Shows
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyThe Gun Debate Is Less of a Debate Than We Think (Throwback)Publish Date: 10/22/2026 Original Air Date: 4/6/2018 Today we look back to the spring of 2018, when a conservative listener called in looking for common ground on guns and we answered her point by point: the research on defensive gun use, who gets to be the good guy with a gun, what the Second Amendment was written to do, and the policies most Americans, gun owners included, already support. After the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary in Bend, Oregon, every one of those questions is back. Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice...
2026-10-201h 05
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyMore Reasons Than You Should Need to Oppose the Death Penalty (Throwback)Publish Date: 10-11-2026 Original Air Date: 9-16-2014 Today we dig through the archives to give context to the news that the Pentagon plans to execute the Fort Hood shooter by firing squad, the first U.S. military execution in more than 60 years. Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Death Penalty - @LastWeekTonight with John Oliver - Air Date 5-4-14 Ch. 2: Americans Back Death Penalty, Whether...
2026-10-1054 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyThe Next Gilded Age: AI Doomsday and the Insatiable Business Model https://www.bestoftheleft.com/1824Air Date: 9/26/2026 Today we explore the layers of chaos surrounding the AI industry, including the idealistic nerds-turned-nazis, the grift, bubble, and doom-marketing business model, and what people are doing to fight back. Full Show Notes Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Everything in one place! (Support, contact, follow, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: Do Silicon Valley Billionaires Want to End Democracy? - Political Breakdown - Air Date 8-14-26 KP 2: The AI Bubble Is Bigger And More Dangerous Than...
2026-09-273h 51
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy#1434 Confronting Climate Chaos Through Time (Throwback)Publish Date: 8-5-2026 Original Air Date: 8–13-2021 Today we dig through the archives to give context to the news of the 2021 IPCC report ringing the alarm bells for the climate crisis. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Jo...
2026-08-051h 06
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBoomcession: Why the Economy Looks Great on Paper and Hurts in Real Life Air Date: 05-06-2026 Today we examine how the U.S. war on Iran is producing an economic crisis with echoes of the 1970s stagflation era which explains why Trump is now less popular on inflation than Jimmy Carter. We'll also be exploring various element of the structure of our economy, including how GDP became a deeply misleading measure of welfare, why consumer spending increasingly goes toward things people don't want to buy, and how gambling and junk fees are literally counted as economic growth. Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SO...
2026-05-063h 13
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyMonthly-ish Mix: The America That Almost Was—Empire Abroad, Control at Home, and the Long Arc of ResistanceAir Date: 05/01/2026 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we open with Jesse Jackson's death as a reckoning with the multiracial coalition America chose not to build, trace the American playbook from the 1953 Iran coup to Cuba to the current war on Iran, examine how the same logic of control operates at home through AI monopolies, sports money, and captured courts, and close with the religious and labor traditions that have always driven change — plus Orbán's defeat in Hungary as proof that authoritarian projects don't last...
2026-05-014h 37
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyDefeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook WorldwideAir Date: 4/24/2026 Today we explore how Viktor Orban spent 16 years transforming Hungary into a blueprint for 21st-century autocracy, how that blueprint traveled directly to the United States and what Hungary's stunning defeat of Orban can teach Americans about fighting back against authoritarianism. Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord...
2026-04-242h 26
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyOur Longest War Has Been a Lie All Along (The Afghanistan Papers) (Throwback)Re-Air Date: 4-21-2026 Original Air Date: 1–18-2020 Today we take a look at The Afghanistan Papers which reveal in stark detail much of what the anti-war movement has known or strongly suspected since the beginning. Going beyond the scope of The Pentagon Papers of the Vietnam War era, The Afghanistan Papers feature interviews and documentation from top-ranking officials admitting from the start that they had no idea what they were doing in Afghanistan. Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Ja...
2026-04-211h 03
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyWho Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who DecidesAir Date: 4/14/2026 Today we examine the legal battles shaking the foundations of American citizenship and voting rights as Trump's legal team uses the courts as a weapon against democratic participation — and how advocates are fighting back. We'll hear about the three-D playbook of deceive, disrupt, and deny used by authoritarians and being deployed by Trump ahead of the midterms, and what ordinary people can do right now to protect their votes before November. Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com...
2026-04-142h 39
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyCuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime ChangeAir Date: 4/3/2026 Today we examine how decades of U.S. policy toward Cuba set the stage for the current crisis, we explore the human cost of the U.S. oil blockade on Cuba's 11 million people, and how the U.S. justifies an illegal siege while claiming to act in Cuba's interest using time-tested propaganda tactics. Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft...
2026-04-033h 07
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyYour Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American SportsAir Date: 3–31-2026 Today we examine how money and power have captured American sports from every angle — gambling platforms operating as unregulated casinos, private equity turning franchises into financial assets, leagues suppressing player pay while selling access to politicians, and a sports media apparatus too compromised to report any of it. It's almost all the problems with America on display in one industry. Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new...
2026-04-013h 49
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyAmerica, A Beginner's Guide (Throwback)Original Air Date: 7/4/2022 Today, for this milestone episode, I attempted to squeeze in as many clever and interesting ideas as I could and ended up writing a starter guide to understand the United States. Plus, there are jingles! Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! In honor of our 20th birthday, we're giving new Members 20% OFF FOR THE L...
