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

Air Date 12/6/2022 Today, we take a look at some of the factors driving hyper-partisanship in the US right now along with multiple arguments to not give up on the power of persuasion.   Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) BestOfTheLeft.com/HOLIDAY (BOTL GIFT GUIDE!) Join...

Air Date 12/3/2022 Today, we take a look at the mega-companies that touch all of our lives and the monopolistic practices that have been developed to keep power and wealth concentrated with the few while the rest of us get screwed.   Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Jo...

Original Air Date: 11-5-22 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The Neverending Story - Instilling distrust through abuse - More on collectivist storytelling - Joseph Campbell and the myth of the monomyth - The politics of public toilets and potty training   Connect to our Discord   References: The Martin Beck Police Mystery Series Joseph Campbell's Myth of the Monomyth | Part 1 - Maggie...

Air Date 11/30/2022 Today, we take a look at the context of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar including the labor abuses endemic in the construction of the facilities, the authoritarianism and anti-LGBTQ policies of the Qatari government, and the corruption fundamental to the inner working of FIFA that brought the tournament to Qatar in the first place. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999...

Original Air Date 11/27/2018 Today we take a look at the literal and figurative bloody messes of the history of Thanksgiving and the identities of native peoples. This episode is the second in an ongoing series focusing on Native Peoples in North America. Other episodes include #1216 on Christopher Columbus, #1252 on Westward Expansion, #1265 on native peoples adapting to the modern world, and #12...

Air Date 11/22/2022 Today, we take a look at three recent incidents of celebrities using their platforms to spread antisemitic tropes all in the context of greater openness to antisemitism within the Republican Party in the age of Trumpism. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Cont...

Original Air Date 4/16/2019 Today we take a look at just a few of the aspects of modern life for Native Peoples that we can see as stemming from the racism and colonialism that have been endemic in post-contact America. This episode is the fourth in an ongoing series focusing on Native Peoples in North America. Previous episodes are, in order, #1216 on Christopher Columbus, #1230 on Thanksgiving,...

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. Be part of the show! Leav...

Air Date 11/12/2022 Today, we take a look at a few types of panic that regularly strike within communities or across the nation including various satanic panics, Halloween candy panics, and panic over kids being too inclusive and welcoming of all types of people. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FR...

Air Date 11/8/2022 Today, we take a look at the life and times of China's president, Xi Jinping, and his rise to be China's first non-term-limited president who also, not coincidentally, has a bit of an authoritarian streak. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Di...

Original Air Date: 10-24-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - The rise of AI-powered therapy bots   Connect to our Discord community!   References: My Therapist, the Robot   Therapy for People Who Can't Go to Therapy     Leave a message at 202-999-3991   Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft L...

Air Date 11/1/2022 Today, we take a look at the corporate price-gouging and massive profits happening under the cover of widespread inflation, all in the run-up to the midterm elections in which the GOP is running cover for corporations and blaming Democrats for price hikes. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Suppor...

Air Date 10/29/2022 Today, we take a look at the destruction accomplished over decades by adherents to a libertarian, neoliberal ideology in the UK which culminated recently in the tanking value of the British pound sterling and the resignation of the shortest-serving Prime Minister ever Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLe...

Air Date 10/26/2022 Today, we take a look at the 2022 election and the political dynamics at play as the GOP continues on its path of ideological anti-democracy and Democrats work to register new voters and get out the vote. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Di...

Original Air Date: 10-12-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - The new fascist party running Italy and their love of Lord of the Rings - "The Jay Principle" which has something to do with people liking stories they shouldn't - How to write progressive stories   Join our Discord community!   References: Hobbits and the Hard Right: How Fantasy Inspires Italy's Potential Ne...

Original Air Date 9/8/2021 Today we take a look at the legacy of red-lining, the building and subsequent destruction of Black communities and the health and environmental impacts of segregation. The concept of "Structural Racism" is often a metaphor, not something physical that you can touch, but that is not the case when it comes to environmental racism. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at...

Original Air Date 8/18/2021 Today we take a look at history of white people deciding to get their way through violence and the tradition of having the government look the other way Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: The KKK: History and Myth - Professor B...

Air Date 10/14/2022 Today, we take a look at the women-led protests roiling Iran in response to violent crackdowns from the so-called morality police that have led to the deaths of young women demanding rights and freedom. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Disc...

Original Air Date: 9-27-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - Nazis using The Amanda Principle on Uncle Tom's Cabin - Societal instability driven by businesses always "disrupting" everything - The anti-social nature of gratitude   Connect your Discord to Patreon   References: Germany's strange nostalgia for the antebellum American South   Forget Disruption. Tech Needs to...

Original Air Date 10/9/2021 Today we take a look at structures and specifics of settler colonialism from around the world including the US, Caribbean, Australia, Israel and Mexico Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: History of US imperialism in Latin Ameri...

Air Date 10/8/2022 Today, we take a look at the recent elections in Italy, Brazil and Sweden where far-right parties are either taking power or looking to maintain it as well as the parallels to our own politics including moderate conservatives helping to legitimize the far right while delegitimizing elections. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com...

Air Date 10/5/2022 Today, we take a look at the life and legacy of President Ronald Reagan, the last transformational U.S. president who's regime we are still living in. Between his neoliberal economics, anti-government ideology and white supremacist appeal to authoritarians, he did more to shape the last 40 years of the politics of the country and conservative movement than anyone else. Be part o...

Air Date 9/30/2022 Today, we take a look at the attention-grabbing stunt of transporting asylum seekers from Texas to Martha's Vineyard and other politically-liberal destinations and the White supremacist inspirations for this policy. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) J...

Original Air Date: 9-8-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - Dystopian longtermism - Why the Man-O-Sphere won't get you a girlfriend - Cultural commodification   Join our Discord Server   References: Salon - Understanding "long-termism": Why this suddenly influential philosophy is so toxic   Psychology Today - The Rise of Lonely, Single Men   In Defense of Witches: The L...

Air Date 9/24/2022 Today, we take a look at the decades-long scheme to funnel conservative activist judges into the judiciary to support Republican policy goals and the resulting legal bulwark defending Trump against prosecution and supporting his future election efforts.   Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support...