The Lean to the Left Podcast

"If Republicans gain control of the House and the Senate, God help us." Those are the words of Democratic activist and political author Bill Kuhn on The Lean to the Left Podcast, where he warns that today's Republican Party is a clear and present danger to America. Kuhn is author of a new book, "Facts & Fury…An Unapologetic Primer on How the GOP has Destroyed American Democracy," and co-founder of...

“People need to realize that…with democracy, if we leave it now we may never get it back and then nothing can be done.”Those are the words of historian and author Robert S. McElvaine on The Lean to the Left Podcast, where he discusses many of the key events of the 1960s, particularly 1964 and 1965, and how they are influencing events today, especially the radicalization of the Republican Party and...

Remember when some medical experts were advocating the use of ivermectin, a drug approved by the FDA to treat head lice or parasitic worms in humans or parasites in animals, for treating Covid 19? Some also pushed the use of hydroxychloroquine, even though the FDA withdrew emergency use authorization of that drug, a version of which is used to clean fish tanks, for treatment of Covid 19. Well, our...

Our guest today on the Lean to the Left podcast is Dr. Joe Eusterman, now nearly 93 years old, spent 50 years practicing internal, occupational and environmental medicine in Oregon and elsewhere, and is mad as hell. In fact, Dr. Joe is so upset that he launched Mad As Hell Doctors.com 14 years ago, and traveled around the country in a decked out RV trying to do something about America’s health car...

On this episode of the Len to the Left podcast, California businessman and entrepreneur Clinton E. Galloway reveals how Black on Black racism and political corruption have long-term harmful consequences within communities. When cable television was first launched, Galloway and his brother sought a franchise to serve minorities in Los Angeles, but he says they were blocked by demands for bribes. An...

The abortion war is over," says Lean to the Left podcast act guest Kelley Keller, an attorney who is expert in Constitutional law. "It has been lost in the courts." Now, she says, those who are concerned about having control over their own bodies need to focus on a battle with broader support -- the right to a therapeutic abortion. During this episode, which also features co-host Mark M. Bello, Ke...

Congress appears ready to pass legislation ending a federal government requirement that potential new drugs must be tested on animals before they can be approved for use on humans, and our Lean to the Left podcast guest has been working to win approval of that bill. Marty Irby is executive director at Animal Wellness Action and Senior Vice President at the Center for a Humane Economy and helped sh...

Today we welcome Storm Cunningham, whose work involves helping to rebuild, restore, and revitalize communities that need a little bit of help. Storm is executive director of Reconomics Institute, the Society of Revitalization & Resilience Professionals, which is dedicated to improving the process of improving places. He’s an author of three books: The Restoration Economy, reWealth! And Reconomics,...

It was a Monday evening when Robert Chelsea was driving to his Los Angeles home when his car overheated. He pulled to the side of the freeway to wait for help when a drunk driver slammed into his car, which exploded on impact. Robert was in a coma for six months and hospitalized for 18 months with severe burns covering the majority of his face and body. Facial tissue, including his lips were burne...

Education expert Erika Twani says the role of public schools is an important factor in the battle to reduce school shootings and crime in America as she advocates an increase in "relational learning", including teaching life skills, to help improve outcomes for many students. Author of Becoming Einstein’s Teacher: Awakening the Genius in Your Students, and co-founder and CEO of Learning One to One...

Today we’ll focus on the dangerous state of our nation, spawned by Donald Trump and embraced by way too many Republicans. First, I’ll narrate a Lean to the Left.net blog written by CJ Waldron entitled “A Clear and Present Danger.” Then, will come my blog, “The Trump-Spawned Darkness is Spreading.”But first, some housekeeping. Don’t forget to follow Lean to the Left at podcast.leantotheleft.net, an...

John Spencer, Chair of Urban Warfare with the Madison Policy Forum, has just returned from Ukraine where strategies and tactics that he developed as a combat soldier in the U.S. Army, are being used by the Ukrainian military against Russian invaders. On the Lean to the Left podcast, Spencer says those tactics helped defeat Russia's attempt to capture Kiev and topple the Ukrainian government, and h...

