A new podcast by Steve Lewis · September 2026
ManufacturedProgress
Built for people who noticed that the biggest "progressive" platforms aren't progressive.
Sharp, funny interviews with the experts doing the actual work. Steve sits down with the boldest progressive minds in the field — movement strategists on ballot wins and primary challenges · healthcare advocates on Medicare for All · tech & labor organizers on AI · climate policy experts on what coastal media misses · psychologists on gender, identity, and the manosphere — cutting through the comfortable consensus that lets brand-safe centrism pass for progress.
About the Show
Manufactured Progress is a biweekly interview podcast and Substack newsletter. Steve Lewis sits down with domain experts on the issues "progressive" media tends to flatten into soundbites: Medicare for All, corporate greed, Indigenous sovereignty, reproductive freedom, workers versus the billionaire class, and what the Democratic establishment actually does versus what it says. The conversations are sharp, funny, and built to outlast the news cycle.
The show launches in September 2026, with 12 to 14 episodes rolling out biweekly, including flagship episodes, deep-dive interviews, and evergreen content designed to hold up long past release.
Coming This Fall
What we're covering
Each episode follows the real story: what's actually at stake, who's doing the work, and where the comfortable narrative falls short.
Movement Wins the Party Won't Defend
Progressives keep winning. Ballot measures, primary challenges, grassroots campaigns. The party establishment keeps trying to slow them down. We get into why.
Who Owns the Boom
Your writing, your art, your data, your labor. AI was trained on all of it. The companies that scraped it are worth trillions, the workers it's replacing get severance, and Bernie Sanders is asking the only interesting question: where's your cut?
Corporate Allyship from the Inside
The same executives who took a bow for Pride, DEI and Black Lives Matter are signing the layoffs. What "ally" companies actually do when no one is watching.
Same Customer
The manosphere and the "progressive" podcast bros are selling the same product to the same guy in different packaging. What's actually driving the demand, and why the "ally" version fails for the same reasons the alpha version does.
And many more · 12 to 14 episodes, biweekly
For Guests
What a recording looks like
The show is built around your expertise, not around hot takes. Steve Lewis comes prepared. He's done the reading, knows your work, and structures the conversation so you can go deep on what you actually know. No gotcha questions, no debate format, no surprises. You'll get a pre-call and a topic outline before we record. The goal is the best 60 minutes your audience and ours have heard on your topic.
A 90-minute recording, cut to a tight 60-minute episode. Video plus audio, in-studio or remote.
Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Substack newsletter, social clips.
5 to 10 social clips per episode, newsletter to the full subscriber list, show notes with links to your work.
4 seasons of interview hosting. Comes prepared, does the reading, respects your time.
FAQ
What is Manufactured Progress?
A biweekly interview podcast and Substack newsletter hosted by Steve Lewis. Each episode pairs Steve with domain experts on the issues "progressive" media tends to flatten into soundbites, cutting through the comfortable consensus that lets brand-safe centrism pass for progress.
When does it launch?
September 2026, with 12 to 14 episodes rolling out biweekly.
Who is the host?
Steve Lewis. Four seasons of interview hosting. Comes prepared, does the reading, and respects your time.
How can I be a guest?
If you are doing work the comfortable progressive consensus gets wrong, email booking@manufacturedprogress.com.
Launching September 2026
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