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

Air Date 9/21/2022 Today, we take a look at the history and legacy of British imperialism and slavery through the lens of the divergent views on the passing of Queen Elizabeth II and the growing movement of former colonies to achieve full independence.   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...

Air Date 9/17/2022 Today, we take a look at the way terrible patterns of the past like colonialism, racism, propaganda, feudalism, and abuse of corporate monopoly power are recreating and re-entrenching themselves in the digital world 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...

Air Date 9/14/2022 Today, we take a look at the history and hysteria behind debt and debt forgiveness while Biden is canceling student debt and opponents of the idea are reacting in the most predictable way possible because they misunderstand the relationship between debt and morality. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft...

Air Date 9/9/2022 Today, we take a look at platforms, goods, and business models in the modern landscape of the digital marketplace. We start by questioning the morality of engaging in given platforms that cause harm - cryptocurrencies' role in crime and Facebook's role in destabilizing society, for instance - and then examine virtual products and virtual talents, the movement demanding the right...

Air Date 9/6/2022 Today, we take a look at the precarious state of our immigration and asylum system, the legacy of neoliberalism and imperialism in South and Central America, the inhumanity practiced by both of our political parties (though not equally), and the ever-present possibility that things could get worse. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft...

Original Air Date 8/21/2021 Today we take a look at the history of bipartisanship and appeasement in the US dating back to before the Civil War and tracking it all the way up to the current negotiations over the infrastructure bill. 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...

Air Date 8/31/2022 Today, as we wait to see if Trump will ever be indicted for any of his many, many, many crimes, we take a look at the long and illustrious history of powerful people avoiding prosecution in the United States. 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...

Air Date 8/27/2022 Today, we take a look at the tensions between China and Taiwan, the tensions between China and the U.S. vis-a-vis Taiwan, the tensions between Russia, Europe and the U.S. vis-a-vis China and Taiwan and the tension between these small-minded struggles for global power and the dangers posed to the human race by nuclear weapons.   Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-...

Become a member to hear the full show and support our work! Original Air Date: 7-8-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin.  We discuss: - Collections of Guns - Identity and Consumerism - Educating Worker Drones - The Amanda Principle Revisited - George Carlin vs Bill Maher VoicedMails : We define what we wear - Zach the Theologian Passion is exploited by capital - Heather References : T...

Air Date 8/20/2022 Today, we take a look at the history of NATO and its role in the world after the fall of the Soviet Union which has come back into focus due to the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, sparking previously neutral countries to request NATO membership, all while an eye to a future causes speculation on how NATO should respond to the growing geopolitical influence of China. You got all t...

Air Date 8/16/2022 Today, we take a look at the strategies underway to systematically dismantle democracy in the United States including installing Big-Lie™ believers in elected and poll-working positions, preventing state-level Supreme Courts from holding GOP-dominated state legislators to the state constitutions, and wiping out tens of thousands of career civil servants from the federal governme...

Original Air Date 8/10/2021 Today we take a look at the mechanisms by which the legacy of White Supremacy is harmful to the health and wellbeing of individuals and society as a whole. 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: Why Is Our Economy So … White (with...

Air Date 8/10/2022 Today, we take a look at the origins of the European colonial land-grab, the need for the #Landback movement,   and the benefits to society and the environment in the context of the climate crisis to return stewardship of the land to native peoples. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get...

Air Date 8/5/2022 Today, we take a look at the politics of energy and climate in a world addicted to fossil fuels but full of people striving to push us past the tipping point toward a clean energy future 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 Discord community ! In...

Air Date 8/2/2022 Today, we take a look at what neurodiversity is and why it should be seen as a strength and benefit to society when accommodated properly rather than a problem to be solved or, worse, ignored. 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 Discord communit...

Original Air Date 6/9/2021 Today we take a look at the motivations behind legislation being introduced in statehouses around the country to ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory, criminalize the right to protest and limit the right to vote. Now if only there were some theory we could look to to understand the complicated interconnectedness of these subtly racist ideas... Be part of the show! Le...

Air Date 7/26/2022 Today, we take a look at recent Supreme Court rulings aside from overturning abortion rights and how all signals are that they are going full steam ahead on a conservative authoritarian deconstruction of the past 100 years of progress 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 a...

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Sign up through  wren.co/best  to make a difference in the climate crisis, and Wren will plant 10 extra trees in your name! Join our Discord community ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Global Food Prices Are at A Record High - The Takeaway - Air Date 6-22-22 We speak with Ukrainian-American Anna Nagurney, Chair in Integrative Studies at the Isenber...

Original Air Date 4/16/2020 Today, Amanda and I discuss a few of the aspects of life during a pandemic that's causing mental fog and affecting our work. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   MEMBERSHIP  (Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content) SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: We all make mistakes but we're making a lot more of them right now Ch. 2: The Burnout Genera...

Air Date 7/13/2022 Today, we take a look at how the Supreme Court stripped abortion rights for half the country, what life will look like for those seeking abortions and what we can do both personally and politically to fight back. 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...

Original Air Date: 6-6-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - The Dawn of Everything - Capitalism Culture - Hit and Run Work Ethic - Necropolitics - W.E.B. DuBois on Colonialism - Sacrifices of Cultural Assumptions   References: The Dawn of Everything (Affiliate Link!) Capitalism Culture Daycare late fees no deterrent, study finds Prosecutor: Driver In Hit-And-Run Death L...

Air Date 7/4/2022 Today, for this milestone episode, I attempted to squeeze in as many clever and interesting ideas as I could and ended up writing a starter guide to understand the United States. Plus, there are jingles! 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 Disco...

Original Air Date 6/19/2021 Today we take a look at the politics of obstruction in service to big donors' interests while sacrificing the ability to run a functioning democracy in the process. 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) Join the Discord Community ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1...

Original Air Date 7/5/2019 Today we take an unflinching look at Mitch McConnell and what a bad, bad man he is for basically all of the reasons. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Get AD FREE Shows & Bonus Content:  Become a member ! Join our Discord Community ! Get your audiobooks from Libro ! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Money Money Money Part 1 - Embedd...

Air Date 6/25/2022 Today we take a look at some of the takeaways from the hearings investigating the January 6th insurrection. Most notably: they knew, they knew, they knew, they knew from the very beginning that their fraud claims were nonsense and they pushed ahead anyway. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Suppor...