Lever Time

The Elon Musk Film You Need To See Before The Midterms

Musk, a deep-dive investigative documentary about the world’s richest man, premieres this weekend, less than a month before the midterms. Maybe you haven’t heard about it

Introducing Conversations From The Frontlines: Real Talk, Real Change

Conversations From The Frontlines is a show about how social change actually happens - not just the issues making headlines, but the people organizing on the ground and d

Introducing “You Might Be Right:” Can We Trust What the Polls Say About the 2026 Midterms?

Today we’re sharing a special episode from You Might Be Right, the chart-topping politics podcast from the Baker School of Public Policy and Public Affairs at the Univers

How AI Could Wipe Out Our Brains Before Our Existence

Anthropic’s leaked IPO documents show the company had a net loss of $42 billion in 2025 and still insists that its technology could pose a “catastrophic or existential ri

What’s Hiding In The Paramount Merger Settlement

California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 11 other Democratic attorneys general just settled their lawsuit blocking Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of Warne

What Tech Oligarchs Gain From AI Doomerism

The AI apocalypse is here, but it’s not what you think. Last week, former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon warned online that “the people building AI earnestly believe th

Dan Osborn Knows Why Democrats Keep Losing Nebraska

Registered Republicans outnumber Democrats almost two to one in Nebraska, and the few elected Democratic politicians in the state overwhelmingly lean conservative. But li

How Troy Jackson Can Put Collins' Career On The Chopping Block

Maine’s Sen. Susan Collins (R) has won five elections in a row, and a Democrat has not won a United States Senate seat in the state since 1988 — but polls suggest Mainers

The Billionaire Building Democrats’ New Machine

Earlier this month, a new Democratic machine scored a major victory in Connecticut. First-time congressional candidate Luke Bronin won his Democratic primary by a landsli

Master Plan S2 E6: Obama’s Kill List

This week on Lever Time, we’re featuring our newest episode of Master Plan: The Kingmakers.  In this episode, President Barack Obama vows to restore the rule of law afte

This Bernie Organizer Is Coming For A “DeSantis Democrat”

Oliver Larkin spent a decade battling the Democratic Party’s campaign machine as an organizer for candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Now, in Florida’s Aug. 18 p

Big Money Lost To Abdul El-Sayed. Where Will It Go Next?

Michigan just proved that money has its limits in elections. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed beat out establishment sweetheart Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) in what was li

He Left The GOP. Now He Has A Warning For Democrats.

Reed Galen was raised inside the Republican Party establishment, but in 2016, he left the party and later cofounded The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump political action co

Francesca Hong Wants To Be America’s First Socialist Governor

The Wisconsin Democratic primary for governor has gone haywire. Over the last week, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez dropped out amid a campaign finance scandal, and a candidate w

We’re Still Living In The 2016 Election

Ten years ago this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) ended his first presidential run and endorsed Hillary Clinton. Now, his chief strategist says the primary process was

Abdul El-Sayed Isn’t Messing Around About Healthcare

Last week, The Lever’s David Sirota traveled to Michigan to meet with Democratic Senate candidate and former public health official Abdul El-Sayed, who has become a polit

What New York’s Socialists Know That Democrats Don’t

Candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani swept the state’s Democratic primaries this week, to the chagrin of corporate interests and party elite. Pundits a

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 prec

The Movie Trope That Explains American Politics

Perhaps the key to understanding modern American politics isn't an academic think tank report, but instead rambunctious cult classic films, like Caddyshack and Animal Hou

Hawaii Is Overthrowing Citizens United

Hawaii just enacted a groundbreaking law challenging Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that unleashed unlimited corporate spending in elections. It’s a major vi