
Lever Time
by David Sirota
Is this your podcast?David Sirota is an acclaimed journalist and Oscar-nominated writer, known for his work as a speechwriter for Bernie Sanders during the 2020 campaign. As the host of Lever Time, he leverages his investigative background to delve into pressin…
Insights from recent episode analysis
Audience Interest
- investigative journalism
- political analysis
Podcast Focus
- exclusive reporting
- high-profile interviews
Publishing Consistency
- weekly episodes
- active for four years
Platform Reach
- available on major platforms
- growing audience
Insights are generated by CastFox AI using publicly available data, episode content, and proprietary models.
Most discussed topics
Brands & references
Total monthly reach
Estimated from 18 chart positions in 18 markets.
By chart position
- 🇩🇪DE · News Commentary#1055K to 30K
- 🇺🇸US · News Commentary#1495K to 30K
- 🇧🇷BR · News Commentary#1451K to 10K
- 🇰🇷KR · News Commentary#1481K to 10K
- 🇲🇽MX · News Commentary#1581K to 10K
- Per-Episode Audience
Est. listeners per new episode within ~30 days
21K to 96K🎙 ~2x weekly·234 episodes·Last published 5d ago - Monthly Reach
Unique listeners across all episodes (30 days)
42K to 191K🇩🇪16%🇺🇸16%🇨🇿16%+15 more - Active Followers
Loyal subscribers who consistently listen
17K to 76K1.9K real followers tracked across platforms
Market Insights
Platform Distribution
Reach across major podcast platforms, updated hourly
Total Followers
—
Total Plays
—
Total Reviews
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* Data sourced directly from platform APIs and aggregated hourly across all major podcast directories.
On the show
From 17 epsHost
Recent guests
Recent episodes
Why Is Newsom Fighting California’s Billionaire Tax?
Jun 18, 2026
55m 20s
The Movie Trope That Explains American Politics
Jun 11, 2026
55m 15s
Hawaii Is Overthrowing Citizens United
Jun 4, 2026
34m 01s
The Spy Planes That Helped Jeffrey Epstein Take Off
May 28, 2026
35m 39s
The Democratic Party’s New Dark Money Machine
May 21, 2026
53m 25s
Social Links & Contact
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| Date | Episode | Topics | Guests | Brands | Places | Keywords | Sponsor | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6/18/26 | ![]() Why Is Newsom Fighting California’s Billionaire Tax? | California voters are poised to vote on a one-time billionaire tax that would fund schools, food assistance, and Medicaid. Silicon Valley is spending big to keep the precedent-setting initiative off the November ballot, but the campaign's most powerful opponent isn’t a tech oligarch — it’s California Gov. Gavin Newsom, the Democratic power broker and potential presidential candidate. Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Dave Regan, the union leader who engineered the billionaire tax, to find out why Newsom and his allies are racing to kill the measure — and what this fight reveals about oligarchs’ control of the Democratic Party. 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 | 55m 20s | ||||||
| 6/11/26 | ![]() The Movie Trope That Explains American Politics✨ | American politicsmovie tropes+3 | Dan Brooks | PoliticoCaddyshack+1 | — | American politicsmovie analysis+3 | — | 55m 15s | |
| 6/4/26 | ![]() Hawaii Is Overthrowing Citizens United✨ | Citizens UnitedHawaii law+3 | Jarrett Keohokalole | Citizens UnitedThe Lever | Hawaii | HawaiiCitizens United+5 | — | 34m 01s | |
| 5/28/26 | ![]() The Spy Planes That Helped Jeffrey Epstein Take Off✨ | Jeffrey EpsteinIran-Contra scandal+4 | Natalie BettendorfMurtaza Hussain | Drop Site NewsLever+3 | — | Jeffrey EpsteinIran-Contra+5 | — | 35m 39s | |
| 5/21/26 | ![]() The Democratic Party’s New Dark Money Machine✨ | dark moneyDemocratic Party+4 | Randy VillegasMatt Dunlap | The LeverMajority Democrats+1 | CaliforniaMaine | dark moneyDemocratic Party+5 | — | 53m 25s | |
