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

Air Date 6/22/2022 Today we take a look at the complicated evolution of Pride Month in an era of much greater LGBTQ acceptance and the simultaneous resurgence of anti-LGBTQ energy that, in many ways, mirrors the arguments of 40 years ago. 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 Conten...

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 of community.   Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-39...

Air Date 6/15/2022 Today we take a look at the many reasons why we are experiencing a housing crisis in the US and beyond but it mostly comes down to treating housing as a commodity to be profited from rather than a basic human need or, if you're feeling radical, a basic human right. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.c...

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 at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Co...

Air Date 6/8/2022 Today we take a look at progressive victories in primary elections around the country and explain why moderates are not much more than allies of conservatism. 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 ! Get your audiobooks from LIBRO...

Original Air Date: 5-16-22 Become a member! Connect with our Discord community!   Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - The power of Indigenous stories - Elite panic - Panic at the dinner table - Quantification and who counts - Stoking civil war - Fear is the heart of love   References: Reddit, Ask a Historian   Southern Living: Why Is It Rude to Eat with Your Elbows on the...

Air Date 6/4/2022 Today we take a look at some of the obvious steps we need to take to reduce gun violence in the United States, debunk some of the favored propaganda supporting unfettered gun ownership and explore the origins of how Gun Culture™ was invented by corporations as the frontier era need for guns began to vanish pushing them to convert guns from tools that were needed but not loved int...

Air Date 6/1/2022 Today we take a look at the current conspiracy theory known as "The Great Replacement" which posits that a cabal of elites is conspiring to eradicate Whiteness as a culture and as a people in Europe, North America and other countries colonized by White Europeans. We also look at the history of the cabal of elites that conspired to eradicate Native peoples and culture from coloniz...

Air Date 5/27/2022 Today we take a look at the disruptions to society that can unfold in times of economic distress such as high inflation, price gouging, wage stagnation and income inequality as well as some policy ideas for turning things around. 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 Bo...

Original Air Date: 4-26-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - Libertarians proving themselves wrong - All we ever do is tell stories - The benefits of forgetting some stories - The stories society tells hide the form of community that we prefer References: Seder DEBATES Ayn Rand Institute Libertarian Yaron Brook - The Majority Report - Air Date 7-8-21 Very Intelligent Li...

Original Air Date 5/8/2021 Today we take a look at the culture that Disney has helped create and how they did it, using cuteness as a weapon to push ideas from racist stereotypes and segregation to the masterful use of hollow nods toward progressivism while reinforcing the ethics of individualism in order to give systemic injustice a pass. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or...

Original Air Date 4/14/2021 Today we take a look at the one element of our government that, above all others, has contributed to the absolute disfunction of our democracy. The filibuster was never intended by the founders, always anti-democratic, often used for racist ends and is now being abused at a rate never before seen. 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript MEMBERSHIP (Get...

Air Date 5/14/2022 Today we take a look at the options and actions still available after the Supreme Court overturns Roe for those seeking abortions and Reproductive Justice more widely. Plus, an obligatory explanation of how we got to now. 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...

Air Date 5/10/2022 Today we take a look at the impacts of media ownership on society including legacy newspapers and social media platforms owned by billionaires and the consolidation of our news and entertainment corporations through mega mergers. 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 Bo...

Air Date 5/7/2022 Today we take a look at the jockeying for position that is happening among GOP politicians, both incumbents and hopefuls, in this murky Trump/post-Trump political era in which the path to victory for Republicans is to support Trump unquestioningly while also keeping an eye on the long game for which one should attempt to out-Trump Trump to gain the support of his cultish masses....

Air Date 5/4/2022 Today we take a look at the tectonic shifts in the geopolitics happening under our feet; the long, slow decline of the US empire and the neoliberal order, the role of the war in Ukraine in hastening the end of globalization, and the rise of both China in the east and of the oceans around us all. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.co...

Air Date 4/29/2022 Today we take a look at the rising wave of successful unionization efforts and the corporate tactics being leveled against them, including the propaganda that surrounds the culture of labor.   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 communi...

From critically acclaimed podcast studios Pineapple Street and Wondery comes a new 8-part series called Will Be Wild that shines a light on the human stories left out of the headlines. It goes deep into the lives of people who took part in that day, people who saw it coming, and people who fear that January 6th was just the beginning of something, not the end.   Follow Will Be Wild wherever you ge...

Air Date 4/23/2022 Today we take a look at how we got to the form of toothless liberalism we are living with today and begin to reimagine what a more muscular state apparatus could do in the face of the climate crisis. 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...

Air Date 4/20/2022 Today we take a look at the bizarre halo effect that seems to surround Elon Musk and then thoroughly puncture it by just explaining a few things about him and his companies. 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 ! What is Discor...

Air Date 4/16/2022 Today we take a look at the coming wave of attacks on abortion and the foundational concept of privacy more broadly that are making their way to the Supreme Court for likely rubber-stamping by at least 5 of the deeply conservative current justices. Undermining the established precedent of privacy that abortion rests on can, and likely will, have ramifications far beyond reproduc...

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 at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com   Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community ! What is...

Original Air Date: 3-15-22 Today, I am talking with Erin (not from Philly), Deon and Erin from Philly. We discuss: - Whether or not to capitalize the B in black - What it means when the B is capitalized - How all of this relates to the rapid expansion of identity labels - Why the solution to segregation and stereotypes is more segregation - And why we think it's worth spending time talking about t...

Air Date 4/6/2022 Today we take a look at the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, what her confirmation would mean for representation on the court and what the hearing tells us about the state of our politics.   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 Conte...

Air Date 4/2/2022 Today we take a look at the current iteration of the cynical culture wars being waged by conservative Republicans against LGBTQ kids for political gain. The current wave of anti-trans and anti-gay legislation sprouting across the country is not about protecting kids and is absolutely nothing new. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.c...