Hawaii Is Overthrowing Citizens United

Lever Time

The Lever

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.8 • 560 Ratings

🗓️ 4 June 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hawaii just enacted a groundbreaking law challenging Citizens United, the Supreme Court decision that unleashed unlimited corporate spending in elections. It’s a major victory against big money’s grip on democracy — but powerful interests are already gearing up for a legal showdown. On today’s Lever Time, David Sirota speaks with Hawaii state Sen. Jarrett Keohokalole, one of the law’s architects, about how the measure works, why Hawaii is leading the fight against Citizens United, and why reformers believe they finally have a path to victory. 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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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.
0:10.4	Attention all passengers.
0:12.7	The Uber ride for Jeff's rugby team will depart in five minutes from Platform 15.
0:17.8	Your ride comes with six toilets and a refreshments carriage that you'll empty
0:22.9	within five minutes. Thank you for booking your tickets on Uber.
0:29.4	Trains on Uber.
0:32.0	Head to the beach in Abercrombie's latest summer drop. New 100% linen shirts are perfect for breezy days by the coast. They're
0:40.2	easy to layer and go well with our new seafade shorts. For days spent on the water, pair
0:45.9	the ANF Resort shirt with your favorite swim. Outfit your summer with Abercrombie in the app,
0:52.4	online and in stores.
1:06.0	Right now, we are living through some of the most tumultuous political times our country has ever known. I'm David Remnick, and each week on the New Yorker Radio Hour, I'll try to make sense of what's happening, alongside politicians and thinkers like Corey Booker, Nancy Pelosi, Liz Cheney, Tim Walts, Katanji Brown Jackson, Newt Gingrich, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and so many more.
1:24.5	That's all in the New Yorker Radio Hour, wherever you listen to podcasts.
1:31.7	The Lever.
1:34.7	From The Lever's reader and listener-supported newsroom, I'm David Serota.
1:38.6	If you've listened to the first season of our investigative podcast series Master Plan,
1:42.4	then you know that we've spent a lot of time exploring
1:45.7	how Supreme Court decisions like Citizens United helped unleash an era of massive corporate spending
1:52.0	and dark money in politics. Since that 2010 ruling, political spending has spiraled out of control.
1:58.7	There have been countless attempts to fight back against what Citizens
2:02.0	United unleashed, and many of those efforts have failed, but a new legal strategy may finally
2:08.3	offer a solution. Today, we're talking about a new Hawaii law that's challenging Citizens
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 27 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Lever, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of The Lever and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.