Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Expertly-curated progressive politics, news, and culture produced by leftist humans, not algorithms or AI. This is an award-winning podcast that dives deeply into a wide range of national and international issues facing society and governments. We draw from hundreds of sources of progressive news and commentary. Est. 2006.
Save time by listening to a range of perspectives on a focused topic in each episode and be introduced to new sources you will not have come across on your own!
- Update frequency
- every 2 days
- Average duration
- 76 minutes
- Episodes
- 582
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
Bonus Sample #271 Infantile Engineers
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 Pinch…
#1563 Putting Our Kids to Work for Corporate Profits
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.
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#TBT #1080 Corporate media’s fight for legitimacy in the age of Trump (Throwback)
Original Air Date 2/17/2017
Today we look at the state of the corporate-controlled media in the age of Trump, how you can navigate those murky waters, and what we can do to make it better.
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#1560 Immigration Crisis: Biden vs. Trump, Undocumented Workers, Anti-Immigrant Hate, Migrant Abuse, and the Economic Fallout of Florida's New Law
Air Date 5/16/2023
Today, we take a look at the current state and deep context for why our immigration and asylum system broken, and why our policies have made it worse rather than better, all while …
#1559 Company Towns are a Bad Solution to a Real Problem
Air Date 5/13/2023
Today, we take a look at the history and resurgent idea of the company town, sometimes described by other names to obscure the reality, and the problem of affordable housing they a…
#TBT #1133 Understanding Authoritarianism (Throwback)
Original Air Date 9/15/2017
Today we look at the history and structures of authoritarianism and explore how they relate to the Trump campaign and administration
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Bonus Edition #270 I'd Like to Phone a Friend
Air Date: 5-10-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Self-Love and Loneliness - Friends - Commercialized Coitus - Why men are perfectly fine
REFERENCES: Self-Love Is Making Us Lonely - Tim…
#1558 States of Hate, Right-Wing Legislatures Go Full-Tilt While the Courageous Fight Back
Air Date 5/9/2023
Today, we take a look at the hyper-polarization of our era and the anti-democratic instincts of the right taking hold in state legislatures. Building on a decade of gerrymandering a…
#1557 Tactics and Counter-Tactics of the Struggle for Labor Rights
Air Date 5/5/2023
Today, we take a look at the history and present of the labor movement to demonstrate how times may change but the fundamental struggle, including many of the exact tactics, remains…
#1556 Oil Wealth and Oligarchy, Over 100 Years of Polishing Unredeemable Reputations
Air Date 5/2/2023
Today, we take a look at the intertwining of oil wealth, philanthropy, and culture washing from John Rockefeller to the sheiks of the Middle East.
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#1555 The Kids Are Not Alright (Boys, Girls, Culture and Social Media)
Air Date 4/26/2023
Today, we take a look at the trials and tribulations facing the youth today as men and boys are being surpassed academically by women and girls and girls are suffering disproportio…
Bonus Sample #269 Tell Good Stories and Jokes
Air Date: 4-21-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - How you’re seen by others is important - Jokes are learning - Injecting money into morality breaks people’s brains - Remembering the la…
#1554 Destroying Education and Democracy for Fun and Profit
Air Date 4/19/2023
Today, we take a look at the history and present of the interconnected movements to privatize education and dismantle democracy.
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#1553 The Nuremberg Trials of J.K. Rowling: Misogyny and Authoritarianism in the Bizarro World
Air Date 4/16/2023
Today, we take a look at some of the arguments of the anti-trans feminist movement, known by its most prominent proponent, J.K. Rowling, all in the shadow of the anti-trans fervor …
#1484 Elon Musk is Not Your Savior and He Is Actually Awful (Repost)
Original 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 companie…
Bonus Sample #268 Making Corrections
Original Air Date: 4-6-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Reactions to the Half Hour News Hour - A layered conservative joke? - Romance bots for all - Tech bros are 8-year-olds - How to…
#1480 The Cyberwar Did Not Begin with Cyber Pearl Harbor (Repost)
Original Air Date 4/2/2022
Today we take a look at the modern reality of cyber war. It's not the mass destruction of attacks that were imagined to look like a "Cyber Pearl Harbor" but the much more s…
#1552 Invasion of Iraq, 20 years later
Air Date 3/31/2023
Today, we take a look at the history and legacy of the invasion of Iraq by the United States under George W. Bush and his administration with the support of the vast majority of Am…
#1476 The Disinformation War We Are Not Fighting (Repost)
Original Air Date 3/16/2022
Today we take a look at the dynamics of mis- and disinformation as well as the history of those, primarily Russia, who are actively using it as a weapon of information war…
#1551 Making sense of the senseless war in Ukraine
Air Date 3/26/2023
Today, we take a look at the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the debate over continuing to support Ukraine heats up, an arrest warrant is issued for Putin and China makes a state vi…