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
#1287 Mitch McConnell is the Forking Worst (Reposted)
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.
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#1499 Everyone Knew The Lie Was A Lie (January 6th Insurrection Hearings)
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 b…
#1498 Pride and Prejudice
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,…
#1497 A Healthier Humanity Through a Wellness Economy
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 us…
#1496 Home Is Where The Hardship Is (Housing Crisis)
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 fr…
#1495 No One Supports the Economic Interests of Rural America
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 …
#1494 Progressives and the Primaries
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.
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Bonus Sample #251 Tales of Panic
Original Air Date: 5-16-22
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Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss:
- The power of Indigenous stories
- Elite panic
- Panic a…
#1493 Marketing, Messaging and Mass Shootings
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 owners…
#1492 The Great Replacements (Conspiracy vs Reality)
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…
#1491 Mismanaging Capitalism Can Lead to Fascism (Inflation and the Working Class)
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 wel…
Bonus Sample: #250 Tell Me A Story
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 stori…
#1416 The Disneyfication of Our Past, Present and Future (Repost)
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 t…
#1411 Our Democracy is Filibusted, Time to Kill the Filibuster (Repost)
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 in…
#1490 What To Do As We Enter A Post-Roe World
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 obl…
#1489 Journalism, Social Media and the Billionaire Business Model
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…
#1488 Seeking Approval from the GOP Fringe is Making Them Mainstream
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 p…
#1487 Oceans Rise, Empires Fall (The Coming New World Order)
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 Ukr…
#1486 Unionizing is a Labor of Love
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…
Will Be Wild, a Deep Dive into January 6th
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 i…