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
Re-Air Date: 01–26-25
Unless you were a member in January of 2025, this episode of SOLVED! will be brand new to you! If you were a member back then, THANK YOU and this one is worth a re-listen. We're working on slowly increasing our production again, but, for now, enjoy this episode from our archives (and before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
00:00:00 - Ch. 1 - The mindset of collabor...
Air Date: 3/7/2026
Welcome to this episode of the Award-Winning Best of the Left Podcast. Today we examine the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson civil rights icon, two-time presidential candidate and one of the most consequential political figures of the 20th century.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at...
Air Date: 3/3/2026
The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we examine the multi-front struggle for control: military force and economic coercion seizing resources abroad, institutions weaponized to constrain bodies at home, platforms and propaganda capturing minds, and the democratic resistance proving that organized people can still win.
Original Air Date: 3-1-2024
We don't have to think too hard to understand the fears of a world in which work, and the ability of millions to support themselves, are lost to automation and artificial intelligence. But that is only a capitalist future in which the benefits of technological advancement are hoarded by the already-wealthy. Today we imagine a different path.
Original Air Date: 1/31/2023
Today, we take a look at just some of the nearly infinite ways in which our society, culture and economy are infused from top to bottom with Scam Culture™ that is bleeding us dry both financially and mentally.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
Air Date: 2-17-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
Air Date: 2/23/2026
Today we examine how the platforms that monetize your attention are merging with state power. We'll hear how TikTok's new owners include Trump ally Larry Ellison, how DHS sent hundreds of subpoenas to unmask anonymous ICE critics, how Ring's Super Bowl ad cheerfully introduced AI-powered neighborhood surveillance, and how the social media addiction trials that are being likened to the Big Tobacco settlement of t...
Air Date: 2/19/2026
Today we trace the pipeline from masculine grievance to fascism. We'll hear how ICE agents' own family members describe them as low-IQ bullies chasing signing bonuses, why a former white nationalist explains that the alternative to unpacking discomfort is becoming overtly racist, how incel culture evolved from lonely forums into a MAGA recruitment tool, and what researchers found abou...
Air Date 2/15/2026
Today we explore the gap between free speech rhetoric and the reality of arrested reporters. We'll hear how a decade of cancel culture panic over college students gave way to actual government suppression of journalists, why the DOJ is perverting a law designed to fight the Ku Klux Klan to prosecute Black journalists, how the administration that promised to "bring back free speech" is ...
Air Date: 2-3-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
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Ch. 1 - Trump's Pillars of Support, and plugging into community building & local support networks
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Ch. 2 - Case studies in success: Avelo Airlines & Spotify and why they matter
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Ch. 3 - Pressure campaigns at home and abroad and why they are important
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Ch. 4 - The new cracks in MAGA, and building up the political opposition party we need
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SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Bey...
Air Date 2/10/2026
Today we explore what effective resistance actually looks like. We'll hear why Jamelle Bouie says the panic of those in power signals that opposition is working, what abolitionists teach us about fighting without knowing the ending, and how Minneapolis proved that democratic force can overwhelm physical force.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or ema...
Original Air Date: 8-25-2017
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
Air Date: 01-28-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
- Ch 1 - Why it's not actually "fun" to be right too early (despite being called 'insufferable')
- Ch 2 - The political elites and neoliberals who are frantically changing their tune now that a left-wing populist movement is here
- Ch 3 - The Cassandras of the Left wh...
Air Date 2/1/2026
Today we examine what's actually working against the Trump regime and the role of this year's elections. Unsurprisingly, his own voter fraud investigation just proved him a liar, Democrats are overperforming expectations in House special elections, and Zohran Mamdani's campaign based on having fun in community needs to be a model for every movement against authoritarianism.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice messa...
Air Date 1/29/2026
Today we examine the collapse of the American-led, rules-based world order (such as it was) in real time. Canada's Prime Minister pointed out that the emperor has no clothes and declared US hegemony over while Europe called Trump's bluff on Greenland... all the more reason why he would prefer a fake "Board of Peace" that he can rule over as a worldwide plutocracy.
Re-Air Date: 01–26-26
Original Air Date: 06-09-24
Unless you were a member in June of 2024, this episode of SOLVED! will be brand new to you! If you were a member back then, THANK YOU and this one is worth a re-listen. We're slowing down production for a little bit to reorganize our production processes, so enjoy this episode from our archives (and before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, ...
Air Date: 1/25/2026
Today we examine education as the battleground for democracy itself. We'll hear how authoritarians erase history to maintain power, why liberal arts colleges don't exist in authoritarian societies, how the administration is punishing universities for their political views, and what the detention of student protesters reveals about the cost of dissent in Trump's America.
Air Date: 1/21/2026
Today we look at ICE's reign of terror as a paramilitary occupation force and the communities pushing back. We'll hear about Renee Goode, an unarmed woman shot dead by federal agents, and Keith Porter, killed by an off-duty agent on New Year's Eve, in addition to historical parallels from Civil-Rights Era Selma, Alabama and the Boston Massacre. The signs of hope here are that the oppressed won those fights and t...
Air Date: 01-12-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
- Ch. 1 - Why it's actually NOT a "Male Loneliness Epidemic (TM)" and even the non-crazy male influencers aren't helping
- Ch. 2 - Why loneliness is better understood by age, and how society has not emotionally equipped men for struggle
- Ch. 3 - Why American-style ca...
Air Date: 1/17/2026
There's a lot to be concerned about with AI but the biggest concern is the economic system we have in place at the moment when AI is being introduced. Capitalism is not a good steward of new and potentially dangerous technology, as we've seen from Zuckerberg's move-fast-and-break-things era of social media that he later recognized as having triggered a genocide. When the profit drive necessitates light-speed gro...
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