Best of the Left - Progressive Politics and Culture, Curated by Humans, Not Algorithms

By BestOfTheLeft.com

What's Best of the Left - Progressive Politics and Culture, Curated by Humans, Not Algorithms about?

An award-winning, expertly-curated podcast of progressive politics and culture. Diving deeply on a wide range of topics, we draw from more than 100 sources of progressive news and commentary. Est. 2006.

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#1551 Making sense of the s...

03.27.2023

Air Date 3/26/2023 Today, we take a look at the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the debate over continuing to support Ukraine heats up, an arrest warrant is issued for Putin and China makes a state visit to Moscow. Be ...

Best of the Left - Progressive Politics and Culture, Curated by Humans, Not Algorithms episodes:

03.27.2023 #1551 Making sense of the senseless war in Ukraine Air Date 3/26/2023 Today, we take a look at the Russian invasion of Ukraine as the debate over continuing to support Ukraine heats up, an arrest warrant is issued for Putin and China makes a state visit to Moscow. Be ...
03.24.2023 Bonus Edition: Absurdity on top of absurdity Original Air Date: 3-23-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - giving credit where due - the mysteries of right-wing comedy through the ages - the dream of freedom from cars and trapping people in cities REFERENCES: The 1/2 ...
03.22.2023 #1550 Red States, Where Democracy Goes to Die and Terrible Legislation is Born Air Date 3/21/2023 Today, we take a look at how GOP-controlled states are subverting democracy with a form of "competitive autocracy" and some of the horrifying legislation these states then pass after they are no longer subject to the opinions ...
03.18.2023 #1549 Fox News is worse than we imagined or: they all knew they were lying Air Date 3/18/2023 Today, we take a look at how Fox News is being exposed as the alleged liars-for-pay we always suspected they were by the defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion Voting Systems. Be part of the show! Leave us ...
03.16.2023 Bonus Sample #266 AI may destroy society and capitalism will help Original Air Date: 3-10-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Nick being a liar - The competing values behind editing and banning books - Why tech leaders are like 8-year-olds REFERENCES: The BFG Isn’t a BFD Equating the ...
03.15.2023 #1548 The War on Woke Pits the GOP Against Their Usual Allies in Big Business Air Date 3/14/2023 Today, we take a look at the rise of "woke capitalism" as the cudgel now being wielded against any corporations who dare to seek profits by appealing to the majority of potential customers who prefer progressive social ...
03.09.2023 #1547 Shaping the Future of the Internet Air Date 3/8/2023 Today, we take a look at some of the emerging elements of technology and regulation that will likely shape the next era of the internet and our relationship to it. For today, these will include synthetic relationships ...
03.04.2023 #1546 Exist, Resist, Indigenize, Decolonize: A story of colonialism, cultural renaissance and modernity Air Date 3/4/2023 Today, we tell a story of colonialism, dispossession and cultural renaissance as a lens through which to understand alienation, a primary condition of modernity Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 ...
03.02.2023 #1466 The Faustian Bargain of Technological Advancement and Societal Degradation (Repost) Original Air Date 1/15/2022 Today we take a look at tradeoffs that are becoming ever more evident between the advancement of mass communication and social media technologies and the ways in which those advancements contribute to the degradation of social ...
02.25.2023 Bonus Sample #265 The Laughter to Darkness Ratio Original Air Date: 2-23-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Briefly celebrating a Super Bowl victory - Extinguishing empathy for profit - Manifesting disaster through film - The Ohio derailment - The value of ownership - Reducing workplace ...
02.23.2023 #1545 Agents of Chaos: The New Congress Air Date 2/22/2023 Today, we take a look at some of the work of the chaotic wrecking crew that is the GOP of the 118th Congress including their plan to hold the world economy hostage and weaponize the government against ...
02.18.2023 #1544 Block History Month: The Campaign to Erase Uncomfortable Truths About Black History Air Date 2/17/2023 Today, we take a look at the importance of teaching a full and unflinching version of Black history and why the campaign to block it is reaching a peak at this moment in time. Be part of ...
02.14.2023 #1543 Capitalism doesn't live up to the hype Air Date 2/14/2023 Today, we take a look at some origins, alternatives and misunderstandings of capitalism from the Dutch East India Company, to Adam Smith and up through the planned obsolescence and marketing that have tricked us all into working ...
02.10.2023 #1542 Despair and violence in Israel's illiberal and exclusionary "democracy" Air Date 2/10/2023 Today, we take a look at the recent rise in tensions in the wake of Israel electing what may be their most right-wing government to date. Literal fascists are now in the governing coalition, violence is rising ...
02.08.2023 Bonus Sample #264 How To Talk About The Super Bowl Air Date: 2-8-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Using emotional intelligence to talk about sports - Uncomfortable conversations and circular logic - Nouning The French - Political Spam REFERENCES: The French Want to Remain the French - ...
