Best Left Insert Topic Podcasts (2025)

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SOLVED! SAMPLE! #23 - ROBBING YOU BLIND: ‘Buy Now Pay Later’ and Mass Consumer Manipulation 19:01

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19m ago19:01

19:01

Air Date: 9–24-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - Intro, and quick follow up on bad satire Ch. 2 - The new culture of ‘buy now pay later’ and how these companies are manipulating the public to normalize the culture of overconsumption Ch. 3 - How companies pass the environmental toll of their products on the public, and the rise…

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#1526 A History of Political Violence in the US (Throwback) 1:20:44

2d ago1:20:44

1:20:44

Original 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 to our current once-again-radicalized, right-wing movement willing to use and tacitly condo…

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#1739 The Charlie Kirk Assassination and the Plans to Weaponize It 3:29:37

1d ago3:29:37

3:29:37

Air Date 9/23/2025 All that is happening in the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination was quite predictable because we've actually seen this game plan play out before. The only thing we didn't know was what would be the catalyst to really put the autocracy into high gear. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us …

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SOLVED! #22 - The Culture Wars at 10,000 Feet 18:51

5d ago18:51

18:51

Air Date: 9–20-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - The right-wing’s continued attempts at satire Ch. 2 - Manufactured outrage about male cheerleaders and sorority dances Ch. 3 - How political outsiders always adopt new tech, and how that ties to pushing back against misinformation Ch. 4 - Final thoughts on how when bad actors ma…

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#1738 Escalations: Russia, Israel, And What We Are Allowed to Say About It 3:28:50

7d ago3:28:50

3:28:50

Air Date 9/20/2025 The escalations are happening so fast now that even though this episode is about Russia increasing tensions by violating NATO airspace in Poland with drones and Israel intensifying their belligerence by bombing inside Qatar, those aren't even the most recent incidents now that Russian jets have entered NATO airspace in Estonia an…

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#1737 State of the Resistance: Labor, Anger, and Knowing That We've Been Here Before 3:31:51

11d ago3:31:51

3:31:51

Air Date 9/16/2025 Between recent Labor Day rallies and Republican Town Hall meetings, we're seeing that resistance to Trump's deeply unpopular policies is alive and well. Plus we're going to look at some historical legacies of resistance movements that can both inform and inspire us today. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999…

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#1736 Not the Opposition Party the Country Need Right Now 3:38:26

16d ago3:38:26

3:38:26

Air Date 9/11/2025 I've always learned the high-level understanding that the Nazis were partly able to come to power because the opposition at the time was too caught up with infighting to create a coherent resistance. With hindsight, it's easy to lament how badly they miscalculated the circumstances but living through the modern day and watching t…

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#1735 Trump's Making Friends of Enemies and Enemies of Neighbors (Foreign and Domestic Wars) 3:48:33

20d ago3:48:33

3:48:33

Air Date 9/7/2025 Trump has been setting a new tone both at home and abroad which is shaking up everything from the war in Ukraine to threats of force against Mexico, Venezuela, and our own American cities with the militarization of domestic policing. And we made all of this before Trump posted an Apocalypse Now meme about using the Department of W…

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SOLVED! #21 - GerryF**ked: How to Fix Congressional Representation and End Homelessness 21:07

23d ago21:07

21:07

Air Date: 9–3-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - The surprising origins of Gerrymandering Ch. 2 - The options we have to improve congressional representation for everyone in the country Ch. 3 - Democratic states response to Republican gerrymandering threats Ch. 4 - The argument for DC statehood and the people to blame for why i…

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#1567 How to Sell an Immoral Economic System to the Masses (Throwback) 1:03:13

25d ago1:03:13

1:03:13

Air Date: 6–20-2023 Today, we take a look at the story of how neoliberalism was born, how corporations were organized to help push it into the mainstream, and how the courts were reshaped to permanently tilt the rules in favor of corporate power. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bes…

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#1734 Where is the Revolutionary, Anti-Fascist Art? 3:11:37

26d ago3:11:37

3:11:37

Air Date 9/1/2025 The way people consume almost every variety of media, entertainment, and art is different now than it was only 10-15 years ago. That means that the way protest music, revolutionary art, and even mass market productions and performances are going to be different, feel different, and likely find you in different ways than in the pas…

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SOLVED! #20 - America’s Brain Drain: How Scientific Empires Fall 26:57

29d ago26:57

26:57

Air Date: 8–28-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - How scientific empires fall Ch. 2 - How fascists of the past have destroyed their country’s scientific progress in fear of inconvenient truths Ch. 3 - How other countries are taking the opportunity to poach American scientists Ch. 4 - Living in a society that is shifting away fr…

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#1733 The Impossible Promise of Make American Healthy Again: MAHA vs MAGA 3:09:37

