Master Plan

Master Plan

The Lever & David Sirota

Episodes 21
Avg. Duration 53m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.8 (664)
Since Aug 2024
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Serial
Consistency
58%
Hosting
feeds.megaphone.fm

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

SEASON TWO: THE KINGMAKERS IS HERE For early access to future episodes and exclusive bonus content, ⁠click here to upgrade to a paid subscription⁠ to The Lever. Master Plan, the award-winning investigative podcast series from The Lever, reveals the hidden forces behind today’s biggest problems — and how small groups of powerful people engineered those problems to serve their own interests. We are exposing their schemes. Narrated by David Sirota, an award-winning investigative journalist and Oscar nominee for his work on the film Don’t Look Up. Master Plan has received the 2025 National Press Club Award for Audio Journalism, the New York Festivals Radio Award for Best Investigative Journalism Podcast, multiple Signal Awards for Best News & Politics Podcast and Best Writing. It was an Ambies finalist for Best Politics podcast and was named a Webby Awards Honoree. Learn more at masterplanpodcast.com

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Recent Episodes

Introducing Scene on Radio’s The News

Jun 09, 2026 46m Bonus

The Master Plan team is hard at work on the next batch of Season 2 episodes. In the meantime, we’re sharing an episode from our friends at Scene on Radio. Their new season, The News, explores the…

S2 BONUS: The Untouched Power That Could Stop The Iran War

Apr 30, 2026 52m Bonus

This week, the Iran War will reach its official 60-day mark. That’s a critical deadline under the War Powers Resolution, a Nixon-era law created to limit presidential war-making. Under that law,…

S2E4 Episode 4: The Meese Doctrine | The Kingmakers

Apr 28, 2026 51m

Rather than retreat from Iran-Contra and other scandals, conservative operatives inside the White House — led by Attorney General Edwin Meese — went on the offensive. Drawing on newly uncovered…

S2E3 Episode 3: President Rambo | The Kingmakers

Apr 14, 2026 40m

Emboldened by a landslide election, the president’s men began to see themselves as 1980s action-movie heroes, willing to break the law to get what they want. The result was the Iran-Contra affair, a…

S2E2 Episode 2: Mandate for Power | The Kingmakers

Mar 30, 2026 51m

How did Project 2025 take control of the White House? It all began decades ago, when a beer-baron-backed think tank handed President Ronald Reagan an 1,100-page instruction manual for expanding…

S2E1 Episode 1: After The Fall | The Kingmakers

Mar 16, 2026 43m

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…

S2 Season 2 Trailer: The Kingmakers

Mar 02, 2026 5m Trailer

A new season of Master Plan debuts on March 16. For early access to new episodes and exclusive bonus content, click here to upgrade to a paid subscription to The Lever. Learn more about your ad…

A Message About The Future Of Master Plan

Feb 17, 2026 2m

An important message about the future of Master Plan, from our host, David Sirota. Become A Paid Subscriber To The Lever Become A Paid Subscriber On Apple Podcasts Make A One-Time Donation …

The Master Plan Book Is Here

Oct 17, 2025 7m Trailer

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…

S1 The Billionaire-Backed Takeover Of CBS News (Lever Time)

Oct 09, 2025 32m Bonus

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…

S1 S1 BONUS: The Master Planners’ Election (With Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse)

Nov 04, 2024 55m Bonus

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.…

S1E11 S1 E11: Hell Or High Water | Legalizing Corruption

Oct 29, 2024 1h 8m

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…

S1E10 S1 E10: The Heist | Legalizing Corruption

Oct 22, 2024 1h 8m

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…

S1E9 S1 E9: Going Big | Legalizing Corruption

Oct 15, 2024 1h 4m

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…

S1E8 S1 E8: Shock and Awe | Legalizing Corruption

Oct 08, 2024 53m

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…

S1E7 S1 E7: Rise of the Machine | Legalizing Corruption

Oct 01, 2024 58m

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…

S1E6 S1 E6: The Maverick | Legalizing Corruption

Sep 24, 2024 1h 2m

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…

S1E5 S1 E5: Corporations Are People | Legalizing Corruption

Sep 17, 2024 53m

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…

S1E4 S1 E4: The Secret Task Force | Legalizing Corruption

Sep 10, 2024 51m

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…

S1E3 S1 E3: The Powell Memo | Legalizing Corruption

Sep 03, 2024 56m

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…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Master Plan have?

Master Plan has published 21 episodes since August 2024, covering topics in History, News.

Is Master Plan still active?

Master Plan is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 53m.

How do I contact Master Plan for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Master Plan, including email and social media links.

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