02.05.2023 #1541 Tear down paradise and put up a dystopian police state (Cop City) Air Date 2/5/2023 Today, we take a look at the threat to the lives of environment protectors around the world with a special focus on the first environmental activist in the U.S. to lose their life at the hands of ...
02.01.2023 #1540 The Grift of Life (Scam Culture™ and the Economy it has built) Air Date 1/31/2023 Today, we take a look at just some of the nearly infinite ways in which our society, culture, and economy are infused from top to bottom with Scam Culture™ that is bleeding us dry both financially and ...
01.28.2023 Bonus Sample #263 Capitalism Culture and System Failure Original Air Date: 1-17-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - The updated dress code in the Missouri legislature - One-Way Empathy - Andrew Tate and Capitalism Culture - The management and labor of modern conveniences REFERENCES: Outrage after ...
01.25.2023 #1539 Stolen Children is Stolen History, Heritage, and Culture (Indian Child Welfare Act) Air Date 1/25/2023 Today, we take a look at the long, global history of invading peoples stealing the children of native families to be acculturated into the population of the invading force. Reasons can range from a tactic of war ...
01.22.2023 #1538 Authoritarian Coup Attempts Around the World Air Date 1/21/2023 Today, we take a look beyond our shores to other examples of anti-democratic forces seeking to take control of governments in Germany, Brazil, and Peru, all of which echo, in some form or fashion, the coup attempt ...
01.18.2023 #1461 Neoliberalism is Hanging on for Dear Life in Changing Times (Repost) Original Air Date 12/15/2021 Today we take a look at the cracks and fissures appearing ever more quickly in the neoliberal order that was already widely criticized before the pandemic stripped it bare, exposing all of the inherent inequality and ...
01.14.2023 #1537 All Your Faves Were Radicals (Beyond Martin Luther King Jr) Air Date 1/14/2023 This Martin Luther King Day weekend, we take a look at a wider range of Black radicals who all helped build the unfinished Civil Rights Movement and who our history either whitewashes or demonizes to fit the ...
01.11.2023 #1536 Your Food Choices Are Not Your Food Choices Air Date 1/11/2023 Today, we take a look at the way unscientific guidelines, government subsidies, corporate propaganda, cultural context, capitalism, community stigma, and many actively and loudly wallowing in ignorance have shaped your personal food choices. Be part of the ...
01.07.2023 #1535 We Don't Do Accountability (Trump and GOP Crimes That Go Unpunished) Air Date 1/7/2023 Today, we take a look at the criminal charges against Donald Trump that the January 6th Committee has referred to the DOJ but examine them through the lens of past presidential crimes that have gone unpunished from ...
01.03.2023 #1534 Every Move You Make (Facial Recognition, TikTok, and Surveillance Capitalism 2.0) Air Date 1/3/2023 Today, we take a look at the emerging implementation of facial recognition technology in public and commercial spaces along with the tracking and "amplifagandizing" capabilities of TikTok Be part of the show! Leave us a message or ...
12.31.2022 Bonus Sample #261 Join the Indoctri-Nation! Original Air Date: 12-15-22 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin, and Deon discuss: - Why framing corporations are moral actors is a step on the path to conspiratorial thinking - Conservative framing that doesn't make them look as good as they think ...
12.27.2022 #1451 The Foxification of American Media (Fox News 25th Anniversary) (Repost) Original Air Date 10/27/2021 Today we take a look at some of the ways that 25 years of Fox News has reshaped our media and political landscape. Crucially, understanding Fox isn't just about their influence on their conservative viewers but ...
12.24.2022 #1533 How Theocracies Begin and End (Rise of the Far-Right + Demanding Women's Rights in Iran) Air Date 12/24/2022 Today, we compare the far-right religious extremists who are fighting to gain power in the US with the protests against the theocratic regime in Iran supporting women's rights in the country. Be part of the show! Leave ...
12.22.2022 The Last Resort (The Story of Cal-Exit) What if California seceded from the United States? If it did, what would happen? Would it usher in a new era of peace and prosperity? Or plunge the US into a new civil war? This is The Last Resort, a ...
12.20.2022 Bonus Sample #260 Don't Call Me Out My Name Original Air Date: 12-1-22 Today, Jay!, Amanda and Deon discuss: - That the youth are doing away with "You're welcome" - Words Matter: Building solidarity or maintaining power structures through vocatives - The power play of intentional misnaming - Ye's ...
12.17.2022 #1532 Accelerationism is the Brick on the Gas Pedal of the Runaway Car of Society Air Date 12/17/2022 Today, we take a look at the fringe philosophy of accelerationism that is having a bigger impact on society than you will likely have realized as it's been behind some of the worst terror attacks in recent ...
12.13.2022 #1531 The Labor Movement is a Hot Mess and Democrats Are Not Much Help Air Date 12/13/2022 Today, we take a look at the labor dispute within our freight rail industry as well as other unionization fights that corporations are vehemently opposing while the Democrats and Biden, the "most pro-labor president ever" are doing ...
