As this year comes to a close, it felt right to do something a little different. No outrage. No doomscrolling. No reminder of why your eye twitches when cable news comes on. Instead, this episode is a full hour devoted entirely to the good stuff — the stories that quietly reminded us, again and again, that decency didn’t take the year off.

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

While most of the country was trying to unplug, slow down, and get through Christmas with a minimum amount of family drama, Donald Trump spent the holiday season doing what he does best—turning a moment meant for warmth and reflection into a showcase of confusion, exaggeration, and emotional vacancy. In this episode, we take a serious but unsparing look at Trump’s strange Christmas season: from wildly inflated claims about snake deaths in Peru and an uncomfortable rant about Melania’s underwear, to the murky release of Epstein documents, baffling drug-price math, State controlled news, and a Christmas Eve gathering that felt more like a wax museum than a celebration. This isn’t about petty gaffes or one-off weirdness. It’s about what happens when a leader can’t read the room, can’t meet the moment, and can’t even manage “easy mode” leadership during the holidays—and why the normalization of that dysfunction should worry all of us.

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

In moments of national tragedy, the presidency isn’t supposed to me about policy or politics—it’s instead supposed to embody empathy, restraint, and the ability to steady a grieving country. In this episode, we examine how past presidents have risen to that responsibility, from the aftermath of the Challenger and Columbia shuttle disasters to mass shootings and acts of terror, and why those moments mattered. Then, the stark contrast that is Donald Trump, whose repeated habit of politicizing tragedy reveals not just a lack of empathy, but a fundamental failure of leadership. By turning grief into grievance and mourning into messaging, Trump doesn’t just expose his character—he deepens the division and vitriol already tearing the country apart. This is a hard look at what leadership looks like when it’s missing, and why that absence has consequences far beyond any single speech. Also in this episode: The "release" of the Epstein files, the Kennedy Center debacle, and Republican infighting via "AmericaFest."

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

Today is the legal deadline for the release of the Epstein files — documents the federal government has spent years keeping out of public view. In this episode, we walk through why this date matters, what the law actually requires, and how the Trump administration has spent months promising transparency while quietly laying the groundwork for delays, redactions, and half-measures. We break down the back-and-forth from the White House and DOJ, the suspicious silence since the bill passed, the sudden rise of convenient distractions, and the many ways an administration can technically comply with the law while completely undermining its spirit. This isn’t about conspiracy theories — it’s about power, accountability, and whether “transparency” still means anything when powerful people are involved.

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

Following the shocking deaths of filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, public grief barely had time to settle before it was weaponized for a moronic political attack. We take a look at what we actually know about the case, why speculation in the aftermath of violence is so dangerous, and how Donald Trump’s disgusting response fits a long, disturbing pattern of exploiting tragedy for personal and political gain. Beyond one post or one man, this episode asks a bigger question: What happens to a society when empathy is treated as a liability and decency becomes negotiable? This is a conversation about power, rhetoric, and the moral cost of normalizing cruelty. Plus, Netxlfix vs. Paramount, Kristi Noem lies again, the new Epstein photos.

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

In this edition of Back Porch Files, we dive into the unsettling alliance between Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and his ideological North Star, Pastor Doug Wilson of Moscow, Idaho. Wilson — a Christian nationalist who has defended slavery, rejected women’s political rights, and preached patriarchal rule — has become one of Hegseth’s most-admired figures. And that devotion isn’t just creepy; it’s dangerous. We unpack who Wilson is, why Hegseth idolizes him, how that worldview is bleeding into the Pentagon, and why putting a culture-war crusader with a volatile past in charge of the U.S. military is not just absurd, but a genuine national security risk. It’s part biography, part warning flare, and part “how did we get here?” 

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

In this episode, we dig into the racism so many people pretend not to see — the latest example being the relentless, targeted attacks Donald Trump has launched at Congresswoman Ilhan Omar and the broader Somali immigrant community. We walk through the history of Trump’s rhetoric, the conspiracies he knowingly amplifies, the “send her back” moments he encourages, and the way these narratives are swallowed whole by supporters who insist they’re “not racist.” We also break down who Ilhan Omar actually is — her background, public service, and qualifications — and how her real story clashes with the caricature. Along the way, we explore why so many Americans refuse to acknowledge obvious bigotry, how that denial harms real communities, and why calling this behavior what it is matters for the country’s moral and democratic health. Also in this episode: The PAC plan for 2028, motive of the J6 bomber, and birthright citizenship headed to SCOTUS.

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

Trump says the D.C. shooting proves his immigration policies were too soft. Reality says the shooter was already vetted half to death, might’ve been radicalized here, and that the administration is using the tragedy as a political permission slip to target mostly non-white immigrants. In this episode, we dig into the numbers Trump doesn’t advertise, the racial double standard in his version of “public safety,” and why the outrage machine only seems to turn on when the shooter isn’t white. 

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

In this episode, we break down the explosive revelations surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s alleged “kill them all” directive—an order tied to the September 2nd maritime strike that left unarmed survivors in the water dead. We explore the Trump administration’s escalating campaign of lethal strikes in the Caribbean, the legal and moral red lines these actions cross, and the mounting bipartisan backlash demanding answers. We also look at the wider concerns around Hegseth’s tenure, including long-standing warnings from military and intelligence professionals about his lack of qualifications, his disregard for international law, and his pattern of reckless judgment. Here's what happened, why it matters, and what it means for the country, democracy, and America’s global integrity.

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft

In this episode, we dive into the increasingly exhausting cycle of President Trump’s repetitive bluster—highlighted by his Thanksgiving turkey-pardon speech, where he once again turned a lighthearted national tradition into a political sideshow. From jabs at a governor, to jabs at the NY Times, it was another week of the same blather. How is anyone—not just critics, but even his own supporters—not completely worn out by the same old insults, grievances, and self-aggrandizing riffs? This episode takes a look at the monotony of Trump’s perpetual outrage machine and why America seems stuck listening to a political greatest-hits album of a performer with precious little. If any, new material.

As always, check out podcast related links on Link Tree at https://linktr.ee/NeighborOnTheLeft