2025-12-241h 29
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyWhy Dictators Are Lunatics and Their Followers are FoolsAir Date 12/22/2025 It's said that mockery is one of the most effective weapons against dictators. I guess it depends on your goal, but still, there's truth there. And the good thing in that regard is that they are so very mockable. No really nice, likable, non-clownish people make themselves dictators and so the people who do are, without exception, absolutely ridiculous lunatics who deserve all the mockery and disdain in the world. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or...
2025-12-223h 31
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyWhy you think the Sudanese civil war doesn't involve youAir Date 12/14/2025 The sad ease with which we manage to ignore some atrocities, even while paying much attention to others, has to do with how visible or invisible to us the systems are that are propping up those events. Nothing happens in a vacuum and in our world, if you're willing to dig deep enough, you'll always find how we're all connected - across both time and geography. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
2025-12-172h 47
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyLife is But a Game (that you can now bet on)Air Date 12/14/2025 Albert Einstein said, "Life is just like a game, first you have to learn rules of the game, and then play it better then any one else." (Or just get some insider knowledge about which team is paid off to lose and bet on the game rather than playing it, am I right?) Now, while it's well known that sports gambling has great potential to corrupt the game, I'm sure being able to bet on literally anything in life all the time right from your phone with billionaires funding persuasion campaigns to convince you to...
2025-12-143h 13
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyWar Criminal Dick Cheney's Guide to Ethical Governance and Saving DemocracyAir Date 12/10/2025 Dick Cheney used to be thought of as Darth Vader but did he have an end-of-life conversion back to the light side of the force? No, he was bad all along and only thought Trump was worse. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use o...
2025-12-102h 59
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyOur Prison System is a Demonstrable Failure (Throwback)Original Air Date: 1-23-2024 The recent discovery of hundreds of bodies buried behind a jail in unmarked graves sparks a renewed discussion about the futility and counter-productiveness of our system of incarceration and the context of our history that has brought us to this point. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get...
2025-12-061h 02
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyAffordability: Actual Economic Populism is the Kryptonite to Fake PopulismAir Date 12/2/2025 If you need more evidence for just how far from rationality our politics have slid in recent decades, Zorhan Mamdani is seen by many as a radical for mostly just saying that people should be able to afford to buy the things they need to live. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support...
2025-12-022h 53
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyPolice violence and racism are a product of our past (Uprising, Crackdown, Authoritarianism) (Throwback)Original Air Date: 6–22-2020 Today we take a look at the history of racist policing which flows seamlessly into our present racist policing which itself flows into Trump's authoritarian glee at the opportunity to consolidate violent, racist power in response to protests against violent, racist power. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bo...
2025-11-282h 30
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyThe Epstein Files and Donald Trump, Our Predator-in-ChiefAir Date 11/25/2025 We live in a world awash with baseless conspiracy theories but that doesn't mean there are no true conspiracies, as exemplified by Jeffrey Epstein. But it bears repeating, that we didn't need the exposure of a massive conspiracy to know that Donald Trump was a sexual predator because he said as much on tape before he was elected the first time in 2016. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show...
2025-11-252h 38
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyWhat the Shutdown and Weaponized Hunger Exposed About Our Asymmetric MoralityAir Date 11/21/2025 In an ethical political system, being willing to break the law in order to starve people amid a political dispute wouldn't be a source of greater leverage and power but it is in ours and the shutdown put the wildly different senses of ethics between the parties on full display. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
2025-11-213h 59
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyReigniting the Nuclear Arms Race: Fat Man, Little Boy, and Donald TrumpAir Date 11/7/2025 The most dangerous part of nuclear weapons has always been the people in charge of them. As we potentially enter a new arms race, some of the worst people in the world are in charge of the vast majority of nuclear weapons. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows +...
2025-11-143h 24
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyMonthly-ish Mix: Institutions Fall, Reality Breaks, Empire RisesAir Date: 11/11/25 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we examine how power is being quietly consolidated across institutions, how propaganda and AI are reshaping our sense of reality, and how division and fear are fueling both domestic repression and global aggression. From the Supreme Court to state media manipulation, from dismantled voting rights to foreign influence campaigns, we trace the machinery of authoritarian control—and spotlight the journalists, educators, and activists still pushing back to keep truth and democracy alive. Be part of the...
2025-11-113h 47
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy#1750 "America's Backyard" - The War on Terror Meets the War on DrugsAir Date 11/7/2025 The United States claiming a divine (and imperialist) right to tamper in the politics of South American countries is nothing new. As is so often the case with Trump, the biggest difference is that he's doing proudly and in the open what used to be done only shamefully and in secret. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
2025-11-073h 05
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyDemocracy: In Theory, In Practice, and Under ThreatAir Date 11/4/2025 Elections are always coming up, some sooner than others, so we thought we would take a look at the state of our democracy and what we must do to maintain it in the face of the greatest direct assault on our institutions we've seen in our 250 year history. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft...
