Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get 20% Off Membership in July!) Original Air Date 6/17/2022 Today we take a look at many intertwining realizations that are beginning to permeate society which include but are not limited to the dead-end mentality of infinite growth, the uselessness of growth past a certain point for wellbeing, and the deepening alienation being felt in response to consumerism in place...

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get 20% Off Membership in July!) Original Air Date: 2/15/2019 Today we take a look at recent teachers union strike in the Los Angeles school district and see it as another event in an emerging pattern of progressive uprisings that have been stirring for the last decade, fighting back against the status quo, neoliberal instinct to privatize everything for the ultimate ben...

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get 20% Off Membership in July!) Air Date 7/25/2023 Today, we take a look at the impact of the rise of streaming video services and the potential for AI-written scripts on the future of show business and those trying to earn a living from it. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript Join our Discord communi...

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get 20% Off Membership in July!) 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 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript Join our Discord community ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Climate and energy journalist Andrew Freed...

Original Air Date: 10/16/2019 Today we take a look at the literally depressing truth about our economy, our work and the culture that surrounds it. We work too hard to be perfect, we don't get enough time off, many of us don't have enough control over the work we do and too many know their jobs are completely worthless. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@B...

Air Date 7/16/2023 Today, we take a look at the problems of overconsumption and some policy solutions for reducing waste through a circular, rather than linear, approach to the economy. 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 20% Off Membership in July!) Join our Discord community ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: I...

Air Date: 7-14-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - A bad take on smartphones - Eating alone - Lunches of suffering - The failure of Instant Pot REFERENCES: What Did People Do Before Smartphones? A Brief History of the 'Sad Desk Lunch' Party Of 1: We Are Eating A Lot Of Meals AloneParty Of 1: We Are Eating A Lot Of Meals Alone 'Lunch of suffering': plain 'white people food' goes viral...

Air Date 7/11/2023 Today, we take a look at the history and unceremonious end of affirmative action for college admissions that were an attempt to correct the compounded impact of hundreds of years of systemic racism. 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 20% Off Membership in July!) Join our Discord...

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Become a member in July for 20% off!) Air Date 7/8/2023 Today, we take a look at the dubious, ideologically-driven debate between overpopulation being a danger to the future of humanity and it being a dangerous myth obscuring the real issue of over-consumption Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript Join o...

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 fu...

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get 20% Off Membership in July!) Air Date 7/4/2023 Today, we take a look at the difference between the kind of political messaging that feels like the right thing to say and the reframed messages that actually get political results that allow for progressive policies to get passed. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft...

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Become a member in July for 20% off!)   A i r D a t e : 7 - 1 - 2 3 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Marriage and christianity collapsing - Free lunches for kids - Neo-nazis doing pushups at Pride - The assault on no-fault divorce - Hannah Gadsby's wedding cake   R E F E R E N C E S : Marriage collapse, absent fathers 'unraveling' Christianity in growing US...

Original Air Date 6/11/2022 Today we take a look at the reasons why Democrats lost rural America and why it's important to make gains outside urban centers through working-class coalitions and a focus on the policy failures of unchecked Republicanism. 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 Sho...

Air Date 6/25/2023 Today, we take a look at the state of the religious right as declining religiosity and the looming 2024 election put a strain on the movement. 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 ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Trump Indicted, Rober...

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. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community...

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 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and...

Air Date: 6-17-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon discuss: - Hoopy Froods - Other people with diarrhea  - The lack of civil engineers to manage the waste water - Neoliberal pay scales of business professors  - How billionaires became our gurus REFERENCES: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy The billionaire's guide to self-help   Join our Discord Community Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by...

Original Air Date 4/13/2022 Today we take a look at the mainstreaming of crypto and NFTs by celebrity endorsements, why they're terrible by nearly any metric and why they are emblematic of our broken culture. 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 comm...

Original Air Date 2-2-2020 Today we take a look at the relationship between fear, anger and how to deal with the structural forces of harm in our society. To help us, we examine two of the greatest thinkers of the past 65 years, Martin Luther King Jr. and Mister Rogers, and go beyond the nonviolence of King and interrogate Mr. Roger's insistence on liking everyone just the way they are. Be part of...

Air Date 6/13/2023 Today, we take a look at the struggle to act ethically, at least by our own measure if there's not a universally-agreed standard to compare with, relating to the purchase of both the necessities of life we all need as well as the more luxury items that get added on top. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript Best...

Air Date 6/10/2023 Today, we take a look at the emerging trend of various community housing styles people are using to build community, fight loneliness and lighten the load of everyday chores and tasks. 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...

Original Air Date 1-22-2019 Today we take a look at socialism in America from our often violent response to the concept in the wake of the Russian Revolution through the recent revival in interest, driven primarily by the younger generation today Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Con...

Air Date 6/6/2023 Today, we take a look at the widespread impact of marketing on culture, consumerism, transportation, food, gender roles, and gun ownership in the United States. 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 ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Our...

Original Air Date: 5-31-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Towel Day - Adults liking things made for kids - What it means for something to be suitable for kids or adults - Bronson Pinchot - The decline in students studying the humanities REFERENCES: The Real Reason Young Adults Seem Slow to 'Grow Up' This writer brilliantly explains to Bill Maher why millennials refuse to grow up We'...

Air Date 6/3/2023 Today, we take a look at the dynamics at play between our immigration and labor policies that lead to the exploitation of children in dangerous and deadly jobs. 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 ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Why...