Episode 5: State of Emergency | The Kingmakers episode artwork

EPISODE · Aug 11, 2026 · 1H 4M

Episode 5: State of Emergency | The Kingmakers

from Master Plan · host The Lever & David Sirota

September 11, 2001 brought chaos and terror to the United States. It also brought an unprecedented opportunity. After decades of watching what he felt was the erosion of presidential power, Vice President Dick Cheney leveraged a national emergency to shift the balance of power toward the executive branch. We trace Cheney's evolution — from Gerald Ford's chief of staff to George W. Bush's right-hand man — and how his "monarchical" view of the president laid the groundwork for Donald Trump. TRANSCRIPT & BONUS MATERIALS: Click here to read a transcript and to explore bonus archival 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 levernews.com/upgrade 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

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Aug 11, 2026

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Episode 5: State of Emergency | The Kingmakers

0:00 1:04:22

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

No similar podcasts found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Master Plan?

This episode is 1 hour and 4 minutes long.

When was this Master Plan episode published?

This episode was published on August 11, 2026.

Can I download this Master Plan episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!