Friends:

It was a busy week for The Lever’s podcast network. On Lever Time, we spoke with Louisiana Senate candidate Gary Chambers, a progressive Democrat, about his experience as an activist, the resistance he’s faced from the Democratic establishment, and his provocative campaign ads. We also covered the highs and lows (pun intended) of Joe Biden’s marijuana reform proposal.

Additionally, The Lever launched its second official podcast, The Audit, which for its first mini-season will be “auditing” the oxymoron-ish George W. Bush MasterClass.

Read more about each show below.

Rock the boat,

Sirota

In the new episode of Lever Time, David Sirota interviews Gary Chambers, a progressive Democrat running for a U.S. Senate seat in Louisiana. David chats with Gary about his roots as a community organizer, the resistance he’s met from the Democratic establishment, and how he hopes to become the state’s first Black senator.

In addition, Joel Warner speaks with attorney and drug policy expert Shaleen Title about Joe Biden’s recent announcement on marijuana decriminalization and reform. Joel and Shaleen break down every aspect of Biden’s plan, as well as the corporate interests — like Amazon and Big Alcohol — waiting in the wings to turn a profit from marijuana legalization.

Click here for a rough transcript of the episode.

BONUS: On Lever Time Premium  (the extended version of Lever Time which is exclusively available for supporting subscribers), David talks with acclaimed climate futurist Alex Steffen about the practicalities of building sustainable infrastructure, and how to “ruggedize” your life in the face of climate change.

In the inaugural episode of The Audit, our “scholarly” analysis of depraved educational content, Dave, Josh, and their “study buddy” Kate Willett begin their audit of George W. Bush’s online MasterClass. This week’s episode covers the first three lessons in Bush’s 12-part (*sigh*) series.

On this episode, The Audit hosts pick apart Bush’s whitewashing of his own legacy, offer a retrospective on his charmed life in Texas, and mull the disastrous consequences of his presidency, specifically in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Click here for a rough transcript of the episode.

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