| 5/14/26 | ![]() Will The Strait Of Hormuz Sink The American Empire? (With Daniel Bessner & Derek Davison)✨ | U.S. foreign policyIran conflict+4 | Daniel BessnerDerek Davison | American Prestige | IranUnited States+3 | Strait of HormuzTrump+5 | — | 49m 35s | |
| 5/8/26 | ![]() Graham Platner’s Revolution Hits The Road✨ | Senate raceDemocratic Party+4 | Graham Platner | Democratic Party | Maine | Graham PlatnerDavid Sirota+6 | — | 1h 18m 58s | |
| 4/30/26 | ![]() The Untouched Power That Could Stop The Iran War✨ | Iran WarCongress+3 | — | Master PlanLever+2 | IranKenya | IranCongress+6 | — | 52m 13s | |
| 4/23/26 | ![]() Tom Steyer Opposed Single-Payer Health Care. Now He’s Running On It.✨ | single-payer health careCalifornia politics+5 | Tom Steyer | CalCareICE | CaliforniaGolden State | single-payerhealth care+7 | — | 33m 50s | |
| 4/15/26 | ![]() Tax Day Could Be Easy. They’re Fighting To Make It Hard.✨ | tax filingreturn-free filing+3 | — | — | — | Tax Daytax returns+3 | — | 34m 05s | |
Want analysis for the episodes below?Free for Pro Submit a request, we'll have your selected episodes analyzed within an hour. Free, at no cost to you, for Pro users. | |||||||||
| 4/9/26 | ![]() Why Is The AI Industry Afraid Of Alex Bores?✨ | AI industrypolitics+4 | Alex Bores | Palantir | New YorkNew York’s 12th District | AI industryAlex Bores+4 | — | 47m 27s | |
| 4/2/26 | ![]() Why Congress Won't Stop Hijacking Air Travel✨ | air travelTSA+4 | Bill McGee | American Economic Liberties Project | U.S. | TSA linesair traffic controller shortages+3 | — | 45m 50s | |
| 3/26/26 | ![]() Why Is The FBI Buying Your Location Data? (With Sen. Ron Wyden And Sean Vitka)✨ | surveillanceFBI+5 | Sen. Ron WydenSean Vitka | FBIDemand Progress+2 | — | FBIlocation data+5 | — | 52m 24s | |
| 3/19/26 | ![]() How Did The President Gain The Powers Of A King?✨ | presidential powersinvestigative journalism+3 | — | Master Plan: The KingmakersThe Lever+2 | — | presidentking+5 | — | 12m 03s | |
| 3/12/26 | ![]() Did Iran Just Launch A Shadow War On American Soil? (With Shane Harris)✨ | Iranshadow war+5 | Shane Harris | LeverThe Atlantic | IranUnited States | Iranshadow war+5 | — | 44m 09s | |
| 3/5/26 | ![]() Who Sold America On The Iran War? (With Hooman Majd & Ryan Grim)✨ | Iran WarUS foreign policy+4 | Hooman MajdRyan Grim | The Lever | IranUnited States+1 | Iranwar+6 | — | 45m 40s | |
| 2/26/26 | ![]() The Court Disarmed Trump’s Tariff Weapon. Who Will Pay? (With Lori Wallach)✨ | tariffstrade policy+3 | Lori Wallach | American Economic Liberties Project | — | tariffsSupreme Court+5 | — | 55m 57s | |
| 2/19/26 | ![]() He Sent One Email. Then Federal Agents Came To His Door.✨ | government policyprivacy+4 | Steve Loney | Department of Homeland SecurityACLU+2 | — | federal agentsprivate data+6 | — | 33m 13s | |
| 2/17/26 | ![]() A Message From David Sirota About The Lever's Master Plan | An important message about the future of The Lever's Master Plan podcast, from our host, David Sirota. Become A Paid Subscriber To The Lever Become A Paid Subscriber On Apple Podcasts Make A One-Time Donation Order Our Companion Book, Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices | 2m 16s | ||||||
| 2/12/26 | ![]() When Disaster, Inc. Comes To Town (With Katya Schwenk) | In February 2023, a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, setting off a chemical disaster. Politicians and lawyers promised justice, and the railroad company swiftly settled for a historic $600 million. Three years later, many victims haven’t seen a dime. Where did all that money go? Today on Lever Time, producer Natalie Bettendorf is joined by Lever reporter Katya Schwenk, who scoured court documents and traveled to East Palestine to uncover the toxic secrets behind one of the largest disaster settlements in history. Click here to read Katya's in-depth investigation. 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 | 38m 24s | ||||||
