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
- 75 minutes
- Episodes
- 579
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
#1723 Scam Nation: Trumpism is the Art of Screwing You Over in Every Way Possible
Air Date 7/16/2025
It increasingly feels like we are completely past the era of legitimate differences in political philosophy and policy preferences. Now that the Republican governing style has been…
SOLVED! #15 - This is Propaganda Country: The Grotesque, Cruel, & Artificial Aesthetics of Modern Fascism
Air Date: 7–13-25
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
⁃ The calculated, propaganda motives behind “Mar-a-Lago face”
and bizarre MAGA hyper-femininity
⁃ How MAGA uses Kristi Noem’s “Border Ba…
#1722 Imbalance of Powers: The Supreme Court and Executive Branch Collude for Unchecked Power Grab
Air Date 7/12/2025
The idea of the founders was to separate and balance the powers of the federal government and that, as Madison wrote, that ambition would counteract ambition. The problem we face n…
#1721 The Evolution of the Military Industrial Complex: Now with AI!
Air Date 7/9/2025
It's an old joke that "military intelligence" is a good example of an oxymoron so I just asked an AI chatbot to finish a joke about what a military becomes when they implement artif…
SOLVED! #14 - How to Be An Imperfectionist: Fighting the infighting and building a resilient Left movement
Air Date: 7–7-25
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
- Some advice on understanding how to identify imperfect allies vs. true opponents
- Good-faith critiques of (and agreements with) socialist…
#1376 Tell Stories, Not Myths- America is a Force But Not Always For Good (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 10-21-20
Today we take a look at some of the many zany foreign misadventures the United States has had over the past 100 years. And by "zany misadventures" I mean the naked pursuit…
#1720 Building an Organized Left, the Eternal Oxymoron
Air Date 7/2/2025
The militarization of Trump's deportation regime and response to protesters is the clearest example of his desire to implement a fully authoritarian government. Pure and simple.
Be …
#13 - How to Make Enemies and Influence People
Air Date: 6–30-25
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
- Shifting the way we think and talk about the benefits of peaceful nonviolence at anti-fascist protests
- The unlimited patience for capi…
#1719 The Fascist Playbook: Immigrants, Brown Shirts, and the Backlash
Air Date 6/28/2025
The militarization of Trump's deportation regime and response to protesters is the clearest example of his desire to implement a fully authoritarian government. Pure and simple.
Be…
#1718 On the Path to Destruction: Israel Attacks Iran as Support for War on Gaza Drops
Air Date: 6-25-2025
We thought we were going to have an episode about the war Israel is conducting ready for you last week but then they started another war. So, it would have felt odd to release an …
SOLVED! #12 - Back to the…1980s? The Power of Nostalgia and Trump’s Reaganitis
Air Date: 6–23-25
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
- The long history of nostalgia in politics as we find ourselves reliving the 1980s
- How MAGA Youth have a lot in common with Reagan Youth…
#1717 Monthly-Ish Mix: Wealth Concentration, Knowledge Suppression, and Identity Exploitation: The Systems of Control of the Authoritarian Playbook
Air Date 6/21/2025
The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month, we're focusing on the way authoritarian movements operate across multiple f…
#1716 The Fight for Workers: Oligarchy and its Bipartisan Enablers
Air Date 6/18/2025
Critics of capitalism like us often advocate for the system to come to an end and be replaced with another that aligns better with human needs and continued existence. Well, it's p…
#1612 New Tech and the New Luddite Movement; Inequitable Distribution of Benefits from New Technology Always Sparks Demands from Labor and AI is Rekindling the Old Arguments (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 2-20-2024
"Luddite" should never have become the epithet that it is as the Luddites were never afraid of or opposed to technological advancement, they only opposed the exploitation…
#1715 The Weaponization of Antisemitism and Counterproductive Violence
Air Date: 6-11-2025
Following the 2023 attack and counterattack between Israel and Hamas which brought the simmering conflict into the mainstream of American politics, we're now living with the oppor…
SOLVED! #11 - Culture War Distractions While the Oligarchs Rob You Blind
Air Date: 6-8-25
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Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
- The right’s attack on free speech and academic freedom …
#1714 Trump's Anti-Knowledge Agenda is Inviting the Next Authoritarian Dark Age
Air Date 6/6/2025
Today, Trump's administration is doing everything in its power to end the era of educational dominance the US has enjoyed for decades. The simple fact that explains the change is th…
#1597 The rise of fascism around the world driven by economic insecurity (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 12-8-2023
Neoliberalism has created a lot of economic suffering and insecurity in addition to weakened social ties over the past few decades. And now, in what may be the most devas…
SOLVED! #10 - The Old Guard is Dying
Air Date: 6–2-25
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
- The role of art in political movements and moments under capitalism
- The problems with the Democratic Party that go far beyond Biden
- The …
#1713 Yes, GOP Policies Really Are That Bad: Trump's Corruption and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act
Air Date 5/30/2025
Given the overwhelming weirdness of Trump and his malfeasant style of governance, it would be perfectly understandable for casual observers to believe that his signature piece of l…