2025-11-043h 02
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyPatriotism in Peril: Democracy, the Military, and the Fight Over What America MeansAir Date 11/02/2025 A lot of people on the left aren't feeling the love for their country right now and that's understandable but we have some thoughts on more productive ways to channel those conflicting feelings toward a country that is currently falling far short of living up to its founding ideals. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! ...
2025-11-023h 41
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyRacism in the United States, it turns out, is a problemAir Date 10/28/2025 As we were looking for episode topics, I came across an article making the case that racism is a real problem in the country and that there were lots of recent examples that proved the point. And I was like, "Racism? In the US?! In Trump's Republican Party?? That doesn't sound like the country I've heard of." (sarcasm) But then we looked into it and it turns out racism is everywhere and also quite bad. (true) Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on...
2025-10-293h 10
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyWhat an actual attack on free speech looks likeAir Date 10/25/2025 Trump's attacks on free speech, particularly with the use of the Federal Communications Commission, goes far beyond the Jimmy Kimmel story. We're in the middle of an all-out assault on freedom of speech, a free and unbiased press, and freedom of association. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + N...
2025-10-253h 12
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyFake New World: The Age of AI Slop, AI Education, and AI FascismAir Date 10/19/2025 Robber Barons™ of The Gilded Age™ told themselves stories about how they were ushering in progress for all which is why, they argued, they shouldn't be constrained by things like safety regulations or worker unions - impoverishing millions while injuring and killing thousands in the process. It took a stock market crash, the Great Depression, WWII, and The New Deal to finally wrench the power away and redistribute it for the sake of building a middle class that could work in relative safety in the US. Today's Robber Barrons™ ushering in techno-feudalism under the banner of AI...
2025-10-204h 18
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracySell Outs, Shills, and Scandals: Saudi Arabia and Israel are buying the credibility they can't earn honestlyAir Date 10/15/2025 It's said that money can't buy a variety of things like peace, happiness, loyalty, and, relevant for today; integrity and trust. But in a world in which impressions (a very multilayered word, in this case) can be bought and sold on the open market and an audience's loyalty to influencers, entertainers, and athletes can be leveraged in an attempt to transfer the credibility from the talented to the tyrannical... you better believe places like Saudi Arabia and Israel are going to try. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text...
2025-10-152h 36
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyTrump and Project 2025: Blitzkrieg Against AmericaAir Date 10/10/2025 The strategy that Trump and the masterminds behind Project 2025 are following is to move as fast as possible to implement their agenda because they know perfectly well how unpopular it is and will be as time goes on. It's hard to argue that anything good will come of this but I'm going to try during my comments anyway. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check...
2025-10-103h 15
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyThe Charlie Kirk Assassination and the Plans to Weaponize ItAir Date 9/23/2025 All that is happening in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination was quite predictable because we've actually seen this game plan play out before. The only thing we didn't know was what would be the catalyst to really put the autocracy into high gear. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members G...
2025-09-233h 29
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyNot the Opposition Party the Country Need Right NowAir Date 9/11/2025 I've always learned the high-level understanding that the Nazis were partly able to come to power because the opposition at the time was too caught up with infighting to create a coherent resistance. With hindsight, it's easy to lament how badly they miscalculated the circumstances but living through the modern day and watching the Democratic Party struggle gives even more clarity to how that kind of inability to get organized in the face of existential threats to democracy can happen. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999...
2025-09-113h 38
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyHow to Sell an Immoral Economic System to the Masses (Throwback)Air Date: 6–20-2023 Today, we take a look at the story of how neoliberalism was born, how corporations were organized to help push it into the mainstream, and how the courts were reshaped to permanently tilt the rules in favor of corporate power. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ad...
2025-09-031h 03
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyIt's Never Just About the Kids (Online Censorship, Age Verification, and the Project 2025 Agenda)Air Date 8/24/2025 The nature of politics and public policy is that there's always a need to balance opposing interests. Almost nowhere is there a more intractable set of opposing interests than in the attempt to protect children from harmful content on the internet while maintaining free access to adults, particularly because people wildly disagree about what qualifies as harmful and what degree of privacy invasion is an acceptable tradeoff. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft...
2025-08-242h 53
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyThe Axis of the Dark Personality Triad: Unfit Leaders and the Suffering They CauseAir Date 8/16/2025 There's the old Douglas Adams quote stating that, "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job" which is a good general rule to live by. But then there are the real baddies, those would-be leaders who possess one or more of the dark triad of traits that spells real doom for the societies that elevate them to power: narcissism, psychopathy, and machiavellianism. Today we compare and contrast Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu. Xi Jinping also fits nicely on this list as an...
2025-08-163h 52
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyConfronting Climate Chaos with Action and Adaptation (Throwback)Original Air Date: 7–22-2023 Today, we take a look at the action needed to curb and adapt to the extreme weather that climate change is already delivering Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Cli...
2025-08-031h 07
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy#1376 Tell Stories, Not Myths- America is a Force But Not Always For Good (Throwback)Original Air Date: 10-21-20 Today we take a look at some of the many zany foreign misadventures the United States has had over the past 100 years. And by "zany misadventures" I mean the naked pursuit of capitalism at any cost, the support of military coups and other undemocratic overthrows of foreign governments and wars for oil and resources in an unabashed attempt to keep America wealthy and the rest of the world less so - all while maintaining an anti-imperial, pro-democracy, pro-freedom, live-and-let-live poker face Be part of the show! Leave us a message...
