Lever Time

Graham Plattner, a military veteran, oyster farmer, and progressive populist running for U.S. Senate, rides through rural Maine outlining his insurgent campaign. He talks grassroots organizing, how neoliberalism helped fuel Trump, structural reforms to curb big money, pragmatic gun-policy steps, and his complex views on war and service.

Josh Chaffetz, Georgetown law and politics professor who studies Congress and separation of powers, and Alan Morrison, longtime public-interest lawyer who argued the Chadha case, walk through the story behind the legislative veto. They cover how Chadha reshaped congressional checks, the War Powers Resolution’s fate, and why lawmakers rarely use deauthorizations today.

Last week, California Democrats killed CalCare, a proposed single-payer health care bill. Will the state ever achieve its dream of universal health care?  Tom Steyer — a gubernatorial candidate who ran ads against single-payer health care in 2020 — says he is now the Golden State’s best bet. He also wants higher taxes for the rich, stronger environmental protections, and the abolition of ICE. The catch? He’s a billionaire running a self-financed campaign.  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager turned philanthropist, to discuss the collapse of Rep. Eric Swalwell’s (D-Calif.) campaign, whether billionaires are a policy failure, and the chaotic governor’s race that has left Republicans leading in the polls. 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

Tax Day sucks — confusing forms, piles of receipts, and expensive tax prep software. But it doesn’t have to be this way. A simple fix called return-free filing, proposed by Ronald Reagan decades ago, could save Americans millions of hours and billions of dollars. So who keeps shooting it down?  Today on Lever Time, David Sirota traces the 40-year dogfight over your tax return. 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

Alex Bores, a New York Assemblymember and former Palantir engineer now running for Congress, discusses why Big Tech mobilized massive ad campaigns against him. He recounts leaving Palantir, crafting New York’s AI safety law with audits and incident reporting, and why regulating AI matters for jobs, kids, and the environment. He also explains industry divisions and the stakes for national versus state rules.

Bill McGee, senior fellow for aviation and travel and longtime airline analyst, breaks down why U.S. air travel is in crisis. He discusses TSA funding standoffs, air traffic controller shortages, regulatory capture by airlines, and risky policy rollbacks. He also explains why certain airports are accident-prone and argues for fewer flights and better responsiveness to frontline safety warnings.

Sean Vitka, executive director of Demand Progress, fights warrantless surveillance. Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator from Oregon, pushes limits on government spying. They discuss the FBI buying Americans’ location data. They unpack FISA Section 702 origins, documented abuses, the politics of reauthorization, and how AI and data brokers could widen warrantless surveillance.

Investigative deep dive into the long campaign to centralize presidential power. Explores unitary executive theory and the strategists pushing it. Looks at controversial actions, public pushback, and protest movements. Outlines tactics like memos, legal battles, surveillance, and fiscal control used to expand authority.

Shane Harris, an Atlantic staff writer who covers intelligence and national security, unpacks a mysterious Farsi shortwave numbers broadcast. He traces how hobbyists found it, explains how numbers stations evade jamming, and explores theories about its origin and potential links to Iran. He also assesses plausible Iranian asymmetric responses and how politics have affected U.S. counterintelligence readiness.

Ryan Grim, investigative reporter focused on foreign policy, and Hooman Majd, Iranian-American journalist and author, discuss the long arc of US-Iran tensions. They probe who pushed for military action, missed chances for diplomacy, dark money and lobbying influences, alleged plans for regime change, and Congress’s role amid chaotic decision-making.