1M ago3:09:37

3:09:37

Air Date 8/27/2025 RFK Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement aren't completely wrong about everything, they often identify the larger structural problems with the US health industrial complex even if their proposed solutions are wildly off the mark. But the problem they failed to see coming when partnering with Trump and the Republicans i…

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#1732 It's Never Just About the Kids (Online Censorship, Age Verification, and the Project 2025 Agenda) 2:53:34

1M ago2:53:34

2:53:34

Air Date 8/24/2025 The nature of politics and public policy is that there's always a need to balance opposing interests. Almost nowhere is there a more intractable set of opposing interests than in the attempt to protect children from harmful content on the internet while maintaining free access to adults, particularly because people wildly disagre…

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#1731 Raw Power, the Presidency, the Courts, and Democracy in the Balance 3:41:10

1M ago3:41:10

3:41:10

Air Date 8/20/2025 There's been a faction of conservatives who have been trying to instill king-like powers into the presidency for a long time, so it shouldn't be surprising that Trump is getting so much help from the packed court and the apparatchiks in the states who are more than happy to turn their precious federalism on its head as long as th…

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SOLVED! #19 - Big Data: Putting Digital Fingerprints in the Pie of Freedom 16:35

1M ago16:35

16:35

Air Date: 8–19-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch.1 - The Trump administration’s unprecedented attempts to get your data from the states Ch. 2 - Why Trump’s new private health tracking system is a wolf in sheep’s clothing Ch. 3 - How HIV patients suffering in the 80s, 90s and early 00s from constant health data breaches is a hint of…

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#1730 The Axis of the Dark Personality Triad: Unfit Leaders and the Suffering They Cause 3:52:59

1M ago3:52:59

3:52:59

Air Date 8/16/2025 There's the old Douglas Adams quote stating that, "Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job" which is a good general rule to live by. But then there are the real baddies, those would-be leaders who possess one or more of the dark triad of traits that spells real doom…

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#1729 Monthly-ish Mix: Layers of Authoritarian Control and the Rising Resistance 3:48:40

2M ago3:48:40

3:48:40

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 Soc…

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SOLVED! #18 - How to Live Under Fascism 21:55

2M ago21:55

21:55

Air Date: 8–10-25 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 importan…

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#1728 The Lawfare Presidency: The Case of Trump v. Journalism 3:09:37

1M ago3:09:37

3:09:37

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 t…

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#1727 Super-Powered Men For Good and Ill: Fascism, Media, and the Manoshpere 4:39:49

2M ago4:39:49

4:39:49

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 …

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#1573 Confronting Climate Chaos with Action and Adaptation (Throwback) 1:07:33

2M ago1:07:33

1:07:33

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 [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new…

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SOLVED! #17 - How to Use the Bullsh*t Machine: A.I. LLMs’ insertion into childhood, school, work, and movements 20:57

2M ago20:57

20:57

Air Date: 8-1-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: The impact of A.I. LLM “friend” bots on childhood development How using A.I. LLMs negatively impacts critical thinking and information retention The importance of understanding how A.I. LLM tools work before using them The ways in which A.I. LLM tools could and shouldn’t help movements o…

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#1726 Epstein Forever: Trump flails as criticism finally comes from inside the MAGA house 3:29:05

2M ago3:29:05

3:29:05

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 leve…

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#1725 A Flood of Disinformation: A World of Climate Change and Conspiracies 2:58:47

2M ago2:58:47

2:58:47

Air Date: 7-27-2025 Back when I worked in the climate movement, just after the turn of the century, we knew that the extreme weather we were warning about would become ever-more clear to see in people's lived experiences and assumed that any doubts people had about the science of climate change would be wiped away with the evidence they could see w…

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#1724 How to Socialism: Einstein liked socialism, you think you know better? 3:47:42

2M ago3:47:42

3:47:42

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Old Democrats Must Go or Trump NEVER Will - UNFTR Media - Air Date 7-15-25 KP 2: 'The Economy …

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SOLVED! #16 - Under Pressure: Aiming Higher to Fix Societal Problems 20:26

2M ago20:26

20:26

Air Date: 7–22-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: The need for universal childcare and the pressure release valve of fighting your employer over working from home The need for universal benefits and the pressure release valve of gig workers fighting for a patchwork of crumbs from giant corporations The need to get rid of the business m…

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#1375 The Militia Movement is Having a Moment (Throwback) 1:09:48

2M ago1:09:48

1:09:48

Original Air Date: 10–16-2020 Transcript Today we take a look at the history and origins of the American militia movement right up to the recent plot to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, the likelihood of more violence and the high probability that they will show up at polling places on Election Day. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text a…

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#1723 Scam Nation: Trumpism is the Art of Screwing You Over in Every Way Possible 4:39:27

