Explore every episode of the podcast Master Plan
| Title | Pub. Date | Duration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Other Watergate | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:43:59 | |
There’s a lost tale behind Watergate: corporate bagmen, suitcases of illegal cash, and Nixon circumventing the very campaign finance rules he’d just signed into law. Amid the blowback, Nixon leaves a ticking time bomb in the heart of Washington. 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 Follow us on social
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| Milk Money | 27 Aug 2024 | 00:33:40 | |
Ever wonder how America became so corrupt? It didn’t have to be this way. Our series begins in 1971, a time when hot pants were hot, bell bottoms were swinging, and campaign cash flowed like… milk. 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 Follow us on social
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| Trailer — Legalizing Corruption | 05 Aug 2024 | 00:02:13 | |
A secret plot. A public theft. A democracy corrupted. Discover the truth. The first two episodes of Master Plan, a new podcast from The Lever, will be available on August 27 wherever you get your podcasts. Listen early and ad-free at masterplanpodcast.com | |||
| The Powell Memo | 03 Sep 2024 | 00:53:01 | |
A seemingly moderate corporate lawyer grows alarmed by anti-corruption reformers’ policy wins and writes a manifesto detailing how corporations and oligarchs can dominate American politics. Months later, he’s confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court by senators unaware that his manifesto is going viral among the business elite. View related materials here. 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 Follow us on social
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| The Secret Task Force | 10 Sep 2024 | 00:47:58 | |
How did corporate executives and politicians turn Lewis Powell’s memo from a blueprint into a master plan — and begin executing it? In this episode, we uncover proof of a secret “Powell Memo Task Force,” as well as clandestine meetings involving America’s most powerful businessmen, a future president, and an ambitious young media consultant. The results would change history. 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 Follow us on social
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| Corporations Are People, My Friend | 17 Sep 2024 | 00:49:58 | |
You might remember Mitt Romney’s infamous line: “Corporations are people, my friend.” But where did this idea come from? In this episode: how the Ford Administration and the Powell Memo movement turned to the Supreme Court to establish the precedent that legalized corruption: money is speech, and corporations are entitled to First Amendment rights. Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, score exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com Follow us on social
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| The Maverick | 24 Sep 2024 | 00:59:38 | |
When five U.S. senators get caught pressuring a regulator on behalf of a financial magnate, they become known as the “Keating Five.” The public is predictably outraged. But what no one expects is that one of those senators will learn from his mistakes and become the staunchest campaign finance reformer in decades. 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 Follow us on social
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| Rise of the Machine | 01 Oct 2024 | 00:55:24 | |
After a series of setbacks in the push to legalize corruption, the master planners know they must take over the U.S. Supreme Court and halt the trend of Republican-appointed justices siding with campaign finance reformers. So in the early 2000s, they deploy their new judicial machine in an epic battle to try to permanently change the courts from the bottom up. This is part one of a two-part story about how the Roberts Court was built. 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 Follow us on social
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| Shock and Awe | 08 Oct 2024 | 00:49:59 | |
As President George W. Bush declares “Mission Accomplished” in the Iraq War, his administration wages a different war with swing-state senators defying his judicial nominees. Operatives like Leonard Leo and Brett Kavanaugh seize the moment to try to dramatically shift the balance of the Supreme Court. But when Bush goes off script and nominates a trusted legal aide for a Supreme Court vacancy, the conservative legal movement launches an insurgency. This is part two of our story about the creation of the Roberts Court.
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| Going Big | 15 Oct 2024 | 01:01:12 | |
An anti-abortion legal activist starts using the federal courts to chip away at campaign finance restrictions, setting his sights on the Supreme Court. Indiana lawyer James Bopp Jr. engineers the Citizens United case and hand-tailors it for Justice Anthony Kennedy’s storied swing vote — setting him up for an explosive 5-4 ruling that would devastate campaign finance law. 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. Follow us on social
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| Hell Or High Water | 29 Oct 2024 | 01:04:48 | |
We all live in the master planners’ world now, immersed in an ocean of corruption. The 2024 Republican presidential campaign is bankrolled by billionaires, while corporate interests’ power was in full display at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. What will it take to reclaim our democracy? Is there any hope of reversing the master plan? Follow us on social
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| The Heist | 22 Oct 2024 | 01:03:54 | |
Unleashed by the Citizens United ruling, the master planners launch a three-part heist to crack the vault protecting democracy itself. First, the schemers take out the security cameras monitoring dark money. Then, they disarm the last campaign finance cops on the beat. Finally, they pull off a getaway so prosecutors can’t charge them as they run off with the loot.
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| BONUS: The Master Planners’ Election (With Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse) | 04 Nov 2024 | 00:53:13 | |
In a special Master Plan bonus episode, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins David Sirota to break down the impact of the Supreme Court’s’ 2010 Citizens United ruling on 2024's super PAC spending spree. The two dig into billionaires like Elon Musk openly backing candidates and the hidden power of dark money, and discuss current reforms efforts to bring transparency back to democracy. Plus, the Master Plan team answers audience questions. Binge the entire season of the award-winning Master Plan now. Paid subscribers enjoy ad-free episodes, score exclusive bonus content, and help support the show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com. Follow us on social
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| The Billionaire-Backed Takeover Of CBS News (Lever Time) | 09 Oct 2025 | 00:29:42 | |
NOTE: This is the first episode in a special bonus series from our weekly podcast, Lever Time. While media giants cave to frivolous Trump libel lawsuits and muzzle late-night hosts who step out of line, CBS News’ parent company has announced that the billionaire-backed conservative provocateur Bari Weiss will be the network’s new editor-in-chief. So today, we’re going back in time to understand how we arrived at this present-day media hellscape. Who set this plan into motion, and how do we fight back? Click here to pre-order our new book, MASTER PLAN: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America. 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. | |||
| The Master Plan Book Is Here (With Trailer) | 17 Oct 2025 | 00:04:41 | |
We’ve got big news — Master Plan is now a book! Master Plan: The Hidden Plot to Legalize Corruption in America, co-authored by David Sirota and Jared Jacang Maher, is now available from all major booksellers. The 265-page book expands on the award-winning podcast with exclusive archival documents, new reporting, and never-before-seen photos. It tells the story of how corporate interests and political operatives spent decades reshaping American democracy — from Lewis Powell’s secret memo to Citizens United and the rise of dark money. In this short update, Jared shares why we turned the series into a book and what readers can expect — followed by the official Book trailer for Master Plan. (Watch on YouTube.)
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