With the help of Jane Mayer's essential 2016 book, Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, your hosts explore the world of right-wing philanthropy and the institutions—from centers at universities to think tanks in Washington, DC—it has funded. What emerges is a startling history of how a small group of incredibly rich families used novel techniques to shelter their wealth from taxation and fund a right-wing takeover of American politics.
Other sources cited and consulted:

Theda Skocpol, "Who Owns the GOP?" (a critical review of Mayer in Dissent)
Theda Skocpol and Vanessa Williamson, The Tea Party and the Remaking of Republican Conservatism
Amanda Hollis-Brusky and Calvin Terbeek, "The Federalist Society Says It’s Not an Advocacy Organization. These Documents Show Otherwise." Politico
Mark Schmidt "The Legend of the Powell Memo," The American Prospect
Honoré de Balzac, Eugénie Grandet (1833)