Cholangiocarcinoma, or bile duct cancer, is a vicious, lethal cancer that affects about 10,00 Americans every year. But the federal government's funding for research into this disease is insufficient, so patients themselves and a small foundation are raising money to help find a cure. Last month, Janice Meyer and her husband, Dean, with the help of the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, sponsored a 5K...

The Dixie Dems are back…we began this series last month and because of the great response, we decided to keep it going. So my pals, Robert Thompson from Georgia and Arthur Hill from North Carolina, are with me to talk about politics in the land of Dixie. This episode includes updates on politics in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina, and a lengthy discussion about whether Democratic voter...

For Congress to enact meaningful gun legislation in response to the mass shootings that are plaguing America, "some level of profile in courage" will be needed by lawmakers who traditionally have been beholden to the gun lobby."Sometimes principle is more important than your political career, but I'm not sure how many people think of it like that who are current members of Congress, unfortunately,...

On May 15, the Southern Baptist Convention finally acknowledged what our guest today has already experienced – that pastors and other church employees have sexually abused parishioners and that the church covered up those claims for years. Now our guest, Sandy Phillips Kirkham, was not a member of the Southern Baptists when she was sexually abused by her youth pastor. She was a member of another p...

June is Gay Pride Month and so I thought it would be great to bring back one of my favorite previous guests, Jeff Batton, author of Grinnin’ Like a Jackass Eatin’ Briars. Jeff first was our guest on Lean to the Left in January. His memoir details his lifelong struggle with homosexuality, a struggle that prompted him to become a missionary serving the poor and even to get married and have kids. But...

The inability of Congress to take meaningful action to control guns is a tragedy that continues to result in the deaths of innocent people, including little children. That's the view of Baltimore novelist Amy Bernstein as expressed on The Lean to the Left Podcast."So many of us are so upset, so saddened. Our politicians have failed us completely," she says, blaming "the do-nothing party" (Republic...

Preserving a sustainable planet is in jeopardy and religious and political dogma stand in the way of progress for all of mankind, says long-time business executive and author Kit Webster."We're heading headlong into a future in which reality is going to impose itself on us as opposed to our controlling our approach into a new reality," says Webster, author of "Capitalism is Past its Sell-by Date."...

Think you have it tough living in a country with $4 gas and a baby formula shortage? How would you like living someplace where when the power goes out, the electric company asks you for money for gas so they can send their repair truck…and then to help pay for the parts to fix the transformer? I kid you not. That’s what happens in Kenya, where adventure novelist Steve Braker lives, and trust me, h...

The federal government's lack of action that has allowed Abbott Laboratories to gain a stranglehold on the baby formula business is a key reason behind the current shortages that are driving parents mad and jeopardizing the health of little kids. That's the contention of Paul Cienfuegos, who has spent most of his adult life working to take away the power he believes has been ceded by government to...

Think it's possible to always have a lawyer available to help with legal issues at a cost less than a cappuccino a week at Starbucks? Check out this interview as novelist/attorney Mark Bello and I speak with Tara Paustenbach, who with a background in sales/marketing, has partnered with Pre-Paid Legal Services, Inc. since 1998. She recruits, trains and develops Associates across the U.S. and Canada...

Today, we’re talking about Republican politics with two blog narrations from LeantotheLeft.net. The first, which I wrote, is headlined: “GOP: Beware of Radical Socialists & Communists,” and the second, by columnist CJ Waldron, asks the question, “Will the GOP Obstruct Justice?”But first, here’s a reminder that you can follow us at podcast.leantotheleft.net, and, you can reach me at bob@leantothele...

Today I’m sharing with you an episode that focuses on prison and sentencing reform that I co-hosted for the Justice Counts podcast with thriller author/attorney Mark M. Bello. Nicole D. Porter manages The Sentencing Project’s state and local advocacy efforts on sentencing reform, voting rights, and confronting racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Named a “New Civil Rights Leader” by Es...

Today on the Lean to the Left podcast we’re talking politics, and with me are two long-time political analysts and activists from North Carolina and Georgia. As most of you know, I’m now based in South Carolina, moving here from Maryland a few years ago, and have since been involved in local Democratic politics – an uphill battle, if ever there was one. But joining me on in this episode are Arthur...