Episode 1: After The Fall | The Kingmakers

About this episode

The episode explores Nixon's actions that led to a constitutional crisis and the evolution of the imperial presidency.

Before Trump, there was Nixon. His attempts to seize the power of the purse and secretly expand the Vietnam War forged a constitutional crisis, a backlash, and a template for an imperial presidency. TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to explore bonus historical documents related to the episode. Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com. 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

People in this episode

Host: David Sirota

Topics covered

• constitutional crisis
• imperial presidency
• Vietnam War
• political history
• power dynamics

Keywords

• Nixon
• Trump
• Vietnam War
• constitutional crisis
• imperial presidency
• politics
• history

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Lever, Master Plan, megaphone.fm

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• Episode 2: Mandate for Power | The Kingmakers · March 30, 2026 · 52 min
• Season 2 Trailer: The Kingmakers · March 2, 2026 · 5 min