Meet Alaska’s First Democratic House Rep. In Almost 50 Years

It’s been an exciting week for The Lever’s podcast network. On Lever Time, David Sirota interviews freshman congresswoman Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), who made history last year during Alaska’s U.S. House special election. Not only was Mary the first woman elected to represent Alaska in the House, but she did so by defeating one of the most infamous Alaskan Republicans: Sarah Palin. David and Mary got into the nitty-gritty of Alaska politics, including the state’s dependency on the oil and gas industry.

On top of that, this past week, The Lever launched its third official podcast: Movies vs. Capitalism, which examines the crucial intersection between pop culture and politics. In the inaugural episode, hosts Rivka Rivera and Frank Cappello are joined by David Sirota for a deep-dive conversation about the Reagan-era classic Ghostbusters. If you’re looking for a fun and informative movie podcast, this is it. The Audit continues its winter hibernation, so make sure to catch up on the first two mini-seasons in the meantime!

Learn more and find the episode links below.

Rock the boat

LEVER TIME: Meet Alaska’s First Democratic Rep. In Almost 50 Years

In the new episode of Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with freshman Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska), who recently made history as the first woman elected to represent Alaska in the House of Representatives, and the first Democrat to represent the state in the lower chamber in almost 50 years.

David speaks with Mary about how she pulled off her historic win, why she opposed forcing the railroad unions to accept the contract brokered by the Biden administration, and Alaska’s economic dependency on the oil and gas industry in the face of climate change.

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 financial manager Marlena Sonn, who recently made headlines for disclosing the shady — and potentially illegal — investment practices employed by one of America’s most famous wealthy families: the Gettys.

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

MOVIES VS. CAPITALISM: Ghostbusters (w/ David Sirota)

On the inaugural episode of Movies vs. Capitalism, Rivka and Frank are joined by David Sirota to discuss everyone’s favorite Reagan-era classic, Ghostbusters.

The group breaks down how the film’s pro-business, anti-government messages are baked into almost every scene, which is extra troubling considering this is a movie which was largely marketed to children. They also dig into the film’s sexual politics and discuss how Peter Venkman is an absolute creep.

A rough transcript of this episode is available 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!

Find The Audit on your preferred podcast player:

Apple Podcasts ~ Spotify ~ Google Podcasts ~ iHeartRadio  Amazon ~ Stitcher ~ Overcast ~ Pocket Casts

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