David Sirota, a reporter tackling the intersection of politics and corporate influence, shares his insights from the Democratic National Convention. He reveals the fear among Democrats of a Trump resurgence and critiques the gap between their populist rhetoric and corporate sponsorship. Sirota discusses the challenges Vice President Kamala Harris faces in delivering worker-centric policies amidst corporate pressures. The conversation dives into the disconnect between activists' frustrations and the party's corporate ties, spotlighting the deep-rooted tensions within the political landscape.

Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic nominee, discusses her new economic policies, including a federal ban on grocery price gouging. The conversation delves into her evolving relationship with the media and the challenges of defining her political platform. Despite past commitments, her current policies raise questions about voter accountability and transparency. Addressing the anxieties surrounding her candidacy, the podcast explores how her strategies resonate with younger voters amid cultural dynamics, highlighting the need for substantial political dialogue.

Zack Beauchamp, a senior correspondent at Vox and author of 'The Reactionary Spirit,' dives deep into the roots of global right-wing nationalism. He highlights how American exceptionalism shapes these movements, revealing the antidemocratic ideologies that have spread across the world. The discussion touches on the cultural backlash against inclusion, rural resentment fueling political identities, and the contrasting responses to far-right threats in countries like France and Canada. Beauchamp emphasizes the critical need to understand these dynamics for the future of democracy.

Tim Walz, the rising Governor of Minnesota, has recently captured attention with his progressive accomplishments, including expanded healthcare access and education benefits. Joining him are Kamala Harris, the Vice President, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a bold advocate for change. They discuss the political climate in Minnesota, the implications of Walz's candidacy, and the troubling influence of dark money in politics. Joe Manchin adds insights on centrist challenges, making for a lively dialogue about the future of the Democratic Party.

Floods, heat waves, wildfires and other climate extremes are becoming a way of life for millions around the world — and tragically a way of death. After a historic, record-breaking flood in France killed her mother, a daughter wants to hold oil companies criminally responsible for her death, joining seven other plaintiffs in a lawsuit. Today on Lever Time, senior investigative reporter Lois Parshley examines a growing global movement of advocates and legal scholars trying to convince courts that fossil fuel companies should be charged with homicide after they knowingly caused climate change. Read the companion article to this episode exclusively on The Lever by clicking here. 

David Sirota discusses Democrats needing to show they are serious about fighting for working class in upcoming election, contrasting their approach with Trump's corporate populism. Emphasizes importance of aligning with populist economic agenda and presenting progressive legislation. Analyzes branding challenges of Republican and Democratic parties, as well as communication strategies of Biden and Harris.

David Sirota, Arjun Singh, and Tyler Austin Harper discuss the wild moments in American politics, GOP's full support for Trump, Democrats' internal struggles over Biden's nomination, and the implications of recent events on the election outcome. Will Democrats decide to lose the election or fight to win?

Should he stay or should he go? President Joe Biden’s decision to remain in the presidential race has consequences for hundreds of millions of people — and it has at least one Democratic National Committee member and convention delegate inquiring whether the party can force him off the ticket. But if Biden’s out, corporate lobbyists who’ve embedded themselves into the party could help select the new nominee. Today on Lever Time, Arjun Singh speaks withThe American Prospect’s Executive Editor David Dayen, Jacobin staff writer Branko Marcetic, and Sludge co-founder David Moore to unpack the divide fracturing the Democratic Party and look at how corporate power is woven into the fabric of the party’s convention, to be held in Chicago from August 19 to 22. Biden’s road to the 2024 presidential nomination has been anything but democratic. Team Biden crushed all attempts to have him prove his mettle against primary challengers. After his disastrous debate performance against Trump triggered a revolt within his own party, Biden didn’t hold a town hall to meet with the public — he hopped on the phone with his top donors. Now, those same donors could portend Biden’s downfall, with wealthy backers like George Clooney urging the president to step down, and others yanking their donations. Will the new alliance between a majority of Democratic voters and the party’s elite insiders all be on the same page regarding Biden’s potential replacement?

Today on Lever Time, we unpack how corporations built and then broke the supply chain — and more importantly, how they took advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to price gouge everybody else. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it felt like we ran out of everything: toilet paper, hand sanitizer, microchips, exercise bikes, and more. High demand and supply shortages rocked the economy. Now we know that it was the corporations that did it to themselves.In his new book How the World Ran out of Everything: Inside the Global Supply Chain, veteran New York Times reporter Peter Goodman who covers the global economy unspools the long and sordid history of how the supply chain went global, then consolidated, and ultimately ended up in the hands of just three companies — creating a complicated and surprising crisis that has unfolded around the world.Then, as inflation began to set into the economy, corporations saw a huge opportunity to raise prices as consumers grew desperate — and they took it, giving us “greedflation.” In this episode of Lever Time, Goodman and Lindsay Owens, the executive director of The Groundwork Collaborative, sit down with senior podcast producer Arjun Singh to unpack how that gave us inflation.

How is it that the Democrats’ main bulwark between America and a Trump regime is an impaired president whose White House reportedly tried to hide his decline? On this episode of Lever Time, we talk to the Democratic operative who first tried to sound the alarm to avert this disaster — and who then faced a “quiet throat-slitting” by party bosses. We also explore how Democrats are trying to blackmail voters with an impossible choice: vote for a struggling Biden or get Trump and the potential end of democracy.Democratic strategist Jeff Weaver ran the presidential primary campaign of U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, the only elected Democrat who tried to challenge Joe Biden for the party’s 2024 nomination. Weaver also ran Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns. On this episode, Weaver details his and Phillips’ experience when they tried to make sure voters knew about Biden’s decline. Weaver also explains exactly how the party could select a new nominee if Biden decides to halt his campaign — and how Democratic powerbrokers might try to tilt the process at the Democratic convention.