Fifteen years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling that fundamentally changed American politics. In a 5-4 judgment in Citizens United v. FEC, the court struck down restrictions on corporate spending in elections and paved the way for the mountains of dark money in our politics today. But there’s more.
In The Lever’s recent series Master Plan, David Sirota and a team of journalists dove deep into the litigious roots of the Citizens United case, starting with the nearly forgotten story of a small-town Indiana lawyer, as well as the vast political consequences of the high court’s landmark decision. Today on Lever Time, we’re sharing that episode with listeners to mark the anniversary of the ruling.
To read a transcript of the episode, click here.

Listen To MASTER PLAN
Master Plan, an investigative podcast series years in the making from The Lever, reveals how political ideologues and corporate forces have spent years orchestrating a system of legalized corruption in America. We are exposing their scheme.