Episode 1: After The Fall | The Kingmakers

Master Plan

The Lever & David Sirota

News, Politics, History

5.0 • 592 Ratings

🗓️ 16 March 2026

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Before Trump, there was Nixon. His attempts to seize the power of the purse and secretly expand the Vietnam War forged a constitutional crisis, a backlash, and a template for an imperial presidency. TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to explore bonus historical documents related to the episode. Get Master Plan episodes early and ad-free by becoming a paid subscriber. Enjoy bonus episodes, exclusive content, and support this show. Visit masterplanpodcast.com. To leave a tip for The Lever, click here. It helps us do this kind of independent journalism. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to the free ad-supported version of our podcast.
0:03.7	For an ad-free experience, visit levernews.com slash upgrade.
0:10.2	The Lever.
0:15.4	China's President Xi Jinping watched a huge parade, flanked by Russia's Vladimir Putin and North Korea's
0:22.4	Kim Jong-un.
0:23.6	Myanmar's military authorities are using brutal violence and intimidation to force people
0:31.0	to vote in forthcoming elections.
0:34.7	The Pentagon is ready in 1,500 active-duty soldiers for possible deployment to Minnesota,
0:40.0	where President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act.
0:43.5	China, Russia, North Korea, Myanmar, all led by dictators known for cracking down on their citizens.
0:51.2	And then there's, wait, the United States?
0:56.6	It's been just over a year since the return of Donald Trump to the White House. And sending armed federal agents into American
1:01.6	cities is just one item in a long laundry list of increasingly authoritarian moves.
1:07.6	President Trump has overseen America's largest military parade in decades.
1:12.6	Trump's actions have put the K word on the tip of many Americans' tongues.
1:17.6	And I don't mean K-pop.
1:19.6	I mean King.
1:20.6	We don't serve a king.
1:21.6	Honey, you serve the people.
1:23.6	You are not a king.
1:24.6	You will never be a king.
1:25.6	No king means that it's government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
	...

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