2025-07-041h 01
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBuilding an Organized Left, the Eternal OxymoronAir Date 7/2/2025 The militarization of Trump's deportation regime and response to protesters is the clearest example of his desire to implement a fully authoritarian government. Pure and simple. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS ...
2025-07-024h 01
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyMonthly-Ish Mix: Wealth Concentration, Knowledge Suppression, and Identity Exploitation: The Systems of Control of the Authoritarian PlaybookAir Date 6/21/2025 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month, we're focusing on the way authoritarian movements operate across multiple fronts simultaneously to reshape society. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil boo...
2025-06-213h 11
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyNew Tech and the New Luddite Movement; Inequitable Distribution of Benefits from New Technology Always Sparks Demands from Labor and AI is Rekindling the Old Arguments (Throwback)Original Air Date: 2-20-2024 "Luddite" should never have become the epithet that it is as the Luddites were never afraid of or opposed to technological advancement, they only opposed the exploitation of workers and the degradation to society that came with the unfair distribution of the benefits of the targeted technology. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on...
2025-06-1358 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracySOLVED! - Culture War Distractions While the Oligarchs Rob You BlindAir Date: 6-8-25 BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: The right's attack on free speech and academic freedom Trumponomics, men, and tradwives The lessons to learn about culture wars from the fight for gay marriage How the internet and Trump force us to live in and re-litigate the past How the left can avoid Trump's culture war traps FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube
2025-06-1024 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyEugenics Redux: A Gilded Age Ideology Brought Back for the Second Gilded AgeAir Date 5/27/2025 Slippery slope arguments persist because good ideas taken to extremes become bad ones. Eugenics exemplifies this—often starting with good intentions. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: The movement that inspired the Holocaust - Alexandra Minna Stern and Natalie Lira - TED-Ed - Air Date 3-10-22 KP 2: MAHA's So...
2025-05-273h 25
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyTariffied: Exposing Trump's Artless DealAir Date 4/29/2025 The economic and political fallout of Trump's misguided tariffs, exposing his self-proclaimed deal-making prowess as a fraud and his grasp of the relevant issues to be childlike at best. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! ...
2025-04-293h 18
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyIsraeli right-wing politics has lead to some strange, fascist bedfellows (Throwback)Original Air Date: 3/5/2019 From 2019: Today we take a look at how the illiberalism of the Israeli government has alienated the vast majority of democratic nations and individuals who support human rights, leaving the country with some of the most far-right, fascist, white-supremacist, anti-Semitic people in the world as their only remaining allies. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop...
2025-04-081h 02
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition - SOLVED! Prophetic Voices from the Past and Hope for the FutureAir Date: 3–9-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The Founding Fathers' prophetic concerns that we don't ever talk about - FDR VP Harry Wallace's op-ed on American fascism from 1944 - Philosopher Richard Rorty's chilling predictions from 1998 - A few reasons - with caveats - why U.S. Democracy might make it through Trump 2.0 - Some hope and advice from a country that recently defeated their authoritarian regime BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)...
2025-03-0932 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyHome Is Where The Hardship Is (Housing Crisis Throwback)Original Air Date: 615/2022 The many reasons why we are experiencing a housing crisis in the US and beyond but it mostly comes down to treating housing as a commodity to be profited from rather than a basic human need or, if you're feeling radical, a basic human right. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro...
2025-02-281h 07
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition - SOLVED! Bullying the Biggest LosersAir Date: 2-16-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Why we may be forced to bring back bullying - The impact of algorithms and what we can do about it - Democrats and the meaning of 'the medium is the message' - The unbelievable stupidity of techbro dweebs and their followers - The sociopathic reasons why Musk is doing this Not a member? BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) FO...
2025-02-1620 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyOligarchy Unmasked: Why Billionaires Hate Democracy and How They're Dismantling ItAir Date 2/11/2025 The very rich, as has been noted before, are not on the side of regular people. And even if you think that the federal government needs a major reboot, no one but the ultra-wealthy are going to be happy with what they build in the aftermath of the administrative coup currently underway. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links...
2025-02-113h 00
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition - SOLVED! Demystifying Our RealityAir Date: 2-10-25 Today, Jay! and Amanda (Deon and Erin were sick) discuss: - Why you should be using an RSS reader - The danger of Mystification as humans try to cope - Musk and Trump's flagrant law breaking - What Dems and you can do, with some tips from our own experience FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e REFERENCES: You sh...
2025-02-1014 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition - SOLVED! Good Advice in Bad TimesAir Date: 2-2-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - How the resistance is transforming, not over - What actually worked when resisting Trump's first term - A curation of good advice on being effective and staying sane this time around FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e REFERENCES: Goodbye, 'Resistance.' The Era of Hyperpolitics Is Over. How to T...