12.11.2022 #1454 The Problem with Facebook is Facebook (Repost) Original Air Date 11/9/2021 Today we take a look at the Facebook business model that is driving hate, lies, violence, extremism, and the breakdown of democracy around the world as well as some of the regulatory ideas geared toward reigning ...
12.07.2022 #1530 The Pillars of Polarization and Persuasion Air Date 12/6/2022 Today, we take a look at some of the factors driving hyper-partisanship in the US right now along with multiple arguments to not give up on the power of persuasion. Be part of the show! Leave us ...
12.04.2022 #1529 Monopolies Run By Morons Air Date 12/3/2022 Today, we take a look at the mega-companies that touch all of our lives and the monopolistic practices that have been developed to keep power and wealth concentrated with the few while the rest of us get ...
12.02.2022 Bonus Sample #259 Political Movements Original Air Date: 11-5-22 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The Neverending Story - Instilling distrust through abuse - More on collectivist storytelling - Joseph Campbell and the myth of the monomyth - The politics of public toilets ...
12.01.2022 #1528 The Ugly Underbelly of The Beautiful Game (Qatar World Cup) Air Date 11/30/2022 Today, we take a look at the context of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar including the labor abuses endemic in the construction of the facilities, the authoritarianism and anti-LGBTQ policies of the Qatari government, and the ...
11.26.2022 #1230 Thanksgiving and cultural heritage (Repost) Original Air Date 11/27/2018 Today we take a look at the literal and figurative bloody messes of the history of Thanksgiving and the identities of native peoples. This episode is the second in an ongoing series focusing on Native Peoples ...
11.23.2022 #1527 Making Antisemitism Great Again with Ye, Kyrie Irving and Dave Chapelle Air Date 11/22/2022 Today, we take a look at three recent incidents of celebrities using their platforms to spread antisemitic tropes all in the context of greater openness to antisemitism within the Republican Party in the age of Trumpism. Be ...
11.20.2022 #1265 Moving beyond tragedy by surviving and adapting (Repost) Original Air Date 4/16/2019 Today we take a look at just a few of the aspects of modern life for Native Peoples that we can see as stemming from the racism and colonialism that have been endemic in post-contact America. ...
11.16.2022 #1526 A History of Political Violence in the US Air Date 11/15/2022 Today, we take a look at our extremely steady history of political violence from the Revolution, through the Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow, into the Civil Rights era, the Militia Movement and domestic terrorism, and now ...
11.13.2022 #1525 Don't Panic: Irrational Fear and Panic in the US Air Date 11/12/2022 Today, we take a look at a few types of panic that regularly strike within communities or across the nation including various satanic panics, Halloween candy panics, and panic over kids being too inclusive and welcoming of ...
11.09.2022 #1524 An Historic, World-Shaping Election, Of Sorts (China, Xi Jinping) Air Date 11/8/2022 Today, we take a look at the life and times of China's president, Xi Jinping, and his rise to be China's first non-term-limited president who also, not coincidentally, has a bit of an authoritarian streak. Be part ...
11.04.2022 Bonus Sample #258 Chatbots and Catbots Original Air Date: 10-24-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - The rise of AI-powered therapy bots Connect to our Discord community! References: My Therapist, the Robot Therapy for People Who Can’t Go to Therapy ...
11.01.2022 #1523 Pocketbook Pain and Corporate Profits Air Date 11/1/2022 Today, we take a look at the corporate price-gouging and massive profits happening under the cover of widespread inflation, all in the run-up to the midterm elections in which the GOP is running cover for corporations and ...
10.29.2022 #1522 An extremist cult conspired to destroy the United Kingdom from within Air Date 10/29/2022 Today, we take a look at the destruction accomplished over decades by adherents to a libertarian, neoliberal ideology in the UK which culminated recently in the tanking value of the British pound sterling and the resignation of ...
10.26.2022 #1521 The election of a lifetime for this year Air Date 10/26/2022 Today, we take a look at the 2022 election and the political dynamics at play as the GOP continues on its path of ideological anti-democracy and Democrats work to register new voters and get out the vote. ...
10.25.2022 Bonus Sample #257 The Fascist Hobbit and the Conservatism of Storytelling Original Air Date: 10-12-22 Today, I am talking with Amanda, Deon and Erin. We discuss: - The new fascist party running Italy and their love of Lord of the Rings - "The Jay Principle" which has something to do with ...
10.21.2022 #1440 The Physical Structures of Structural Racism and the Fight for Environmental Justice (Repost) Original Air Date 9/8/2021 Today we take a look at the legacy of red-lining, the building and subsequent destruction of Black communities and the health and environmental impacts of segregation. The concept of “Structural Racism” is often a metaphor, not ...
10.18.2022 #1435 A History of White Violence in Policy and Practice (Repost) Original Air Date 8/18/2021 Today we take a look at history of white people deciding to get their way through violence and the tradition of having the government look the other way Be part of the show! Leave us a ...

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