Over at @levernews.com, we investigated how one-stop real estate shops like Zillow and Redfin may actually be hurting homebuyers – and the U.S. economy. For today's Lever Time episode, I spoke with @helenwsantoro.bsky.social about what her reporting uncovered: www.levernews.com/the-zillow-a...

🎉 We look forward to welcoming @arjunsingh92.bsky.social to our team in September!

I'm excited to announce I'll be heading to @capitolforum.bsky.social next month to be a senior podcast producer. It's a great outlet leading the charge on corporate investigations, antitrust policy and the world of M/A. Stay tuned for some cool audio projects down the line! thecapitolforum.com

Reed Richards invoking Trump Doctrine to fight Galactus

We've got new distributional data on the Senate's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" from @natasharsarin.bsky.social and team at @budgetlab.bsky.social. The results are **stark.** Top 0.1% _GAINS_ $97,000, or 1% of household resources. Bottom 20% _LOSES_ $600, or 3% of household resources.

They did. In 2015. Then Trump ripped it up.

🚨TAX REVOLT, EPISODE 4: The Lever's interview with GOP anti-tax enforcer Grover Norquist, who's led a 30-year crusade to make high-income tax cuts Republican orthodoxy. Fascinating discussion as Trump TODAY just explicitly pushed back against Norquist. www.levernews.com/tax-revolt-p...

Episode 3 of our pod series TAX REVOLT is out. How zombie Reaganism devoured Bush's brains and ensured no Republican would ever raise taxes again, setting the stage for Trump's efforts to defund the government. Listen now www.levernews.com/tax-revolt-p...

Episode 3 of our pod series TAX REVOLT is out. How zombie Reaganism devoured Bush's brains and ensured no Republican would ever raise taxes again, setting the stage for Trump's efforts to defund the government. Listen now www.levernews.com/tax-revolt-p...

Subscribe to our new podcast miniseries TAX REVOLT A 4 part story of how anti-government and free market radicals hijacked American politics setting the stage for DOGE. First 2 episodes out now

Episode 2 of Lever Time’s podcast miniseries TAX REVOLT is out now. It tells the story of how the Reagan Revolution set the stage for Elon Musk DOGE. LISTEN NOW

Episode 2 of Lever Time’s podcast miniseries TAX REVOLT is out now. It tells the story of how the Reagan Revolution set the stage for Elon Musk DOGE. LISTEN NOW

🚨WATCH & SUBSCRIBE: The Lever is launching TAX REVOLT - a new audio series exposing the roots of the anti-tax movement behind Trump's billionaire tax cuts. Add the series to your podcast app: LeverNews.com/TaxRevolt Please repost/share to spread the word - this project is months in the making👇

🚨NEWS🚨 Recently fired FTC Commissioner Alvaro Bedoya sits down with @levernews.com, just hours after Trump fired him. Bedoya says he was in the process of suing Meta, Amazon and Elon Musk for wrongdoing when he was let go. Exclusive podcast for subscribers. Subscribe and listen now

We’ve got big news coming soon exclusively for @levernews.com subscribers. We sit down with one of the FTC commissioners Trump is trying to fire on Lever Time. Pod coming soon. Become a subscriber here. podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/t...

33 today, which means for at least one year, I’m in my Larry Bird era

So, Trump’s DHS just admitted that undocumented immigrants actually do pay taxes www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

High stakes diplomacy

Musk's DOGE fired 132 FAA employees + he publicly bashes the FAA's computer system. Then his company lands a giant contract to overhaul the FAA computer system. This is the kind of corruption my dad saw in India in the 70s. He's mortified America is embracing it in 2025. It is happening here.

I find few things make me happier than flipping through my copy of American Fried. In all the nonsense of the world, this was one of the first pieces of journalism that really spoke to me. An effort to find a through line of American culinary culture (which gets a bad rap, but is brilliant!)

“No voter, Democrat or Republican, voted for a candidate to dismantle the FAA and make flying more dangerous”

George.

Up late watching the hockey last night, but still at his desk before 7:00 am. hard working cat!