2025-02-0327 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition - SOLVED! Collaborators, Internal Exiles, and DissidentsAir Date: 1-26-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - The mindset of collaborators - Why many people turn inward and drop out - at their own risk - under authoritarianism - The nature of true dissidents and what we can learn from them FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e REFERENCES: History Will Judge the Complicit The Desire to T...
2025-01-2622 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition #333 - This is What Democracy (Actually) Looks LikeAir Date: 1-20-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - Our new show name! - Getting over hurdles to find and form local community as a form of resistance and preparation - The study groups teachers are forming to teach and learn real history - How Citizen Assemblies could transform American politics for the better FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e REFERENCES:
2025-01-2021 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyLooking Back to Trump 1.0 (Remix)Air Date: 1/11/2025 Today, we look back to the warnings we gave ourselves at the beginning of the first Trump administration. In 2017 there was concern about corruption and his business dealings, ethics around his nominees, and the inability of the media to cover him properly. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book...
2025-01-111h 08
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: Transgressive Thoughts in a Villain EraAir Date: 1-6-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - Why people love villains - How plutocracy kills - Why the path forward is through membership organizations FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e REFERENCES: The Year Villainy Won Plutocracy Kills Democracy Is Not a Customer Loyalty Program Join our Discord Server L...
2025-01-0620 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: The Realignment Will Make You SeasickLOOKING FOR HOLIDAY GIFTS? bestoftheleft.com/holiday Air Date: 12-23-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was again missed) discuss: - The Realignment of the right-wing toward economic populism and government programs - The need for a different kind of government efficiency than DOGE is offering - The future of the left working to fix government FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pe...
2024-12-2321 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: Rebuilding the VillageGive the gift of membership! (Standard or Patreon) Air Date: 12-15-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was missed) discuss: - Why many people want a village, but most don't act like they do - Some proposed solutions to loneliness and building community - How politicians on both sides lack vision on how to improve peoples lives FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e
2024-12-1523 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition #329 - This Is Really HappeningAir Date: 12-12-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - What the orcas are up to - Confronting the truth about eating meat - How to not let grief destroy leftist movements - Living a better life by accepting our own mortality FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e REFERENCES: Confessions of a Former Carnivore For Our Movements to Win...
2024-12-1219 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: The Truth Shall Set Us FreeSign Up or Manage Your Membership Air Date: 12-6-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The political origins of SimCity and how capitalism warps our choices - A new video game offering a very different vision of societal management - Naomi Klein's insights on the Left's missteps responding to the Mirror World - Applying cynicism and skepticism in moderation FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bestoftheleft.bsky.social Mastadon: https://mastodon.social/@bestoftheleft@mstdn.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bestoftheleft/ F...
2024-12-0622 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: You Say You Want a RevolutionAir Date: 11-24-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Erin discuss: - A few sort of fun-ish news things because it's very necessary right now - A clear-eyed but concise take on why people voted the way they did - Why the hard right political philosophy and their lies are catching on, and what the left can do to stop the appeal FOLLOW US ON: Bluesky Mastadon Instagram Facebook YouTube Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e
2024-11-2417 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition - Marketing: The Dirty Public Restroom of the InternetAir Date: 10-31-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How neoliberalism is fucking up renewable energy transitions - Marketing and why the viral Stanley Cup never should have gone viral - How big tech is heavily surveilling school kids without any oversight - How the fossil fuel industry has infiltrated higher education BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) REFERENCES: Germany's Green Transition Is Faltering This $23 Stanley Cup Accessory Fixes Your Biggest Complaint About the Tumbler H...
2024-10-3120 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thingBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 10-20-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Yet another GOP animal abuse horror - Why weather machine conspiracy theories took off so easily - The questionable UAE organization trying to control rain with cloud seeding - Why more extreme weather isn't swaying certain voters on climate change - Talking about climate change through a patriotic lens - Bonus Segment: The surprising origins of Don't Mess with Texas REFERENCES: New...
2024-10-2021 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: The Mess Joe MadeBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 10-14-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - A member voicemail about autopilot cars - Some call backs, including JD Vance being unsurprisingly weird with his dog - The frustrating shift in the Kamala Harris campaign - Biden's continuous blundering of Israel's war on Gaza - The historical precedent for Harris to depart from Biden on Israel war policy ASAP REFERENCES: Finally, The New York Times Is Getting Real About Trump's M...
2024-10-1419 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Solving AntisemitismBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 10-7-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The Today Show's take on viral phenom Moo Deng - The GOP's obsession with killing animals - How the media made a mess of Rashida Tlaib's comments and missed the key point - How some Nazi language is infiltrating left wing spaces & what to do about it - How to solve antisemitism REFERENCES: Meet Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo taking the internet...
2024-10-0721 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Things That Go VroomBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 9-29-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Why Cards Against Humanity is fighting Elon Musk - How car-related deaths have soared in the US - How partial automation tech in cars is making driving more dangerous - Why truck bloat(or C.O.U.S.s, if you prefer)is deadly - Surveillance CARpitalism that will blow your mind - The electric school bus fleets sweeping the nation - The fratzonic...
