Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Expertly-curated progressive politics, news, and culture produced by leftist humans, not algorithms or AI. This is an award-winning podcast that dives deeply into a wide range of national and international issues facing society and governments. We draw from hundreds of sources of progressive news and commentary. Est. 2006. Save time by listening to a range of perspectives on a focused topic in each episode and be introduced to new sources you will not have come across on your own!
Episodes
Air Date 7/26/2024
It's clear where the vast majority of violent rhetoric is coming from in the country and it's clear which party is a cult of personality and which puts country before personal power. This is the state of play in our politics.
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Original Air Date: 11/15/2022
Today, we take a look at our extremely steady history of political violence from the Revolution, through the Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow, into the Civil Rights era, the Militia Movement and domestic terrorism, and now to our current once-again-radicalized, right-wing movement willing to use and tacitly condone violence as a political tactic.
Air 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...
Air Date 7/20/2024
Extremism comes in many forms and we live in an era in which way too many of them are on display simultaneously, but it's not coincidence. The far right has been working toward an extremist Supreme Court for decades. Christian Nationalists have similarly been trying to impose their rigid view of far-right Christianity on the rest of us for a very long time. The far-right Heritage Found...
Air Date 7/17/2024
Recent elections in the UK, France and Mexico spanned the spectrum from confirming inevitabilities to completely upending expectations but they each have lessons for politics in the US
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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
Air Date 7/12/2024
From solar scams to controversial congestion pricing and the smart grid that's needed to connect it all, we look at the messy and difficult path to a low-carbon future.
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Original Air Date: 2/5/2019
Today we take a look at the history of FDR's "Four Freedoms" and "Economic Bill of Rights" that laid the groundwork for the fight for economic freedom for all that continues to this day.
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Air 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
The Baffling Disaster Unfolding at the Washington Post
Air Date 7/5/2024
China is an undeniable force in the world relating to several major political issues and to address their influence without a deep understanding of the history, context, and current dynamics would be to invite 100 years of humiliation.
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Air Date 7/2/2024
Border security around the world continues to take turns for the dark and dystopian as right-wing sentiment against migrants and refugees continues to escalate to the extreme.
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Air Date 7/2/2024
Border security around the world ...
Air 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 h...
Air Date 6/28/2024
AI, like all new technologies, won't be all good or all bad. In fact, my favorite understanding of emerging technologies is that they often bring simultaneous utopia and dystopia, though many tend to focus on the benefits while only discovering the drawbacks later.
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Original Air Date: 10/23/2023
The people who want to pull the country in directions that are only supported by a small minority of the population have to develop very intricate plans to have any hope of succeeding. This is the story of the latest plan to establish unchecked rule to implement unpopular policies supported only by the far right.
Air Date: 6-23-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- The Kidult trend in depth (since we had to cut it short last time)
- A right-wing attempt at a puppet-based kids show to draw in young viewers early
- How Nanalan' - a kids puppet show from the 90s - is helping some Millennials with reparenting
REFERENCES:
Adults Are Spending Big on Toys and Stuffed Animals—for Themselves
Air Date 6/21/2024
The European elections could have been worse but they weren't great. Shifting politics among mainstream parties is legitimizing far-right policies at the same time as people's concerns over immigration is being reflected in a willingness to vote for far-right parties.
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Original Air Date: 12/11/2021
Today we take a look at the many structures of American government that tilt to favor minority rule and conservatism which, in our case, is one and the same. Some structures like the Senate and the filibuster were intentionally designed to give extra weight to the minority while others like gerrymandering and the influence of large-dollar political donors were, well, I suppo...
Air Date: 6-16-24
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss:
- The importance of unsupervised playtime for children and why it's disappearing
- The roots and consequences of over-scheduling kids and why it's so hard to cut back
- The rise of the "Kidult"
REFERENCES:
Parents: Keep Out! - Hidden Brain
The Fine Art of Underscheduling
Adults Are Spending Big on Toys and Stuffed Animals— For Themselves
Air Date 6/14/2024
We're in the middle of Supreme Court opinion season, which is not going well for non-extreme conservatives in the country, at the same time as scandal, corruption, and justices Thomas and Alito's refusal to recuse in the face of clear bias is reaching a modern peak.
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...Air Date 6/11/2024
Democracies don't break all of a sudden in a moment of crisis, they fail slowly over time and only by knowing the warning signs and responding effectively to the threat before it's too late can the worst be averted.
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