The Professional Left Podcast with Driftglass and Blue Gal

We dive into the Republican party's latest identity crisis as their own media machine turns on itself. We explore how decades of conspiracy theories and manufactured outrage have created a base that demands their leaders deliver on impossible promises—and what happens when reality finally catches up.

We examine the MAGA movement's relationship with truth, the cult-like devotion that prevents accountability, and how certain...

We're visiting America in the ICU on her 249th birthday, hoping the old girl still has some fight left in her.

A sad day as Trump's disastrous bill passes the House.  We are still fighting.  

This week, we explore the dark matter of American politics - that invisible force that explains why so many voters can't see what's right in front of them. Spoiler alert: it's not really dark at all.

We examine the origin...

Hat tip to John Fetter-Manchin (copyright Driftglass), we're grudgingly back from our beach vacation (okay, we never actually left the Cornfield Resistance) to bring you the political chaos that just won't quit.

This week, we dive into the summer breakup season hitting Washington hard. From senators throwing tantrums and storming out over Trump's latest budget disaster... to billionaire Twitter feuds that read like ce...

We had severe technical difficulties with our audio with Charlie Pierce (thanks for your time, Charlie!) so that interview had to be scrapped.  

But the show must go on!  So this evening we recorded a podcast just the two of us.  

Bluegal's opinion of Republicans has changed. 

Someone FINALLY says, "Liberals were right all along," buuuuut...

Enjoy this more spontaneous-than-usual show.  

Stay in Touch! 

• Email: proleftp...

This week, we examine Trump's pathological relationship with Fox News and how his morning TV viewing sessions led directly to bombing Iran. We trace the disturbing line from Fox pundits praising Israeli strikes to Trump launching his own attacks—strikes that Rolling Stone reports were "based on vibes" rather than intelligence.

We explore how a president who spent years tweeting that Obama would "play the Iran car...

We're back from the Cornfield Resistance with another episode examining the eerie echoes of 2003 as familiar faces dust off their war-hungry talking points for another Middle Eastern adventure. We dive into the fascinating split happening in MAGA-land between isolationists and hawks, plus how certain unrepentant ghouls somehow found their way back onto our screens. There's also a delightful trip through our spam folder an...

Anyone else notice the growing cracks in the MAGA coalition as supporters openly question whether they've been played?

We dive into the spectacular failures that defined this week in MAGA-land. From Trump's embarrassingly sparse tank parade that drew more protesters (Yay, No Kings Marches!) than supporters, to the horrific Minnesota political assassinations that exposed how quickly the right-wing propaganda machine can piv...

NOTE:  The shocking news of Senator Alex Padilla being forcibly removed and handcuffed at a Kristi Noem press conference simply for trying to ask questions as an elected official?  We cover that in the news round-up. 

In this week's episode, we take a brief break from documenting Republican authoritarianism to explore the 1948 film noir masterpiece "The Big Clock," but quickly return to the fascist dumpster fire ...

We dive into the chaos on the right as their messaging machine encounters serious technical difficulties. While they're busy thrashing between conflicting loyalties and scrambling for the next official lie, we explore how power always finds someone else to blame and why Rebecca Solnit's brilliant "she made him do it" theory seems to explain everything in politics these days. Plus, we celebrate a spicy email from...

We're back from the Cornfield Resistance with the messiest billionaire breakup of the century—complete with explosive social media threats and some very familiar names getting dragged into very damning files.

We're watching Pride Month get weaponized, civil rights heroes getting erased from naval vessels, and Republican voters acting shocked when the leopards they voted for start eating their own faces.

Plus: billionaire-fu...

We're talking about Trump's "Move Fast and Break Things" presidency - from Tulsi Gabbard wanting to turn intelligence briefings into Fox News shows, to Elon Musk's deadly DOGE disaster that's killed hundreds of thousands worldwide. Senator Joni Ernst delivers peak Republican callousness by dismissing Medicaid death concerns with "We're all gonna die!" while strolling through a cemetery. ...

This week, we take you back to the "Before Time" - specifically 2011 - to trace the toxic road that led us to where we are today. We revisit the birther movement, explore how "Conservatism cannot fail; conservatism can only be failed" evolved into "Trump cannot fail; Trump can only be failed," and examine what happens when an entire political movement becomes nothing more than loyalty to one man.

We dis...

This week, we’re diagnosing a political condition we’re all feeling — what we’re calling Political Cabin Fever. It’s not hopelessness, it’s exhaustion, and if you're part of the Democratic Base, we bet you know exactly what we mean. We remember before-time examples of MAGA from Archie Bunker to Bill Hicks to RoboCop, and we talk about how liberals like us have been sounding the alarm for decades while elite opinion-havers clos...

We're serving up some hard-won advice about winning elections - and it's not pretty. While our Never Trump allies and high-paid consultants keep screaming the same tired strategies at Democratic politicians, we're here with a bolder approach inspired by David Bowie's wisdom about language and a certain scene from "Better Call Saul."

We dive deep into what undecided and independent voters actually want (...

This week on The Professional Left:

• Weather woes! Driftglass and Blue Gal welcome some special guests - tornado refugees (the two younger kids!) - as severe weather interrupts podcast preparations.
• A "No Fair Remembering Stuff" segment takes us back to 2008's bizarre tire pressure inflation controversy - and why it matters as a "telling detail" in the trajectory of Republican politics.
• Science Fiction Univ...

Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. America and all the ships at sea! Flash! Those audio chatterboxes they call "The Professional Left Podcast" are taking to the airwaves tonight with a retrospective that'll curl your permanent wave!

From the swanky studios of downtown Springfield, Illinois, to your very own listening device comes "Nine Hundred Episodes in Sixty Minutes" — a piping hot sample platter of American poli...

This week on The Professional Left, we're asking the question that's suddenly on everyone's mind: "Does motivated reasoning have any limits?" When a president accepts a $400 million jet as a "gift" from Qatar and his administration floats suspending habeas corpus, are we finally reaching a tipping point?

We'll explore why even some of the most devoted right-wing voices are squirming uncomforta...

In our 898th episode, we examine a puzzling question: why has political persuasion become seemingly impossible in America today? We explore how the landscape has fundamentally shifted beyond mere policy disagreements into something that looks surprisingly like religious conflict.

We connect historical patterns of how religious movements evolve and rewrite their narratives to what we're witnessing in contemporary politics. Drawi...

In this episode of The Professional Left Podcast, we return from our break to tackle the media's misuse of political vocabulary and how a certain pundit twists language to avoid placing blame where it belongs. We break down a prominent columnist's appearance on PBS that perfectly illustrates this problem, while examining how his myth of the "Sensible Center" continues to poison our discourse. Our news roundup co...