There is 0 evidence DEI has led to more plane crashes. Aviation experts though do say consistent understaffing at the FAA over the years is making flying less safe Talking about DEI instead of the actual reasons the planes craahed is Trump’a tactic and once again pundits are falling for it.

Past the headline this is actually a worthwhile story. White House is changing Musk’s title in court filings and claiming there’s an unnamed person nominally in charge of DOGE to a federal judge. Perhaps poor headline choice, but it’s good reporting

Thank you to the @podcastacademy.bsky.social for nominating Lever Time for an Ambie Award!

As the billionaire was reportedly slashing Education Department contracts, SpaceX secured a multimillion-dollar “supplemental” deal from NASA.

This week's vibes

After buying his way into the admin, Musk moves for OpenAI in a deal that would need admin approval. OpenAI and Trump are supposedly working together on the Stargate AI initiative + OpenAI says it plans to roll out an AI platform for government usage. They know they're corrupt and don't care.

Here is a gifted unlocked version. This is insane. I got this motherfucker out of government (forgive some ego). I fucking did it. www.wsj.com/tech/doge-st...

The brilliant @nathantankus.bsky.social is on the pod this week to share his exclusive reporting of the extent of DOGE’s takeover of the Treasury payment system. If you listen to one podcast this week, make it this one. www.levernews.com/elon-musks-h...

Yet, it is a broken world we seem to live in and I am grateful @nathantankus.bsky.social exists

The other night I went into a restaurant to get some food to go, but ended up playing master of ceremonies for a taco eating competition

New from 404 Media: Employees working at DOGE have been ordered to stop using Slack while government lawyers attempt to transition the agency to one that is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act. Means DOGE will be even more secretive and unaccountable www.404media.co/doge-employe...

Have been informed by multiple scientists at UMD College Park they're being instructed not to use words like "advocate" "systemic" and "barrier," by Trump Admin, and any grants including these words will be rejected. These researchers study the blood brain BARRIER and SYSTEMIC lupus erythematosus

Breezy bagel run with this distinguished scholar and gentleman

Before D.C. Airport Collision, Lawmakers Brushed Off Warnings And Boosted Flights www.levernews.com/before-d-c-a...

Trump is threatening to withhold federal funds if K-12 schools don't portray America as anything but a great and magnificent nation. What's that thing called when the government enforces rules that only certain words and ideas can be spoken?

Can't tell if RFK jr is genuinely unaware that he's made most of his controversial comments on podcasts, including telling Lex Friedman that he doesn't think any vaccine is safe and Joe Rogan that he believes pesticides in the water lead to gender dysphoria

Pete Hegseth demands an inspector general investigation into Mark Milley. In the Trump admin it's, "Inspector general investigations for thee, but not me."

Sam Altman donates to Trump's inauguration. Gets an invitation to the White House. Now, the government is most likely going to give a giant contract to OpenAI.

Really enjoying @agoldman.bsky.social’s new pod Hyperfixed. It’s proof that curiosity, unique ideas and storytelling are better than hot takes This one about why public bathrooms are poorly designed is phenomenal Excited to see where Alex takes us on this journey! open.spotify.com/episode/3Jp7...

Today on the podcast, we're sharing a special piece of reporting from our team. Over the summer, Lever journalists sat down with the Indiana lawyer who was the lawyer for Citizens United in the Supreme Court case that unleashed corporate cash onto American elections.

Yeah, you and me both, pal.

The Trump and Musk are using their government positions to shill lousy crypto scams that enrich themselves. The amount of contempt this admin has for its own voters, and Trump’s populist base, is astounding.

A fitting beginning to Trump’s term. Trump rubbing arms and hanging out with the world’s wealthiest people and political insiders while his MAGA base are left out of the event, forced to watch from afar.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai with Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Trump’s cabinet at the inauguration.

TikTok’s stunt to go offline and come back less than 24 hours later, while making it sound like Trump did something meaningful to reverse the ban, is a pretty direct intervention into US politics. Hard to argue the company is neutral when it clearly just did a PR stunt for Trump

NEW POD 🎧 How the real estate and gas industries encouraged California's urban sprawl, and pushed people into flammable areas despite warning. + A vision of urban planning that helps humans make peace with fire and rebuild in a hotter climate.