2024-09-2918 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Beauty is Truth, Truth BeautyBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 9-23-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Musk's latest - J.D. Vance's war on truth and brown people - The super villains who spread lies - Sane Washing Trump - Correcting the Left - Right-wing lies as a matter of course REFERENCES: Musk Claims 'Joke' About Assassinating Harris Was Funnier in Person J.D. Vance's War on American Life Starts in Springfield JD Vance...
2024-09-2320 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Calculated MiseryAir Date: 9-19-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - the fallout from the debate, Trump's lies, and how his incoherence is being sanitized - The inadequacy of workplace protections, even in unionized shops - how worker stress and consumer misery are actually features, not bugs - the hope of Philosopher Obama and Trump's Power of Positivity® - people's need to feel like they're getting their money's worth at the expense of all else REFERENCES: UPS Drivers Won "Historic Heat Protections." They Say the Company Hasn't Lived Up to...
2024-09-1814 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: If you can't stand the heat, someone will profit from your miseryBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 9-8-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - labor unions fighting for time off when it's too hot - cooling tech - electric trains - and the corporations running our national parks into the ground REFERENCES: Greek Unions Want Paid Time Off When It's Too Hot to Work To keep workers going in the heat, companies try fledgling cooling tech Please Do Not Make Fun of My...
2024-09-0819 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Staring Unblinkingly Into the FutureAir Date: 9-1-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The ever-stranger headlines about RFK Jr. ...and dead animals - The political philosophies and missteps behind unipolar, bipolar or multipolar world views - The dogmatic history of the American Communist Party - The deeper reasons having kids is on the decline - The impacts of our bizarre online world on kids and teens REFERENCES: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Admits He Falls for Online Misinformation "All the Time" RFK Jr. Whale-Beheading Story Gives RFK Jr. Bear-Murder Story a...
2024-09-0116 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Don't Forget the Philosophers (AI in our politics, art, and humanity)Air Date: 8-19-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How we likely all have COVID and can't believe we did a Bonus Show - The bizarre ways AI is already part of our political systems - Strong feelings on AI-generated art in a hyper-capitalist world - The ups, downs and side effects of so-called AI friends - AI in our love lives (P.S. Audiophiles Beware: We had some technical difficulties, so this show may sound a little strange in spots.) REFERENCES: RFK Jr. Doubles...
2024-08-1917 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: How are you gonna fix that garden?!BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 8-11-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - Understanding the New Right - JD Vance's mangled metaphor - The best headline about RFK Jr. - Where the anti-trans movement has taken us - What Star War controversies through the years can teach us REFERENCES: Watch: J.D. Vance Makes an Unfortunate Couch Joke at Nevada Rally This Is Why J.D. Vance Hates "Childless Cat Ladies" How...
2024-08-1118 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: You Do You, You WeirdosBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 8-4-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The use of strategic ambiguity as a way to ensure everyone hears what they want to hear - How weird Republicans are now - How the joke about JD Vance having sex with a couch is viewed as plausible because his inability to deal with generational trauma has made him a bizarre person - How the right's bigotry runs so deep, they can't escape it even when...
2024-08-0416 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: The Lesson of The GrinchBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 7-29-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - All of our hope-y, fearful feelings about this political moment - The sexist, racist insults already being hurled at Harris - The perceived threat of a woman's laugh - Men's deep-seeded struggle with masculinity REFERENCES: Trump campaign finally reveals why ex president continues to profess love for Hannibal Lecter in speeches What people mean when they call Kamala Harris a 'DEI...
2024-07-2918 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Consistency When it MattersAir Date: 7-21-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin couldn't join us) discuss: - Deon's hatred of old people - How the media industry's failing state led to ineffective coverage of the Biden age story - Amanda's excellent sports analogy - The factors that have lead to America's worsening gerontocracy REFERENCES: Did the media botch the Biden age story? Jon Stewart Examines Biden's Future Amidst Calls For Him to Drop Out | The Daily Show Inside the Complicated Reality of Being America's Oldest President ...
2024-07-2216 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: In a Dinghy of HopeBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 7-14-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin couldn't join us) discuss: - How we're feeling - The philosophy of liberal patriotism - The positive policies Democrats should be running on to inspire voters - The reckoning the current Democratic Party desperately needs REFERENCES: Liberal Patriotism Is About More Than Flag-Waving How to Beat Trump in a World of Unreason Democrats don't just need a new candidate. They need a...
2024-07-1421 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: Primal Scream of CatharsisAir Date: 7-7-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Some stuff that we planned and A LOT more that we did not. REFERENCES: The Cause That Turned Idealists Into Authoritarian Zealots 'Extreme wealth as power must be regulated': 31-year-old heiress is letting 50 strangers give her $27 million fortune away The Baffling Disaster Unfolding at the Washington Post The Democratic Governor Whose Message Can't Be Beat Best of the Left #1247 The Fight for the Four Freedoms (FDR vs. Libertarianism) The Fight for the...
2024-07-0718 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: The Torment NexusAir Date: 6-30-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - the baffling trend of tech companies using cautionary tales from dystopian fiction as a blueprint for what to create next - how the people who build or champion tools of oppression never think those same tools will inevitably be turned on them - the use of drones as first responders, and the long term effects this has had on the residents - a different perspective on how to think about the end - humanity's seeming inability to think about longterm repercussions o...
