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 Hour News Hour  Is the right winning the comedy wars? - Vox  Fifteen Minutes of Blame - Slate    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 Edition: Absurdity on top of absurdity

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 (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 4-22-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - How Israeli citizens and government officials use of the US's settler-colonialist past, westward expansion, and religious fundamentalism to justify their own settler expansion   - How the members of the extreme right are put in positions of power within the Israeli government, which is then used to validate the settler's actions - The role racist propaganda and intergenerational trauma play in convincing Israelis of the righteousness of their settler-colonialist actions - The societal dangers of living in an ethnostate combined with feeling of specialness that comes from generations of victimhood REFERENCES:  The Israeli Settlers Attacking Their Palestinian Neighbors  The grandmother who wants to lead Israelis back to a Gaza without Palestinians  A debate over Israel-Palestine curriculum flares at Berkeley schools   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 #300 My People are Humans

Air Date 4/20/2024 Old habits die hard and the American establishment's unquestioning support for Israel is a very old habit indeed. Israel's government drifts farther and farther to the right, culminating in a genocidal push into Gaza. Meanwhile, President Biden, standard-bearer of the old establishment, seems destined to be the very last Democrat to see the need for a change. 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: Jon Stewart Interrogates America's Support of Israel - The Daily Show - Air Date 4-8-24 Jon Stewart checks in on the war in Gaza and interrogates how America's purported values stack up against its support of Israel. Plus, Ronny Chieng and Grace Kuhlenschmidt report from the eclipse's path of totality with startling different reports. Ch. 2:  Biden’s 'double talk' on Gaza: Cynical election politics? | The Bottom Line - Al Jazeera English - Air Date 3-31-24 Roth tells host Steve Clemons that US President Joe Biden is engaging in “cynical” election politics by refusing to enforce the UN resolution calling for a ceasefire, or the World Court ruling ordering Israel to allow more food into Gaza Ch. 3: Jon Stewart & Bassem Youssef Call Out “Performative” Outrage Over Israel’s War Crimes - The Humanist Report - Air Date 4-12-24 In this video, we’ll look at comments from both Youssef and Stewart, examples of “performative” outrage from politicians, and demands from voters that the Democratic Party and Joe Biden are refusing to meet.   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 9: Final comments on the words we've heard and the actions we've seen from Israel's government  MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE:  Description: Photo of a protest outside the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC in honor of Airman Aaron Bushnell’s self-sacrifice. Protestors kneel behind a banner that says “Stop U.S. Support of Genocide.” Credit: “50.Gather.AaronBushnellVigil.WDC.26February2024” by Elvert Barnes, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

#1623 Burning American Credibility on Support for Israel's Genocidal War in Gaza - Biden, Netanyahu, and the double standards of the rules-based order

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

Original Air Date 2/12/2019 Today we take a look at both the BDS movement and the backlash response to it resulting in firings and legislation in many states (and pending federally) to restrict employment and business opportunities from those who fail to pledge in writing to not support of the boycott of Israel Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Clips and Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community!  SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Explaining BDS - The Katie Halper Show - Air Date 10-11-17 We speak to art critic and writer Kareem Estefan, co-editor of “Assuming Boycott: Resistance, Agency, and Cultural Production,” about Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) Ch. 2: Exclusive: Angela Davis Speaks Out on Palestine, BDS & More After Civil Rights Award Is Revoked - Democracy Now! - Air Date 1-11-19 Legendary activist and scholar Angela Davis speaks out after the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute rescinded a human rights award for her, reportedly due to her activism for Palestinian rights. Ch. 3: Pro-Israel Lobby Groups Secretly Admits Cultural Boycott Is Effective, Leaked Report Shows - @TheRealNews - Air Date 12-10-18 Ali Abunimah discusses a leaked report from Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), a front for Israel government-backed lobby group StandWithUs, which admits the cultural boycott is "constantly growing" and "innovative." Ch. 4: Josh Ruebner on BDS Bans - CounterSpin (@FAIRmediawatch) - Air Date 1-31-19 We’ll hear about so-called “anti-BDS” laws, and their context, from Josh Ruebner, policy director at the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. Ch. 5: Senators Sneak Amendment to Make Israel Boycott Illegal - @TheRealNews - Air Date 12-19-18 While Senators Cardin and Portman are trying to sneak a last-minute amendment into the budget bill to make BDS illegal - violating free speech - 26 states are also moving to make boycotts of Israel illegal. We speak to IPS’s Phyllis Bennis. Ch. 6: Palestine/Israel, the Firing of Marc Lamont Hill & the Limits of Open Inquiry Part 1 - Speak out with Tim Wise - Air Date 12-3-18 Tim discusses CNN’s firing of contributor Marc Lamont Hill (a former guest on the show), for comments he made in favor of full equality and justice for the Palestinian people.   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com ​ ​ ​

#1249 Understanding the Boycott, Divest, Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israeli mistreatment of Palestinians (Throwback)

Air Date 4/12/2024 The forces of capitalism and deregulation loom large as industrial transport disasters continue to pile up with new focus brought to the issue by the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse and the series of dangerous and deadly failures from Boeing. 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:  Horror in Baltimore: Awful New Info Emerges About Six Missing Workers - THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent - Air Date 3-28-24 Two full days after the disastrous collapse of a bridge in Baltimore, little is known about six construction workers who went missing—and are now presumed dead. Ch. 2:  Everything we know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 4-4-24 The Real News convened a panel of journalists working all sides of this story to get a sense of what we know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, what key questions still need to be answered, and what happens next. Ch. 3: Cars, Bridges, Ships and Planes - The Zero Hour - Air Date 04-06-24 Discussing the Baltimore disaster in the context of infrastructure investment more broadly Ch. 4:  Everything we know about the Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse Part 2 - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 4-4-24   SEE FULL SHOW NOTES  FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 12: Final comments on the threat to society of runaway corporate executive pay References:  The failure of Bill Clinton's CEO pay reform - Politico  The Executive Pay Cap That Backfired - ProPublica  MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE: Description: Photo taken from inside the Alaska Airlines flight 1282 Boeing plane that lost its door mid-flight. A rectangular hole in the side of the plane reveals a wall of white clouds. The nearby seats are empty and oxygen masks hang from the ceiling. Credit: Photo taken by unidentified passenger and provided to the public by the National Transportation Safety Board(NTSB) as part of their investigation. | License: Public Domain Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

#1622 Capitalism Culture Catastrophes On Land, Sea, And In The Sky - Baltimore Bridge Collapse, Boeing Blowout, and the Continuing Threat to Railway Workers

Bonus Edition: Absurdity on top of absurdity

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