| 2/5/26 | ![]() What Tech Wants: God In The Machine | While one tech CEO warns that artificial intelligence could “destroy all life on Earth,” other industry giants have declared war on rules that could limit AI’s power. Their battlefield? The 2026 midterm elections. In Part Three of What Tech Wants, Lever Time’s investigation into why Silicon Valley is buying our democracy, producer Ariella Markowitz explores Big Tech’s latest obsession — artificial intelligence — and its crusade against anyone who stands in its way. Click here for a transcript of the episode. To listen to the first two episodes of this series, click here. 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 | 45m 43s | ||||||
| 1/29/26 | ![]() What Tech Wants: Crypto Reign Of Terror (with Jacob Silverman and Molly White) | In 2024, the cryptocurrency industry spent more than $130 million to influence elections nationwide. Their campaign donations and lobbying efforts turned the tables for their risky boom-and-bust business, which is now poised to overtake our entire financial system. In Part Two of What Tech Wants, Lever Time’s investigation into why Silicon Valley is buying our democracy, producer Ariella Markowitz reveals how crypto companies aligned with President Donald Trump to advance their agenda. To listen to Part One of our series, click here. Click here to subscribe to Molly White’s newsletter Citation Needed. Click here to read Jacob Silverman’s book, Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley. Click here for a full transcript of the episode. 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 | 33m 03s | ||||||
| 1/22/26 | ![]() What Tech Wants: The San Francisco Experiment | In 2022, nonprofit neighborhood groups, backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, helped recall a progressive district attorney in San Francisco. What happened next would change the country. In Part One of What Tech Wants, Lever Time’s investigation into why Silicon Valley is buying our democracy, producer Ariella Markowitz uncovers how a local experiment unlocked a new formula for political power. 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 | 33m 51s | ||||||
| 1/16/26 | ![]() They Banned Parents From Recording Their Kids' Games. We Changed That. | As private investment companies encroach upon youth sports, how does that hurt the players — and their families? As Lever reporter Luke Goldstein discovered, there’s more at stake than just higher prices. Today on Lever Time, David Sirota tells the story of how a Lever investigation into a shocking claim prompted a national outcry, one that led to a small but mighty victory against Black Bear Sports Group, one of the youth sports kingpins calling the shots. Read Luke Goldstein’s reporting mentioned in the episode here and here. Click here for a full transcript of the episode. 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 | 36m 25s | ||||||
| 12/18/25 | ![]() Are We Trapped In Meaningless Jobs? (With Rutger Bregman) | Are we wasting our talents on meaningless jobs? Should our career choices reflect our morals? Author and historian Rutger Bregman thinks so. He argues that the most talented people in America are stuck in a real-life version of the movie Office Space — and that we should be trying to solve the world’s biggest problems instead. Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Bregman to ask: When did we lose our moral ambition? Are we greedy, cynical, or are we just trying to escape an ever-increasing affordability crisis? Click here to learn about Bregman’s book, Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent And Start Making A Difference. For a transcript of this episode, click here. 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 | 52m 35s | ||||||
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Chart Positions
18 placements across 18 markets.
Chart Positions
18 placements across 18 markets.

