2024-06-3014 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: Solved It! Conspiracy Theorists, Comment Sections, and TrumpAir Date: 6-2-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How one MIT study used AI to reduce belief in conspiracy theories - How a new AI tool is attempting to make comments sections less awful - Some advice from Korea's litigious political environment on how to deal with Trump BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) REFERENCES: America's Worst Time Zone Chatbots can persuade conspiracy theorists their view might be wrong The AI That Could Heal a Divided Internet ...
2024-06-0217 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyLooking to avert further tragedy (War on Drugs™) (Throwback)Original Air Date: 5/9/2015 Today we take a look at the continuing failure that is the War on Drugs™ as well as some of the signs of hope that we may be making progress toward shutting it down Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Is Marijuana Harmful to Health? - Healthcare Triage (@HCTriage) - Air Date: 04-19-1...
2024-05-1946 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: At the Carwash: Living in a World Not Built for HumansBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 5-16-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How mega drive-throughs are ruining American towns and cities - Why giant car washes are popping up across the country and what we could have instead - How Tokyo's beautiful public toilets are an inspiration - The impact boring and ugly buildings are having on our mental health REFERENCES: RFK Jr. revealed he had a parasitic brain worm. Here's what to know. S...
2024-05-1718 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyRemix - Protest Crackdown: Power Concedes Nothing Without a Demand and the Response is PredictableAir Date 5/3/2024 A look back at previous coverage of criminalizing protests, weaponizing civility, and violent responses to peaceful dissent. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: The Problem with Civility - On the Media - Air Date 6-30-18 Ch. 2: Criminalizing Protest - @USNewsBeat - Air Date 6-14-18 Ch. 3: Civility as a...
2024-05-031h 14
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample #300 My People are HumansBestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 4-22-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How Israeli citizens and government officials use of the US's settler-colonialist past, westward expansion, and religious fundamentalism to justify their own settler expansion - How the members of the extreme right are put in positions of power within the Israeli government, which is then used to validate the settler's actions - The role racist propaganda and intergenerational trauma play in convincing Israelis of the righteousness of their settler-colonialist actions...
2024-04-2314 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyTo Exist is to Resist: Life and Activism in Occupied Palestine Working Toward Rights and Democracy For All in Israel (Throwback)Original Air Date 2-17-2018 We hear from activists and advocates to get a sense of the life, land, and walls that divide occupied Palestine in the West Bank and Gaza Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! Show Notes Ch. 1: Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr Ch. 2: Amer Zahr on working toward rights and d...
2024-03-0858 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyStrange Bedfellows: Looking at why Ethno-Nationalists Admire Israel and the Violence Inflicted on Gaza (Throwback)Original Air Date 2/7/2018 Looking at Israel from a variety of angles including what they do to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and why White supremacists, of all people, support them Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! Show Notes Ch. 1: Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr Ch. 2: Breaking down Trump's moves on Israel...
2024-03-0547 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyNew Tech and the New Luddite Movement; Inequitable Distribution of Benefits from New Technology Always Sparks Demands from Labor and AI is Rekindling the Old ArgumentsAir Date 2/20/2024 "Luddite" should never have become the epithet that it is as the Luddites were never afraid of or opposed to technological advancement, they only opposed the exploitation of workers and the degradation to society that came with the unfair distribution of the benefits of the targeted technology. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES
2024-02-2059 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Sample: A Cul-de-Sac of IgnoranceAir Date: 2-6-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The impacts of the myth of the model minority - Haley and Ramaswamy Denying America's racism as they both experience and use racism during the Republican primary race BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the full Bonus Shows! + No Ads!) REFERENCES: Vivek Ramaswamy and the lie of the "model minority" Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy Can't Escape GOP Racism Scholars worry Haley and Ramaswamy's race-blindness helps GOP advance "white supremacist worldview" Jake Tapper Confronts Nikki...
2024-02-0611 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyHousing Cannot be a Fundamental Human Right and a Commodity at the Same TimeAir Date 12/23/2023 The housing crisis is at a worse point than at any time in recent history. Solutions are available and require political will to bring into reality but because the problem is now so widespread, we may actually be able to take action that would have been untenable before. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript WINTER SALE! 20% Off Memberships (including Gifts) in December! Join our Discord community! Related Episodes: #1496 Home...
2023-12-241h 04
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyTaming the Beast: AI Regulation Before Human RelegationAir Date 12/20/2023 AI needs to be regulated by governments even though politicians don't understand computers just as the government regulates the manufacture and operation of aircraft even though your average politician doesn't know their ass from an aileron. That's why expert advisory panels are for. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript WINTER SALE! 20% Off Memberships (including Gifts) in December! Join our Discord community! Related Episodes: #1547 Shaping the Future of the Internet
2023-12-2057 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyKiss of Death: Henry Kissinger's Bloody Legacy of IndifferenceAir Date 12/12/2023 Henry Kissinger, it turns out, was actually a pretty good representative of the United States, the foreign policy actions we took, and the reasonings we gave for them over the past century. He embodied the idea that the US is always on the side of right, the world and its inhabitants are merely a game board and pieces for us to manipulate for our own ends, and that lives, particularly foreign lives, lost in pursuit of our interests are not of much concern. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or...
