Air Date: 4-18-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - how a tech start-up is trying to sell a shortcut to bliss - the world of drug-free psychedelic experiences - the capitalists trying to solve the loneliness epidemic REFERENCES:  The Meditation Start-Up That’s Selling Bliss on Demand   What’s it like to take a $249 drug-free psychedelic trip? We found out  Origin of the Dreamachine  Can You Solve Loneliness? These Startups Are Betting On It.   Join our Discord Server  Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Bonus Sample #299 Selling Bliss

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.

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BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 5-16-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How mega drive-throughs are ruining American towns and cities - Why giant car washes are popping up across the country and what we could have instead - How Tokyo's beautiful public toilets are an inspiration - The impact boring and ugly buildings are having on our mental health REFERENCES:  RFK Jr. revealed he had a parasitic brain worm. Here’s what to know.   Social Media is Not What Killed the Web   Mega drive-throughs explain everything wrong with American cities   Car Washes are proliferating across the U.S. Here’s why Why are they building so many car washes? And storage facilities?  Tokyo’s Public Toilets Will Leave New Yorkers Sobbing   The Global Danger of Boring Buildings    Join our Discord Server  Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Bonus Sample #303 At the Carwash: Living in a World Not Built for Humans

Air Date 5/15/2024 In an age of cultish in-group/out-group politics and media, we seek to find messaging for progressive partisans to achieve electoral success Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community!  FRONTPAGE FP 1: Everything's a cult now - The Gray Area FP 2: Examining how U.S. politics became intertwined with personal identity - PBS NewsHour FP 3: Jason Stanley on the Politics of Language - Amanpour and Company FP 4: A Conversation About How Dems Can Win in November with Rachel Bitecofer - Deep State Radio FP 5: Employ Negative Partisanship w. Rachel Bitecofer - Future Hindsight FP 6: Everything's ... Part 2 FP 7: Hit 'Em Where It Hurts ... Part 2 FP 8: Employ Negative ... Part 2  (59:24) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the importance of finding common-but-adaptable messaging  (1:02:14) SECTION A: IDENTITY A1: Everything's ... Part 3 A2: Examining how U.S. ... Part 2  (1:10:14) SECTION B: POLITICAL RHETORIC B1: 'Hit 'Em Where It Hurts' urges Dems to go on attack - Morning Joe B2: 'Our message resonated with voters' - Morning Joe B3: Watch VP Harris slams Trump over abortion access - MSNBC  (1:26:17) SECTION C: MESSAGING C1: Employ Negative ...Part 4 C2: Republican Policies VERY Unpopular With Voters - The Majority Report C3: Everything's ... Part 4 C4: Employ Negative ... Part 3  (1:50:33) SECTION D: INDEPENDENTS D1: Hit 'Em ... Part 3 D2: Why Voters Are Down On The Economy - 538 Politics

#1629 Hitting Where it Hurts in Our Era of Negative Partisanship: Messaging left-wing politics amid cultish politics

Air Date 5/11/2024 The effort to turn theory into practice that will open up new ways of thinking about antitrust lawsuits attempting to rein in big tech and other mega-corporations, which are operating in a new phase of capitalism. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community!  SHOW NOTES Ch. 1:  FTC Chair Lina Khan on Antitrust in the age of Amazon - Planet Money - Air Date 11-3-23 On today's show, a conversation with FTC Chair Lina Khan on what it's like to try to turn audacious theory into bureaucratic practice, the FTC's new lawsuit against Amazon, and what it all means for business as usual. Ch. 2:  Apple's Antitrust Problem - Professor Talha Syed - The BTLJ Podcast - Air Date 3-10-24 Professor Syed reveals his thoughts and assessment of the new Brandeis movement, headed by Lina Khan and Jonathan Kanter of the FTC and DOJ. Ch. 3:  FTC Chair Lina Khan on Antitrust in the age of Amazon Part 2 - Planet Money - Air Date 11-3-23 Ch. 4: How to Fight Monopoly Power with FTC Chair Lina Khan - Factually! - Air Date 11-8-23 Lina Khan, appointed chair of the Federal Trade Commission by President Biden, has become the foremost voice of this movement and has engaged in high-profile battles to reshape how America deals with monopolies.   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 8: Real Estate Fees Crushed By Anti-Trust w David Dayen - The Majority Report - Air Date 3-26-24  FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 12: Final comments on the new show format tried out in the campus protesters episode as well as a retraction  MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: A court document with “Antitrust” at the top sits on a desk with a gavel and block on top. Credit: “Antitrust” by Nick Youngson via Pix4free | License: CC BY-SA 3.0 | Changes: Added solid background   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

