LEVER TIME: Who Fact Checks The Fact Checkers? (We Do)

David Sirota -

This week, The Lever broke a story that brought critical attention to failings of the Washington Post’s fact checking. Senior editor and reporter Andrew Perez fact checked the Post’s widely shared Fact Checker column questioning a news report about a 10-year-old child who was raped and had to travel from Ohio to Indiana for an abortion. This faulty WaPo article was weaponized by anti-abortion activists and right-wing pundits at a crucial moment, after the Supreme Court invalidated federal protections for abortion rights. So setting the record straight in this instance could not be more important. Andrew joins us on this week's Lever Time podcast to discuss his investigative reporting, which ultimately led to the WaPo issuing a correction. This segment begins at 2:10.

In addition:

  • Julia Rock interviews technology procurement expert Hassan Khan about the recently passed CHIPS Act and what it means for domestic semiconductor manufacturing and the tech giants who will benefit from it. This segment begins at 17:25.
  • David sits down with Stacey Walker, the first African-American elected to the Linn County Board of Supervisors in Iowa, to discuss Walker’s experience governing as a progressive Democrat in a red state during the Trump era. This segment begins at 40:45.

Click here for a rough transcript of the episode.

Click here to find Lever Time on your preferred podcast player:

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Google Podcasts

iHeartRadio

Amazon Music

Stitcher

Overcast

Pocket Casts

BONUS: Lever Time Premium (the extended version of Lever Time which is exclusively available for supporting subscribers) features the best moments from our most recent episode of Lever Live, in which David and special guest and climate writer Kate Aronoff discussed, “where does the climate movement go from here?” after Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. This segment begins at 1:07:45.

To get access to Lever Time Premium and all of its bonus content, go here.

If you like this episode, feel free to pitch into the tip jar — it helps us do this kind of reporting:

PITCH IN TO OUR TIP JAR

We hope you enjoy our weekly podcast — it’s the next step in our plan to build a powerful independent voice to take on corporate media.