logo
episode-header-image
Mar 30
51m 48s

Episode 2: Mandate for Power | The Kingm...

The Lever & David Sirota
About this episode
How did Project 2025 take control of the White House? It all began decades ago, when a beer-baron-backed think tank handed President Ronald Reagan an 1,100-page instruction manual for expanding presidential power. The next episode is available now for premium subscribers. Click here. TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to exp ... Show More
Up next
Apr 14
Episode 3: President Rambo | The Kingmakers
Emboldened by a landslide election, the president’s men began to see themselves as 1980s action-movie heroes, willing to break the law to get what they want. The result was the Iran-Contra affair, a secret arms deal that ignited a constitutional crisis. Would Congress roll over a ... Show More
40m 16s
Apr 28
Episode 4: The Meese Doctrine | The Kingmakers
Rather than retreat from Iran-Contra and other scandals, conservative operatives inside the White House — led by Attorney General Edwin Meese — went on the offensive. Drawing on newly uncovered documents and exclusive interviews, we trace how Meese helped turn a fringe idea into ... Show More
51m 44s
Apr 30
BONUS: The Untouched Power That Could Stop The Iran War
This week, the Iran War will reach its official 60-day mark. That’s a critical deadline under the War Powers Resolution, a Nixon-era law created to limit presidential war-making. Under that law, President Donald Trump can claim a one-time, 30-day extension, so the Iran War will l ... Show More
52m 13s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2025
How Trump Is Changing American Capitalism
<p>In a series of extraordinary deals, President Trump has muscled himself directly into the business of corporate America.</p><p>The U.S. government has been made the largest shareholder of Intel, one of the most iconic companies in the country. Senator Bernie Sanders has praise ... Show More
31m 7s
Aug 2024
Introducing Master Plan: Legalizing Corruption
This week we’re sharing an excerpt of the first episode of our new investigative series Master Plan, which was recently named a must-listen by The Guardian and Apple Podcasts. In each episode of Master Plan, The Lever’s David Sirota and his team of journalists expose the secret s ... Show More
6m 35s
Apr 2025
‘I Felt Ashamed.’ Why One Lawyer Resigned When His Firm Caved to Trump
<p>Over the past few weeks, President Trump has used executive orders to wage war on law firms, specifically targeting those whose lawyers have investigated or sued him, or represented his enemies in court.</p><p>Michael Barbaro speaks to Thomas Sipp, a lawyer who chose to quit a ... Show More
35m 49s
Aug 2024
Trump, Vance, and The Republican Anti-Worker Playbook
The right-wing talks a big economic populist game, claiming that the working class is their chief concern. But their pro-worker words don’t translate into pro-worker actions. During the first Trump administration, for instance, Republicans killed raising the minimum wage and crea ... Show More
1h 5m
Feb 2025
Shillbilly Elegy: How JD Vance Became a Winning Spokesman for MAGA's Darkest Machinations
JD Vance emerged as a media darling with “Hillbilly Elegy,” his best-selling 2016 memoir of growing up poor in Ohio, but it's just one of several hats he's worn—Yale-trained lawyer, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, Never Trump pundit, Pro-Trump senator, and Vice President of th ... Show More
36m 45s
Jul 2025
Trump Announces New Tariffs And Gets Supreme Court's OK On Layoff Plans
The Supreme Court gave President Trump the green light to move forward with plans to lay off thousands of federal workers. We discuss the potential impacts of the ruling, plus new tariffs Trump announced this week. This episode: political correspondent Ashley Lopez, labor and wor ... Show More
21m 8s
Feb 2021
The Cable News Segment Everyone Should Watch (Ep 1451)
In this episode, I discuss the stunning cable news clip we must all watch. It involves the increasingly troubling cooperation between big government and big business, to destroy civil liberties.  News Picks: The Supreme Court is a day late and a dollar short as they take a look ... Show More
1h 4m
May 2025
Roundup: Mike Waltz Is Out, Young Democrats Ask What's Next, And Can't Let It Go
Mike Waltz is out as President Trump's National Security Adviser, it's the first major departure for the Trump White House since the start of his second term. Then, young Democrats are expressing dissatisfaction with their party, and making moves: primarying sitting incumbent law ... Show More
21m 40s
Jul 2025
A D.O.J. Whistleblower Speaks Out
<p><i>Warning: This episode contains strong language.</i></p><p>An explosive whistle-blower report claims that the Justice Department is asking government lawyers to lie to the courts, and that this has forced career officials to chose between upholding the Constitution and pledg ... Show More
34m 29s