#1628 New Era of Antitrust for a New Era of Capitalism, Mega-Corporations and Big Tech

Air Date 5/7/2024 Civil resistance on campuses across the country against Israeli genocide in Gaza calling for cease fire and divestment, university administrations up to the Biden administration respond, often with overwhelming violence and claims of antisemitism. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community!  FRONTPAGE FP 1:  The US college protests... - Today in Focus - Air Date 4-25-24 FP 2:  Behind Columbia... - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 4-24-24  (47:13) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR  (50:54) SECTION A: POLICE RESPONSES A1: Atlanta Police Violently Arrest Emory... - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-26-24 A2:  Juan González, Veteran of '68 Columbia Strike... - Democracy Now! - Air Date 5-1-24  (1:06:59) SECTION B: INSIDE THE PROTESTS  B1: Pro-Israel THUGS Attack... - Owen Jones - Air Date 5-1-24 B2: Live from the Encampments - CODEPINK Radio - Air Date 5-1-24  (1:34:52) SECTION C: BIDEN'S POLITICS AND ACCUSATIONS OF ANTISEMITISM C1:  Nicholas Kristof ... Part 2 - Brian Lehrer - Air Date 4-26-24 C2: Manufactured Panic Over Peaceful... - The Majority Report - Air Date 4-23-24  (1:57:05) SECTION D: UNIVERSITY ADMINS AND ENDOWMENTS D1: Why Colleges Have No Idea... - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 4-23-24 D2: Columbia University President ... - The Bitchuation Room - Air Date 4-27-24  (2:37:42) SECTION E: MEDIA CRITICISM   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  IMAGE Description: A photo of a lawn in front of a university building at Vassar College showing students standing near tents, a sign that reads "Liberation," and a Palestinian flag along a walkway.  Credit: "Liberation Lawn at Vassar College (cropped)" by Found5dollar, Wikimedia | License:  CC BY-SA 4.0 | Changes: Cropped

#1627 Campus Protests and the Crackdown: Civil resistance against Israeli genocide in Gaza, responses from university presidents to Biden

Air Date: 5-5-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Jerry Seinfeld blaming the "extreme left" and "PC culture" for the death of sitcoms - how Poe's Law (and the Amanda Principle) makes creating and identifying satire difficult - how TV shows trying to satirize the left for the left struggle to land the jokes REFERENCES:  Jerry Seinfeld Says TV Comedy Is Being Killed By the ‘Extreme Left and P.C. Crap and People Worrying So Much About Offending Other People’   Jerry Seinfeld Is a Lazy Hack Out of Touch with the Real World—And Who Can Blame Him?  Poe’s Law and Internet Satire  In the Know (Peacock)   ‘In the Know’ Showrunners Unpack Its Loving Evisceration of Public Radio, Progressive Politics  Zach Woods, NPR Fan, Reads NPR Fans for Filth   Exclusive: In the Know's Zach Woods and Brandon Gardner on Satirizing Liberals with Mike Judge The Cleaner - S2 E5 The Statue (Acorn) Malthusian Conception   Join our Discord Server  Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft  Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Bonus Sample #299 Selling Bliss

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