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!
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#1793 Anti-Immigrant Brutality Costs Countries More Than Their Morals: ICE, Mass Deportation, and the Global Far-Right
Episode 1793
Thursday, May 21, 2026 • Duration 03:45:45
Air Date: 5/20/2026
Today we examine how the Trump administration is quietly reshaping its unpopular immigration crackdown by moving enforcement out of public view. Plus, we explain how anti-immigration politics is spreading through the post-colonial world, highlighting how it's reshaping political parties and public debate in the UK, Canada, and Australia.
#1792 Capitalist Class Warfare: AI, Billionaire Capture, and the How to Fight Back
Episode 1792
Saturday, May 16, 2026 • Duration 03:18:23
Air Date: 5/15/2026
Today we examine what it would actually take to claw back democracy from billionaire capture — and why some people think it's more possible than it looks. We'll hear about California's proposed billionaire wealth tax, AOC's vision for change that doesn't depend on positional power, and why Peter Thiel's new "AI Tribunal of Truth" may have accidentally revealed exactly what the ruling class fears most.
#1785 Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never)
Episode 1783
Saturday, April 18, 2026 • Duration 03:32:37
Air Date: 4/17/2026
Today we examine how the U.S. war with Iran has exposed the deep structural rot at the heart of American power, the global economic catastrophe quietly building beneath the surface, and the cuts felt at home in order to pay for it all.
#1729 Monthly-ish Mix: Layers of Authoritarian Control and the Rising Resistance
Episode 1729
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 • Duration 03:48:40
Air Date 8/12/2025
The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month, we're covering the full spectrum of authoritarian threats—military in the streets, surveillance in our phones, conspiracies in our feeds, and corruption at the top—before turning to the grassroots organizers and Democratic Socialists who are building the resistance and winning.
Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was on vacation!) discuss:
How modern fascism does not look like the jarring and brutal images people think of, and the "rituals of conformity" in Nazi Germany that remind us of another era we've lived through
How despotism affects the citizen psyche and how to counter those effects
The importance of countering Orwellian language under fascism
Advice on living under authoritarianism, with a big focus on community for sanity and resistance
BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only): A look at the way societies have collapsed throughout history and where the U.S. falls in the pattern
#1728 The Lawfare Presidency: The Case of Trump v. Journalism
Episode 1728
Sunday, August 10, 2025 • Duration 03:09:37
Air Date 8/10/2025
Trump has been condemning the media for all of his professional life and is pretty open about doing it so that people won't believe the negative press he so richly deserves. Now, with the power of the presidency, he's turned his battle with the press into a protection racket complete with payoffs and side deals in an attempt to turn the media into pro-Trump propaganda.
Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
#1727 Super-Powered Men For Good and Ill: Fascism, Media, and the Manoshpere
Episode 1727
Wednesday, August 6, 2025 • Duration 04:39:49
Air Date 8/6/2025
Today's slate of topics may feel disjointed at first until you realize that they're not. We set out to produce an episode in which we explored powerful men and those who look up to them from various angles and so that ended up including both real and fictional men from supervillains to superheroes.
Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
#1573 Confronting Climate Chaos with Action and Adaptation (Throwback)
Episode 1573
Sunday, August 3, 2025 • Duration 01:07:33
Original Air Date: 7–22-2023
Today, we take a look at the action needed to curb and adapt to the extreme weather that climate change is already delivering
Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
#1726 Epstein Forever: Trump flails as criticism finally comes from inside the MAGA house
Episode 1726
Thursday, July 31, 2025 • Duration 03:29:05
Air Date: 7/31/2025
Who would have thought that a political movement built almost exclusively on conspiracy theories and a cult of personality would end up being threatened by the cult leader being implicated in the biggest and worst conspiracy coverup… even though it's been well documented for decades?
Content warning for detailed accusations leveled against Trump and Epstein by their alleged victims.
Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Eisenhower Warned Us: Trump's $1.5T Military Budget Is Gutting America
DEEPER DIVES
(01:03:57) SECTION A: LEBANON UNDER ATTACK
(01:29:29) SECTION B: THE WORLD DEDOLLARISES
(01:49:40) SECTION C: WORLD ECONOMY IN PERIL
(02:21:45) SECTION D: THE MORAL ROT OF WAR PROFITEERING
(02:46:42) SECTION E: THE DAMAGE OUR MILITARY DOES
(03:06:15) SECTION F: MAKING CHINA GREAT AGAIN
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: A composite image showing a satellite image of the Straight of Hormuz behind a screenshot of Trump's post that says "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again…."
Credit: Internal composite design. Image: "Satellite image of the Strait of Hormuz." by Jacques Descloitres, NASA | Public Domain
Description: Photo of a bus stop in the UK with a large photo of Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump. An unidentifiable person in a hoodie and yellow vest is closing the bus stop frame.
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