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A secret plot. A public theft. A democracy corrupted.
Discover the truth on Master Plan, winner of the 2024 Signal Awards for News & Politics and Best Writing. Hosted by David Sirota, former speechwriter for Bernie Sanders and Oscar-nominated co-writer of Don’t Look Up, Master Plan uncovers a deliberate scheme to legalize corruption in the U.S., enabling the wealthy to buy policies that serve them at the public’s expense.
How did our democracy become a kleptocracy? The Lever has unearthed never-before-reported documents revealing this 50-year plot as a coordinated effort by wealthy individuals and political ideologues. Across 11 episodes, the series traces this historic thread from the Watergate scandal in the ’70s to the Citizens United decision, current Supreme Court outrages, and the 2024 election. It’s a story of infamous figures like President Richard Nixon, Senator Mitch McConnell, and Fox News founder Roger Ailes—plus operatives and oligarchs you’ve never heard of.
[00:00:00] This podcast series includes graphic descriptions of corruption, bribery, and political graft that may be disturbing to some listeners. Discretion is advised.
[00:00:10] Judy, we are seeing a storm of campaign spending.
[00:00:13] Morgan, billionaires spending a record 880 million in the midterms. Spending projected to reach, get this.
[00:00:20] Nearly 11 billion dollars.
[00:00:23] Imagine a world where big bags of dirty anonymous money buy elections, politicians, courts, and the laws that govern our entire society. You don't need to imagine it. It's our current reality. Despite growing dangers from climate change, tonight the U. S. Supreme Court curbing the government's power to fight it.
[00:00:42] A 6- 3 ruling, the Supreme Court struck down a New York gun control law. The high court blocked President Biden's student loan forgiveness plan. 50 years of illegally enshrined right to abortion in the United States has been brought to an end. I'm David Sirota. I'm a journalist and an author, and I've spent decades working in and covering American politics.
[00:01:06] And through it all, I keep coming back to the same questions. How did our democracy get replaced by a kleptocracy? How did a handful of extremists and oligarchs buy our government? From Congress, to the White House, to the Supreme Court. After more than a year of investigation, the Lever's team of journalists has now found the answer.
[00:01:27] We've unearthed never before reported documents and recordings showing that the takeover of our government was no accident. It was all part of a grand scheme, carefully mapped out and executed by specific individuals with a very specific strategy and lots and lots of cold, hard cash. This is MasterPlan.
[00:01:50] This is a podcast about the 50 year plot to legalize corruption and buy American democracy. Something that never should have been for sale. When we launched this new series in 2024, we'll traverse an epic saga of scandals and scoundrels. We wondered why were they so interested in making secret contributions?
[00:02:32] What were they trying to hide? We'll reveal how operatives, ideologues, and powerful business groups performed a hostile takeover of our courts. A coordinated legal strategy pushed by conservative lawyers and backed by conservative judges that were put in place in part by the Federalist Society. We'll also show how those judges then delivered a jackpot for big money interests.
[00:02:55] That decision has really opened the floodgates for corporate spending and corporate dominance of American elections. Presented by the investigative news outlet, The Lever, the Masterplan podcast resurrects the lost tradition of investigative reporting, doing the thing that journalism used to do all the time.
[00:03:14] Show me the money. Show me the money. Show me the money!
[00:03:17] No, not that. Not that.
[00:03:19] Follow the money. What do you mean? Just follow the money.
[00:03:23] We're going to follow the money to the pivotal 1970s, when America almost got corruption under control, but the master planners came up with a plan to hack the system.
[00:03:34] A famous document which called on the business community, corporations, and others to get involved in repealing the New Deal, crushing labor unions, fighting corruption.
[00:03:44] Government programs that provided a floor under the poorest of our citizens. And we'll follow that money trail from the 1970s all the way to today. We'll cross paths with people you already know well, people like Richard Nixon and Senator Mitch McConnell and Roger Ailes, the creator of Fox News. But we're also going to introduce you to all sorts of other people you've probably never heard of because they preferred to wield their power in the shadows.
[00:04:10] An ultra secretive Chicago industrial mogul has quietly given 1. 6 billion dollars to the architect of the right wing takeover of the courts.
[00:04:20] And along the way, you'll meet the heroes who fought back against this master plan, delaying its implementation. and who are now fighting to try to dismantle it.
[00:04:29] The American people deserve to know who's controlling their government. And exposing this plot is the first step in stopping it. If we don't understand how we got into this mess, we're never gonna figure our way out of it. Subscribe to The Lever right now at LeverNews.Com to get access to the entire Master Plan series when it launches in 2024.
[00:04:52] You'll also get access to all of the levers, exclusive reporting podcasts, live events, and other perks. And you'll be supporting the investigative journalism we do here, the kind that holds power accountable.