.

Arjun Singh interviews Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney about The Bibi Files, a new documentary he produced that uncovers explosive new police footage from the corruption trial of increasingly besieged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The podcast comes the same week the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu — and the U.S. Senate voted down a measure to block military aid to Netanyahu’s government.

The conversation touches on the broader implications of Netanyahu’s actions, his role in the Gaza conflict, and how his leadership has contributed to widespread division within Israel. Gibney draws comparisons to other corrupt leaders he’s documented, exploring the psychology behind political misconduct, right-wing authoritarianism, and the lengths some will go to stay in power.

No matter what, the cryptocurrency industry was going to win the election. After spending hundreds of millions to influence politicians in both parties, the industry defeated some of its fiercest critics and scored bipartisan support, particularly from President-elect Donald Trump, despite crypto’s potential risks for consumers and the financial system. Today on Lever Time, Lever reporter Freddy Brewster discusses crypto’s emergence as a political power broker and what industry insiders are hoping for in return for their massive donations. Then, Senior Podcast Producer Arjun Singh sits down with documentarian Cullen Hoback to discuss his new film Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery, in which Hoback alleges to have discovered the identity of the enigmatic inventor of the groundbreaking cryptocurrency Bitcoin. 

Donald Trump easily won reelection with the help of voters who were once considered bedrocks of the Democratic base. In this election, the former president managed to win over more working-class voters than in his 2016 campaign and made historic inroads with nonwhite voters. Why did this happen — and how can Democrats win them back?

Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with political analyst Krystal Ball, host of the show Breaking Points, to discuss why Trump’s authoritarian, populist rhetoric may have struck a chord with voters. Then David Sirota speaks with Jeff Weaver, architect of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) two presidential runs, to hear how Sanders built a similar multiracial coalition of working class voters during his campaigns and why those voters may have now migrated to Trump.

Have a comment or a pitch about the show? Reach out to Arjun directly at [email protected] or follow him on X and Instagram at lever_singh. 

If elected, former president Donald Trump has promised to implement mass deportations, target journalists, and carry out other unprecedented actions. How could he pull it off? Project 2025, a radical plan to reshape the government under Trump, highlights the key to his sweeping agenda: Schedule F, a policy that would expose federal workers to political interference and give the president broad leeway to govern through fear. 

Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh unpacks this radical strategy for Trump’s second term — and explores the religious fundamentalism and free-market ideology driving the creators of Project 2025, the right-wing think tank called The Heritage Foundation. 

In the early 1980s, the Heritage Foundation became the intellectual backbone of the conservative movement and today wields huge influence over the Republican party. Unlike other conservative think tanks, the Heritage Foundation was unique in blending the principles of free market capitalism with Christian nationalism, creating a blueprint for conservative politics that has now become the status quo. Over the past four years, a brain trust within the foundation has been drawing up Project 2025, laying the groundwork for how Trump could warp the tools of government and deliver ineradicable changes.

A biopic of former president Donald Trump released right before the election seems ripe for box office success. But when screenwriter Gabriel Sherman looked for a distributor for his new film The Apprentice, Trump threatened legal action, and major studios got cold feet. Today on Lever Time, Sherman sits down with David Sirota and Arjun Singh to discuss the battle to release The Apprentice and how Wall Street’s Hollywood takeover is making it more difficult for political films to get made.

In the early 2000s, a seismic shift happened in Hollywood. After decades of movie-studio dominance, media deregulation and favorable market conditions opened the doors for Wall Street to move in and consolidate the industry. the balance of power shifted from filmmakers to bankers. Now, with a potential Trump presidency looming, some filmmakers are concerned it could cast a chill over the industry and frighten studios from backing films that could be seen as critical of Trump or his allies.

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