The MASTER PLAN series launches for paid subscribers in mid-2024. Listen to the trailer below, and be sure to follow the series on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your preferred platform.

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In MASTER PLAN, The Lever’s journalists unearth never-before-reported documents showing how a group of extremists and tycoons legalized corruption and took over the U.S. government. In this epic journey from the 1970s to the present, you’ll hear the untold history of famous villains you already thought you knew—people like President Richard Nixon, Senator Mitch McConnell and Fox News boss Roger Ailes. You’ll also meet operatives and oligarchs you’ve probably never heard of, because they’ve wielded their power in the shadows. 

If you somehow think corruption in Congress, the White House and the courts doesn’t affect your daily life, think again: Using huge amounts of money, these master planners have secured the environmental, health care, financial, and economic policies enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else. Exposing their scheme is the first step in stopping it.

MASTER PLAN is narrated by David Sirota, an investigative journalist who was recently nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the film Don’t Look Up. Sirota previously joined with Oscar-winning documentarian Alex Gibney to produce Audible’s acclaimed podcast MELTDOWN, which explored how the Obama administration’s handling of the financial crisis created the backlash conditions for Donald Trump’s ascent. A former presidential campaign speechwriter for Bernie Sanders, Sirota is the founder of The Lever, an award-winning news outlet whose mission is holding power accountable.