Episodes

  • The Secret Wealth Transfer

    The Secret Wealth Transfer
    Jul 21 2021
    The Daily Poster recently published a deep-dive report on Wall Street executives skimming billions of dollars of fees off the retirement savings of teachers, firefighters and other government workers. The relationship between public pensions and alternative investment firms has become one of the biggest upward transfers of wealth in America - and much of it is happening in secret. That's because pension officials and the firms collude to keep the investment contracts secret, even to the workers and retirees whose money they are managing. On this episode, Sirota talks to former SEC attorney Ted Siedle, whose forensic investigations of major pension funds are exposing this enormous scandal. Siedle is the author of the books Who Stole My Pension? and How To Steal A Lot Of Money, Legally.
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    39 mins
  • The Leak Exposing The Billionaire Tax Scam

    The Leak Exposing The Billionaire Tax Scam
    Jul 12 2021
    Sirota talks to ProPublica's Jesse Eisinger about the recent leak of IRS data showing how billionaires are able to accumulate vast wealth while paying so little in taxes. Recent analyses have estimated that every year, the richest 1 percent are not paying between $174 billion and $250 billion of taxes they owe. The documents leaked to ProPublica illustrate how tax loopholes, preferences and shelters allow moguls such as Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett to pay a lower effective tax rate than everyone else. Eisinger also reviews the story of how right-wing billionaire Peter Thiel used stock valuations and a Roth IRA - which was designed for middle-class Americans - to tax shelter roughly $5 billion of wealth. The discussion concludes with a review of new legislative proposals to rebuild the IRS so that the agency can better police billionaire tax avoidance.
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    34 mins
  • Inside The UFO Mystery

    Inside The UFO Mystery
    Jul 9 2021
    With the government recently issuing a new report on UFOs, Sirota talks to journalist Laura Krantz, whose new podcast series is called "Wild Thing: Space Invaders." It looks at our culture's obsession with the idea of extraterrestrial life. They discuss the government's renewed interest in UFOs, and what science suggests is the most likely explanation for the unidentified phenomena. They also discuss whether or not the recent UFO mania is being driven by a military-industrial complex looking for more justification for even larger Pentagon budgets.
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    49 mins
  • The Whistleblower Who Exposed An FDA Scandal

    The Whistleblower Who Exposed An FDA Scandal
    Jul 2 2021
    Sirota talks with Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, the Harvard researcher who last month touched off national headlines when he resigned from a panel that advises the Food and Drug Administration on drug approvals. Kesselheim resigned because the agency approved a pharmaceutical company's unproven Alzheimer's treatment, even though the panel of overseers was nearly unanimous in finding that the therapy had not displayed compelling evidence that it worked. In a co-authored New York Times oped, Kesselheim warned that "in recent years, under steady pressure from the pharmaceutical industry and the patient groups it funds, the F.D.A. has progressively lowered its standards of effectiveness and safety required for drug approvals."
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    33 mins
  • Elite Groupthink And The Lab-Leak Theory

    Elite Groupthink And The Lab-Leak Theory
    Jun 11 2021
    Sirota and Tom Frank begin by discussing some of the Daily Poster's financial reporting on the housing market this week. Then, they move into a larger discussion of Frank's controversial Guardian oped about the power of elite groupthink and the pushback against even scientifically reviewing the theory that the coronavirus leaked from an American-funded lab in China.
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Biden's First 100 Days

    Biden's First 100 Days
    Apr 29 2021
    Photo credit: Getty Images This week is President Joe Biden’s 100th day in office, and so The Daily Poster’s latest podcast takes a look at Biden’s personnel appointments to see whether or not his administration has been captured by corporate interests. On the podcast, Sirota talked with Max Moran of the Revolving Door Project and David Segal of Demand Progress, two groups that have been pressuring Biden to stock his administration with progressive appointees, rather than corporate cronies. The Revolving Door Project recently issued a report card on Biden’s first 100 days, which you can find here. This newsletter relies on readers pitching in to support it. If you want to help expand this kind of journalism, consider becoming a paid subscriber by clicking this link. Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
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    53 mins
  • Are We Winning A New Political Era?

    Are We Winning A New Political Era?
    Apr 5 2021
    A few weeks ago, The Daily Poster noted that the exclusion of a $15 minimum wage from the American Rescue Plan was a missed opportunity and a tragic failure. Then again, our reporting also pointed out same bill’s direct aid to millions of people was an enormous victory and a huge success for a grassroots movement that has so changed politics that even a former longtime austerian like Joe Biden ended up signing legislation that included those investments.  On this podcast, I talked to author Anand Giridharadas about the idea of losing and winning — and whether or not we are finally moving out of the Reagan Era and into a new epoch of positive change. He is the author of the fantastic book Winners Take All and has a great newsletter called The Ink.  During the discussion, we talked about how to simultaneously remember the awful and unforgivable parts of Biden’s senate record, remain circumspect about his commitment to progressive change, criticize his ongoing capitulations, but also acknowledge some of the victories that are being won during the early weeks of his presidency.  As you listen to this podcast, please know: I’ve spent a lot of my life standing up to Biden. As a young person, I was ostracized by powerful Democrats for daring to criticize his bankruptcy bill. As a reporter, I wrote one of the definitive pieces exposing his pernicious role in the student debt crisis. As a campaign staffer, I spotlighted his efforts to cut Social Security. And now as the founder of The Daily Poster, I’ve been leading a team of reporters that has continued to scrutinize his actions. The point is: I’m under no illusions about who Biden is. But I also know that politics is much bigger than any one politician — and that the best reporting is the kind that focuses on the policy. I hope you’ll listen to this whole podcast because it delves into lots of issues that so many Daily Poster subscribers have raised over the last few weeks. Rock the boat, Sirota Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
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    1 hr and 3 mins
  • How They Killed A $15 Minimum Wage

    How They Killed A $15 Minimum Wage
    Mar 8 2021
    This week, Sirota and Tom Frank discuss the campaign for a higher minimum wage. Joe Biden campaigned on a promise to enact a $15 minimum wage and as recently as six weeks ago, the White House and top Democrats were signaling that they were determined to make sure it was included in must-pass COVID relief legislation that needed only 50 votes to pass through the reconciliation process. Conservative Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin signaled he would support at least an $11 minimum wage. And yet, the compromise between a $15 minimum wage proposal and an $11 minimum wage proposal ended up being no minimum wage increase at all. How did that happen? Thank you for subscribing. Leave a comment or share this episode.
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    51 mins