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
Bonus Edition #336 - SOLVED! Demystifying Our Reality
Air Date: 2-10-25 Today, Jay! and Amanda (Deon and Erin were sick) discuss: - Why you should be using an RSS reader - The danger of Mystification as humans try to cope - Musk and Trump's flagrant la…
#1689 The Media and the Moguls: Corporate Media is not equipped for Trump
Air Date 2/7/2025
Trump came in with a plan to subdue the media and large swaths of the media came in with a plan to acquiesce. But it's important to understand why because it's not a conspiracy or p…
#1688 International Decline: The Old Is Dying and the New Cannot Be Born
Air Date 2/4/2025
The era of unquestioned US hegemony is undoubtedly on the decline but the future is much more complicated and uncertain than the straightforward idea of China rising to take our pla…
Bonus Edition #335 - SOLVED! Good Advice in Bad Times
Air Date: 2-2-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - How the resistance is transforming, not over - What actually worked when resisting Trump's first term - A curation of good advice on be…
#1687 Respite: Ceasefire in Gaza and the Legacy of Imperial Folly in the Middle East
Air Date 1/31/2025
The genocide and subsequent ceasefire in Gaza is only the latest horrifying consequence of botched military misadventures in the Middle East and if the history of the Iraq and Afgh…
#1686 Temperatures Rising, Tempers Flaring: LA Fires, Climate Emergencies, Conspiracies, and Water Wars
Air Date 1/28/2025
The existence of out-of-control wildfires in Los Angeles amid the rising climate crisis is not confusing or strange. How to deal with such an emergency during our ongoing political…
Bonus Edition #334 - SOLVED! Collaborators, Internal Exiles, and Dissidents
Air Date: 1-26-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - The mindset of collaborators - Why many people turn inward and drop out - at their own risk - under authoritarianism - The nature of t…
#1085 A case against the myth of individualism (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 3/7/2017
Today we look at the dangerous myths of individualism and the American Dream™, some of their origins and some of their consequences
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#1685 Faux Populism and Neoliberalism: Working People Are Stuck Between Oligarchy and Disregard
Air Date 1/21/2025
Decades ago, the conscious decision was made to exacerbate inequality for the sake of economic growth that would supposedly lift all boats. What probably wasn't understood at the t…
Bonus Edition #333 - This is What Democracy (Actually) Looks Like
Air Date: 1-20-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: - Our new show name! - Getting over hurdles to find and form local community as a form of resistance and preparation - The study groups …
#1684 The Last Honest President: The imperfect life and legacy of Jimmy Carter
Air Date 1/18/2025
We are looking back on Jimmy Carter's life and legacy as a lens through which to more clearly see and understand the current state of our politics, our incoming president, the Midd…
#1683 Oligarchy Unmasked: President Musk, the crackup of capitalism, and the MAGA meltdown
Air Date 1/15/2025
Elon Musk is leading the way for his class of tech broligarchs anxious to take over the MAGA movement and shape it to their own ends of deregulation, tax cuts, and lucrative govern…
#1682 Looking Back to Trump 1.0 (Remix)
Air Date: 1/11/2025
Today, we look back to the warnings we gave ourselves at the beginning of the first Trump administration. In 2017 there was concern about corruption and his business dealings, eth…
#1681 Trump's American Imperialism: Threatening Friends and Annoying Neighbors
Air Date 1/8/2025
Trump's first term was marked by all of the friendships he built with some of the world's worst, most oppressive leaders. His second term is getting an early start as he has begun m…
#1680 The US puts the Hell in Health Care: For-profit insurance, Pharma, and the hatred and conspiracies they breed
Air Date 1/4/2025
The murder of a health insurance CEO being met with widespread approval and the risk of going backward on life-saving vaccines pretty much sums up the current state of our approach …
#1554 Destroying Education and Democracy for Fun and Profit (Throwback)
Original 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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#1679 The Middle East War Process: Syria's Transition, Israel's Expansion, and Beyond
Air Date 12/28/2024
Decades of dictatorial rule in Syria have come to an end, leading to something else to be determined. Israel sprang into action taking control of Syrian land on their border. And …
#1566 Wrestling with Ethical Consumption Under Capitalism (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 6/13/2023
Today, we take a look at the struggle to act ethically, at least by our own measure if there's not a universally-agreed standard to compare with, relating to the purchase…
Bonus Edition #331 - The Realignment Will Make You Seasick
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Air Date: 12-23-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was again missed) discuss: - The Realignment of the right-wing toward economic populism and…