Russell Brand On His Political Evolution

Friends:

On this week’s Lever Time, David Sirota sat down with comedian, actor, and author Russell Brand. Over the last several years, Russell has become one of the biggest — and most polarizing — political content creators on YouTube. David and Russell get into the nitty-gritty about Russell’s political evolution, as well as the criticisms he’s received. It’s a fascinating conversation and we’re excited to share it with The Lever’s audience. The Audit continues its hiatus, so make sure to catch up on their first two mini-seasons.

Learn more and find the episode links below.

Rock the boat,

Sirota

LEVER TIME: Where Spirituality Meets Politics (w/ Russell Brand)

In the new episode of Lever Time, David Sirota is joined by comedian, actor, and author Russell Brand for a long-form conversation about Russell’s evolution from comedian to political content creator. In the last few years, Russell has built a significant online following, where his brand of anti-establishment, pro-spirituality intellectualism has garnered him more than six million subscribers on YouTube. David asks Russell about his ideological development, as well as some of the criticisms that have been levied against him, including how some of his content could be construed as “conspiracy theories.”

In addition, David Sirota breaks down The Lever’s recent reporting on the defamation lawsuit against Beto O’Rourke that could set a dangerous precedent when it comes to criticizing billionaires.

A rough transcript of this episode is available here.

BONUS: On Lever Time Premium  (the extended version of Lever Time which is exclusively available for supporting subscribers), David interviews journalist Cory Doctorow and law professor Rebecca Giblin about their new book, Chokepoint Capitalism: How Big Tech and Big Content Captured Creative Labor Markets and How We'll Win Them Back. The book explores how tech companies tightly control the access to their platforms that allow them to shake down consumers and artists alike.

If you want access to Lever Premium Podcasts, click here.

THE AUDIT: Catch Up On All Of The Episodes

The Audit’s study group has now completed two separate mini-seasons. First, they audited George W. Bush’s MasterClass on authentic leadership (which was terrible), and then they audited political consultants David Axelrod and Karl Rove’s MasterClass on campaign strategy and messaging (which was somehow worse). Make sure to catch up on all of the episodes below!

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