Lever Time

Musk, a deep-dive investigative documentary about the world’s richest man, premieres this weekend, less than a month before the midterms. Maybe you haven’t heard about it — until recently, most major social media platforms declined to run paid promotions of the documentary’s trailer, citing rules on political content. What are Musk and Big Tech so afraid of? Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with the film’s creator, Academy Award-winning director Alex Gibney, to discuss the documentary’s shocking revelations. They explore Musk’s evolution from Democratic darling to Trump crony, his deadly approach to Tesla technology, his new U.S. government role planning the “future of war,” and his influence on the 2026 midterm elections.  We also have some big news: Lever Time has been named a finalist in the 2026 Signal Awards! But we need your help — please click on this link here and vote for Lever Time. It’s totally free and only takes a few minutes. The voting deadline is October 15. Thanks for all your support! Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthropic’s leaked IPO documents show the company had a net loss of $42 billion in 2025 and still insists that its technology could pose a “catastrophic or existential risk to humanity.” It’s either the most honest risk disclosure or the most effective marketing scheme in corporate history. So which is it? Today on Lever Time, David Sirota explores a few less obvious AI risks — cognitive surrender, pseudo-productivity, and “approval bombing” — with Cal Newport, author and computer science professor at Georgetown University. Newport has spent years cutting through technology hype. He says tech CEOs genuinely believe AI could end the world, but what if that never happens and we must learn to coexist? How do we live alongside this tech without destroying ourselves? Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The AI apocalypse is here, but it’s not what you think. Last week, former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warned online that “the people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade.” The fallout sent shockwaves across the country — but how legitimate is Coxon’s warning? Should we fear AI agents going rogue and threatening humanity, or are these safety concerns a cover for something even more ominous on the horizon?  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with two of the most astute observers of this situation: tech critic Ed Zitron and Matt Stoller of the American Economic Liberties Project, to discuss why something feels off about this latest wave of AI panic. Editor’s note: An uncut video of this interview was published earlier this week, exclusively to our paid subscribers. ⁠Upgrade now⁠ to gain full and early access to all The Lever has to offer.  Check out Zitron’s newsletter, Where’s Your Ed At, and his podcast, Better Offline. Read Stoller’s essay about the recent AI panic and check out his newsletter, BIG. Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices