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
- 580
- Years Active
- 2021 - 2025
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…
#1678 Trump's Total Dominance Over the Republican Party and the Resistance Efforts Already Underway
Air Date 12/20/2024
There's no denying that things are about to get bad, Trump and company have had years to prepare for their next turn in office, but those preparing to resist also have the benefi…
#1677 Dems Can't Have Their Billionaires and Beat Them Too: The politics of anti-elitism
Air Date 12/17/2024
Changing the direction of a political party doesn't happen overnight and it usually takes a major disrupting event to shake it out of its well-wore groove. The loss of the Harris …
#1676 The Incompetence of Authoritarians: Trump's cabinet picks are all loyalty, no ability
Air Date 12/13/2024
The most important thing to understand about authoritarian and dictatorial governance is that it is neither efficient nor competent, contrary to the myth. The problem lies with th…
Bonus Edition #329 - This Is Really Happening
Air Date: 12-12-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - What the orcas are up to - Confronting the truth about eating meat - How to not let grief destroy leftist movements - Living a bette…
#1675 Fighting Nihilism to Organize For Freedom Against Fascism
Air Date 12/10/2024
In a moment of darkness, it's important to not only look for light but also understand how to create your own. Today we're exploring the philosophy of Tragic Optimism, the differi…
#1595 Pushing for Medicare For All in the Laboratories of Democracy (Throwback)
Original Air Date: 11/29/2023
The movement for universal health care is still underway, though it rarely gets recognized in mainstream discourse. The murder of United Health Care CEO Brian Thompson i…
Bonus Edition #328 The Truth Shall Set Us Free
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Air Date: 12-6-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The political origins of SimCity and how capitalism warps our choices - A new video game offering a v…
#1674 #MenToo: The Make America Male Again Election and the Media Driving the Message
Air Date 12/3/2024
At a time when there are very legitimate concerns about men's place in society, the Manosphere has stepped in to fill the gap in the cultural discussion to give an answer, not a go…
#1673 Beyond Thanksgiving: Telling Native Stories (Remix)
Air Date 11/29/2024
Today’s episode is a remix of a 5-part series of episodes we did several years ago about telling native stories beyond what the US tends to share about its history. The series str…
#1672 Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brains fall out
Air Date 11/26/2024
In a world of infinite information but a finite amount of time to check your facts, we're living the logical conclusion of an online environment that favors false information over…
Bonus Sample #327 You Say You Want a Revolution
Air Date: 11-24-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Erin discuss: - A few sort of fun-ish news things because it's very necessary right now - A clear-eyed but concise take on why people voted the way they di…
#1671 The Non-Exclusive Impact of White Supremacy and Misogyny on the Election
Air Date 11/20/2024
We're in the phase where prejudice still exists but it has become socially unacceptable to openly express it - but to deny the impact on our politics just because people don't adm…
#1670 A Refresher on the Sham of Conservative Economic Populism and the Left Alternatives (Remix)
Air Date 11/15/2024
Today’s episode is a remix of multiple past episodes but was inspired by one in particular from just back in July of this year, #1645, when we were making a point of demonstrating…
#1669 Private Equity: The worst of capitalism, amplified
Air Date 11/12/2024
It's easy enough to look into one industry at a time to see what's going wrong, but today we're looking at what is so often lurking in the background of higher prices, lower quali…
#1668 We Are Going Back: Team post-election analysis
Air Date 11/8/2024
The Best of the Left team holds a special post-election discussion available to all listeners to present the initial takes on the election as well as our own reactions and suggesti…
#1667 Billionaires and Ballots: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Air Date 11/5/2024
There's big money in politics, and then there's 2024. The role and influence of billionaires have taken on new shapes and patterns as the threat of fascism has made itself undeniab…
#1666 The Holy War Against America: The New Apostolic Reformation, Opus Dei, Evangelicals, Christian Nationalists, and the Worship of Donald Trump
Air Date 11/2/2024
The cult of Trump isn't just about Trump, it's religion and patriarchy reacting to a moment of global economic and climactic instability. But those organizing the religious right a…
Bonus Edition #326 Marketing: The Dirty Public Restroom of the Internet
Air Date: 10-31-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How neoliberalism is fucking up renewable energy transitions - Marketing and why the viral Stanley Cup never should have gone viral - …