đłď¸ Preparing for the midterms with The Lever's David Sirota
Coming up this August on #AudioForAction Live.
Somehow, we made it to the month of August, and I am struggling to understand how we got here so quickly. For some, summer is just about to begin (shoutout to our European friends); for others, it already seems to be ending with back-to-school pronouncements and early summer vacations come and gone.
And then there are people like me: caught in between an end and a beginning. I say in-between, because Iâm getting ready to leave for vacation in a few weeks, yet I am lamenting the end of summer with an eye toward the fall.
I started a new job recently, and this work has me very dialed into what is happening in politics, and therefore has made me hyperaware that the midterms and more primaries are coming up. These elections are more important than ever, not just for the U.S., but for the world (I hate to be that person, but please see: Gaza, Iran, Venezuela, even FIFA, and the list goes on...)
These elections will determine whether we get a Congress that continues to rubber-stamp everything that Trump does or one that mounts a resistance. It will determine whether trans girls can play sports and whether local governments put up roadblocks for ICE, as bigoted sentiments continue to fester.
All my feelings are swirling about the state of our world, and our uncharacteristically hot summer has not helped. So, for my only #AudioForAction this month, I am excited to talk to David Sirota, publisher of The Lever and host of the podcasts Lever Time and Master Plan. The reporting coming out of The Lever reminds us where we have been and warns us where we will head if we donât root out the corruption at the very center of our politics.
More about our conversation can be found below, and I hope youâll join us.
Until then, enjoy what remains of our Northern Hemisphere summer âď¸
-Ayo Oti
Publisher Sounds Like Impact & Host of #AudioForAction Live
đď¸ Thursday, August 13th
Thursday, August 13th, from 5:45-6:30 pm ET / 3:45-4:30 pm MT / 2:45-3:30 pm PT, I will be in conversation with David Sirota about the latest season of Master Plan podcast and his always-on show, Lever Time.
For those who have been with Sounds Like Impact for a few years, youâll probably recognize David from when I interviewed him when the first season of Master Plan was released.
For those just learning about him for the first time, below are his bona fides:
David Sirota is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author, and the founder and editor of The Lever, a reader-supported investigative news outlet. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work helping Adam McKay create the story for Donât Look Up, which also earned him a Writers Guild of America Award for best original screenplay. Sirota previously created Audibleâs acclaimed financial crisis podcast series Meltdown and has written for outlets including The New York Times Magazine, Wired, The Nation, and Politico, and served as a senior adviser and speechwriter to Bernie Sandersâ 2020 presidential campaign.
Learn more about The Leverâs shows below, and join us for a great conversation!
Lever Time
Every week, the people and corporations shaping American life make decisions behind closed doors â influencing everything from health care and housing to taxes, labor, war, and the economy. Most of the time, the real story never makes it into the headlines.
Lever Time â the flagship podcast from the investigative news outlet The Lever â pulls back the curtain on the forces driving the news and the systems quietly shaping everyday life. Hosted by the award-winning journalist, Oscar-nominated writer, and Bernie Sandersâ 2020 speechwriter David Sirota, the show features exclusive reporting from The Leverâs newsroom, high-profile guest interviews, expert analysis, ideas and opinions from the sharpest minds in media and politics.
Master Plan
In America, a king isnât crowned. Heâs manufactured.
For more than four decades, a small but determined network of lawyers, operatives, and ideologues has worked to transform the U.S. presidencyâquietly concentrating power, weakening oversight, and dismantling the constitutional restraints meant to prevent abuse. Their tool was an obscure legal doctrine known as the unitary executive theory. Their goal was to build a presidency powerful enough to dominate the system it was supposed to serve.
Now, in Donald Trumpâs second term, that project has fully broken free of theory and into reality.
Master Plan, the multi-award-winning investigative podcast from The Lever, returns with a new season: The Kingmakers. Following a first season that reached over one million listeners, topped podcast charts, and won the 2025 National Press Club Award for Audio Journalism, the seriesâ second season traces how a fringe constitutional idea became the operating system of American government.
The first half of âThe Kingmakersâ is available now. The second half premieres August 11 in the free feed.
We look forward to you joining us for this session! But if you canât make it live, no problem. Lives are recorded and available for watching afterward. However, if you would like to ask questionsâwhether for the live or because you canât attendâplease submit in advance by commenting.
đŤ From Our Friends
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A recent curation on EarBuds Podcast Collective has all of the Sounds Like Impact vibes. Check out â5 Essential Podcasts About Womenâs Health and Medical Advocacyâ here: https://newsletter.earbuds.audio/p/5-womens-health-podcast-recommendations
đď¸ Submissions are now open for the International Women's Podcast Awards 2026.
Hosted by Tink Media , the IWPAs celebrate women's and diverse-gender voices across podcasting and are proudly queer and trans inclusive.
What makes them different?
đ Open to creators worldwide
đ§ Both independent creators and major studios welcome
đ Judged on quality and intention, not downloads
đ 11 categories including storytelling, comedy, and advertising artistry
đ¸ USD 50 per entry
đScholarship options available
Entries close August 14, 2026.
Submit your work: https://iwpa.podlifeawards.com/categories/iwpa-2026
