The Professional Left Podcast with Driftglass and Blue Gal

This week we cope with the ongoing political chaos by escaping to the movies - specifically The Fantastic Four: First Steps - and then diving deep into why ChatGPT won't help us redraw Illinois congressional districts to eliminate Republican seats entirely. We explore the curious moral programming of AI, question whether algorithmic neutrality is itself a form of partisanship.

Oh, and Donald Trump is in the Epstein Files. 

Stay ...

This week, we dive deep into the concept of justice and ask the hard question: where are the consequences? We break down the different flavors of justice—from retributive to restorative, distributive to procedural—and examine why none of them seem to be working when it comes to holding powerful people accountable.

We explore how the Republican Party has spent decades teaching its voters that they never have to face consequences for ...

We're asking the question everyone stopped asking: whatever happened to QAnon?

And what does it mean when their cult leader starts calling his followers "stupid" and "foolish."

What happens when people who believe JFK Jr and Sr are still alive find out their cult leader is renaming The Kennedy Center?  

It's a "Whatever Happened To?" episode that reveals the answer was hiding in plain sight.  

St...

This week we dive into why platforming fascists is always a terrible idea, using Mehdi Hasan's recent Jubilee debate as our cautionary tale. We examine how these staged confrontations accomplish nothing except providing content for right-wing sites and turning wannabe fascists into MAGA heroes.

We break down the employment reality behind Connor Estelle's firing (spoiler: it's called "at-will employment," not...

We're diving deep into some unexpected connections this week. What do a 425-year-old Shakespeare tragedy and James Gunn's new Superman movie have in common? More than you might think—especially regarding fathers, sons, and the weight of living up to impossible expectations.

We'll also mark the 100th anniversary of the Scopes trial verdict and explore how little (and how much) has changed since then. Spoiler alert: the...

We're mad as hell, and we're not going to take it anymore. After 15 years of ringing alarm bells about the Republican party's dangers to our democracy, we find ourselves in the midst of what we're calling "Stupid Watergate Summer" – and it's cooking now.

This week, we break down the eerie parallels between Nixon's original Watergate scandal and Trump's current pedophile coverup crisis. Fr...

This week we're celebrating Blue Gal's birthday while diving deep into Trump's latest meltdown over the Epstein files. We break down how the former reality TV star is now turning his trademark attack style on his own MAGA base as they demand answers about his promised disclosures that never materialized.

Remember: when MAGA tries to change the subject, there's only one question that matters - what about Trump cov...

Join us this week as we explore the slow-motion collapse of expertise and institutions in America through the lens of Isaac Asimov's classic science fiction story "Nightfall."

We examine how the MAGA mob's assault on knowledge mirrors the fictional planet Lagash, where civilization periodically burns itself down in fear of what it doesn't understand. We're witnessing a Cultural Revolution-style purge of...

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! 

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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. ...