Lever Time

Are Corporations Spying On You To Raise Your Prices? (With Lee Hepner)

Delta Air Lines recently came under fire for announcing that artificial intelligence will be setting 20 percent of its ticket prices for its domestic flights by 2026. While Delta subsequently denied using the tech to engage in “personalized” price gouging, many airlines, big businesses, and data brokers have allegedly been dabbling in “surveillance pricing,” the growing corporate practice that exploits personal data to charge customers the most they’re willing to pay.In this episode of Lever Time, David Sirota talks to Lee Hepner, antitrust expert at the American Economic Liberties Project, to learn how companies are tracking our online and offline behavior to deliver personalized (and potentially higher) price tags. As Hepner reveals, corporate entities have been quietly fine-tuning the practice for decades — and we’re now entering an era of one person, one price.Click here to read The Lever’s investigation into how airlines pioneered  "personalized pricing."Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join.To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.

Your 401(k) Is Billionaires’ Next Bailout Scheme

The Trump administration appears ready to sign an executive order that would allow private equity firms to prey on Americans’ retirement savings. What happens if Wall Street can suddenly tap into the trillions of dollars tucked away in 401(k) accounts?Today on Lever Time, David Sirota speaks with former federal regulator Ted Siedle and economist Eileen Appelbaum to understand what private equity could do to Americans’ hard-earned retirement funds — and how you can protect your money.Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join.To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.

Trump’s New Merger Scandal Is Swampier Than Watergate

In a stunning reversal, the Trump administration just gave the green light to a major tech merger — and then fired two Justice Department lawyers who opposed it. Was corruption at play in the merger decision?Today on Lever Time, David Sirota sits down with The Lever’s Luke Goldstein and UnHerd Magazine’s Sohrab Ahmari, who first exposed the “mergers over martinis” story behind the reversal. They dive into the MAGA power struggle inside the Justice Department and tackle the big questions: What triggered the reversal? Could a Watergate-era anti-corruption law bring the truth to light? And if Trump is now opening the floodgates to corporate mergers, what will that mean for your wallet?To check out Sohrab Ahmari’s reporting, as referenced in this episode, click here.Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join.To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.

How AI Is Taking Over The U.S. Government

The Trump administration just unveiled a sweeping AI Action Plan that aims to achieve global dominance in the industry. Hiding deep within the document? A previously rejected scheme to ban oversight of tech oligarchs and let artificial intelligence run wild. Today on Lever Time, producer Natalie Bettendorf investigates the challenges and political realities of reining in AI — and why Congress and the president seem determined to terminate AI regulations.Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/join.To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism.

The Fight For Control Of Your Money (with Matt Stoller and Nathan Tankus)

President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell are dueling over interest rates set by America’s secretive central bank, the Federal Reserve. Is the Fed’s secrecy and independence good for the economy? Who should control the institution — the people, the president, or Wall Street? And why are so many experts in media, politics and business afraid to even consider challenging the status quo?Today on Lever Time, David Sirota speaks with two provocative economic thinkers about what is really at stake in this battle between Trump and Powell, and how this clash over the Federal Reserve affects millions of Americans.Check out Matt Stoller’s newsletter “Big” here.Check out Nathan Tankus’s newsletter “Notes on the Crisis” here.Get ad-free episodes, bonus content and extended interviews by becoming a member at levernews.com/subscribeTo leave a tip for The Lever, click the following link. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. levernews.com/donate