2023-12-1356 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBuilding a positive future by first envisioning it and then designing itAir Date 12/5/2023 It's important to focus on positive visions and not only get stuck in doom cycles of complaining about what's going wrong. So, we're looking at a variety of positive visions including rethinking human nature, reimagining our relationship with consumerism, considering how design can work with nature instead of against it, and understanding why cooperation is better than individualistic competition from an evolutionary point of view. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members...
2023-12-061h 04
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy#TBT Rise of the Oligarchs Like the Ones Taking Clarence Thomas on Trips: From the Libertarians of the Chicago School and the Push for Market Fundamentalism to the Megadonors Pulling the Strings of Politicians Today (Money in Politics) (Throwback)Original Air Date: 12/15/2017 The history and current state of rich people seeking to undermine democratic rule by the people in favor of oligarchy for the rich Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Show Notes Ch. 1: Why The Koch Brothers Despise The Constitution - Majority Report (@MajorityFM) - Air Date: 07-26-17 Ch. 2: Jane Mayer on the Rise of Conservative Orthodoxy - On The Media - Air Date 5-5-17 Ch. 3: The complicated reality of corr...
2023-08-3154 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy#TBT What Drives Trump Conservatives - "Strangers in Their Own Land" (Throwback)Original Air Date 11-1-2016 Today we dive deeply into the world of conservatives as described in the new book "Strangers in their own Land" by Arlie Russel Hochschild in an attempt to understand how some non-deplorable people in the country could be supporting Donald Trump. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! Show Notes Ch. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell...
2023-08-101h 01
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy#TBT Leisure, Desperation or a Reorientation (The Future of Work) (Throwback)BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get 20% Off Membership in July!) Original Air Date: 1/2/2018 Today we take a look at a few different visions of what the future holds for our labor market and some policies we should be putting in place to set the scene for the coming evolution of work Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Show Notes Act 1: The future of work in a world of artificial intelligence - Ideas - Air Date 9-12-17
2023-07-0756 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy#TBT Understanding Authoritarianism (Throwback)Original Air Date 9/15/2017 Today we look at the history and structures of authoritarianism and explore how they relate to the Trump campaign and administration Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Show Notes Act 1: It can't happen here Part 1 - Ideas from the CBC - Air Date 1-17-17 Act 2: Evan McMullin on spotting the dangers of authoritarianism - Primary Concerns from @NewRepublic - Air Date 1-4-17 Act 3: Opposing conservative policies and authoritarianism - Who...
2023-05-1158 min
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyThe Faustian Bargain of Technological Advancement and Societal Degradation (Repost)Original Air Date 1/15/2022 Today we take a look at tradeoffs that are becoming ever more evident between the advancement of mass communication and social media technologies and the ways in which those advancements contribute to the degradation of social cohesion. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Re-musing Ourselves - On the Media - Air Date 3-3-06 The late...
2023-03-021h 01
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyCapitalism doesn't live up to the hypeAir Date 2/14/2023 Today, we take a look at some origins, alternatives and misunderstandings of capitalism from the Dutch East India Company, to Adam Smith and up through the planned obsolescence and marketing that have tricked us all into working far harder than necessary while failing to make us happy. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! OUR AFFILIATE LINKS:
2023-02-151h 07
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyThe election of a lifetime for this yearAir Date 10/26/2022 Today, we take a look at the 2022 election and the political dynamics at play as the GOP continues on its path of ideological anti-democracy and Democrats work to register new voters and get out the vote. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! OUR AFFILIATE LINKS: ExpressVPN.com/BestOfTheLeft GET INTERNET PRIVACY WITH EXPRESS VPN! BestOfTheLeft...
2022-10-261h 07
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyBonus Edition: The Fog of Work (Repost)Original Air Date 4/16/2020 Today, Amanda and I discuss a few of the aspects of life during a pandemic that's causing mental fog and affecting our work. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com MEMBERSHIP (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: We all make mistakes but we're making a lot more of them right now Ch. 2: The Burnout Generation Ch. 3: Survival Mode Ch. 4: Hidden Mental Health Toll of Coronavirus with Alisa Kr...
2022-07-171h 03
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and DemocracyAmerica, A Beginner's GuideAir Date 7/4/2022 Today, for this milestone episode, I attempted to squeeze in as many clever and interesting ideas as I could and ended up writing a starter guide to understand the United States. Plus, there are jingles! Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Political Structures of Our Country Tracking the political eras that proceeded o...
2022-07-041h 27
CiTR -- Radio FreethinkersRFT - Ep 356 - Lanour Coop EditionThis week some web wisdom on unions and the power of coops: - On Wealth and Labor - Progressive Faith Sermons www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gkejN5WSnU - The social and ecological benefits of sharing the load - Economic Update www.bestoftheleft.com/the_social_and_ecological_benefits_of_sharing_the_load_economic_update_w_profwolff - The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizen-less Democracy - Belabored www.bestoftheleft.com/john_nichols_nicholsuprising_the_fight_against_a_jobless_economy_and_a_citizen_less_democracy_belabored_dissentmag - Uber's revolution...
2016-11-011h 00