2M ago4:39:27

4:39:27

Air Date 7/16/2025 It increasingly feels like we are completely past the era of legitimate differences in political philosophy and policy preferences. Now that the Republican governing style has been completely consumed by Trumpism, we've entered the era of scam politics which fits nicely with Trump's traditional retail scams, capitalism's continua…

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SOLVED! #15 - This is Propaganda Country: The Grotesque, Cruel, & Artificial Aesthetics of Modern Fascism 19:11

3M ago19:11

19:11

Air Date: 7–13-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: ⁃ The calculated, propaganda motives behind “Mar-a-Lago face” and bizarre MAGA hyper-femininity ⁃ How MAGA uses Kristi Noem’s “Border Barbie” vibes to attempt to soften its vicious immigration policy, and project victimization ⁃ How bad AI imagery is now the look of modern fascism ⁃ The…

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#1722 Imbalance of Powers: The Supreme Court and Executive Branch Collude for Unchecked Power Grab 3:18:29

3M ago3:18:29

3:18:29

Air Date 7/12/2025 The idea of the founders was to separate and balance the powers of the federal government and that, as Madison wrote, that ambition would counteract ambition. The problem we face now is that the ambition of the Supreme Court is to give as much power as possible to the executive branch because, ironically, they seem to be nostalgi…

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#1721 The Evolution of the Military Industrial Complex: Now with AI! 3:10:12

3M ago3:10:12

3:10:12

Air Date 7/9/2025 It's an old joke that "military intelligence" is a good example of an oxymoron so I just asked an AI chatbot to finish a joke about what a military becomes when they implement artificial intelligence. It said, "an oxymoron squared - or as the generals call it, "strategically enhanced stupidity with a confidence interval of 95%" wh…

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SOLVED! #14 - How to Be An Imperfectionist: Fighting the infighting and building a resilient Left movement 20:41

3M ago20:41

20:41

Air Date: 7–7-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Some advice on understanding how to identify imperfect allies vs. true opponents Good-faith critiques of (and agreements with) socialist NYU Professor Vivek Chibber’s views on identity politics on the Left Working Families Party head Maurice Mitchell’s ideas on “neoliberal identity” poli…

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#1376 Tell Stories, Not Myths- America is a Force But Not Always For Good (Throwback) 1:01:36

3M ago1:01:36

1:01:36

Original Air Date: 10-21-20 Today we take a look at some of the many zany foreign misadventures the United States has had over the past 100 years. And by "zany misadventures" I mean the naked pursuit of capitalism at any cost, the support of military coups and other undemocratic overthrows of foreign governments and wars for oil and resources in an…

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#1720 Building an Organized Left, the Eternal Oxymoron 4:01:42

3M ago4:01:42

4:01:42

Air Date 7/2/2025 The militarization of Trump's deportation regime and response to protesters is the clearest example of his desire to implement a fully authoritarian government. Pure and simple. 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@BestOfTheL…

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#13 - How to Make Enemies and Influence People 21:56

3M ago21:56

21:56

Air Date: 6–30-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Shifting the way we think and talk about the benefits of peaceful nonviolence at anti-fascist protests The unlimited patience for capitalism vs. the knee-jerk “Impossible!” for left-wing ideas The centrists Democrats (and their consultants) missing the forest for the trees An antidote t…

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#1719 The Fascist Playbook: Immigrants, Brown Shirts, and the Backlash 4:12:04

3M ago4:12:04

4:12:04

Air Date 6/28/2025 The militarization of Trump's deportation regime and response to protesters is the clearest example of his desire to implement a fully authoritarian government. Pure and simple. 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@BestOfThe…

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#1718 On the Path to Destruction: Israel Attacks Iran as Support for War on Gaza Drops 3:56:42

3M ago3:56:42

3:56:42

Air Date: 6-25-2025 We thought we were going to have an episode about the war Israel is conducting ready for you last week but then they started another war. So, it would have felt odd to release an Israel episode without the latest major updates including Iran. I can only imagine what will happen between the time I speak these words and when you h…

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SOLVED! #12 - Back to the…1980s? The Power of Nostalgia and Trump’s Reaganitis 20:30

3M ago20:30

20:30

Air Date: 6–23-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: The long history of nostalgia in politics as we find ourselves reliving the 1980s How MAGA Youth have a lot in common with Reagan Youth (a la Alex P. Keaton) without the context Trump’s Reaganitis: All the ways Trump is just straight up copying Reagan and how he could fail like him too …

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#1717 Monthly-Ish Mix: Wealth Concentration, Knowledge Suppression, and Identity Exploitation: The Systems of Control of the Authoritarian Playbook 3:11:29

3M ago3:11:29

3:11:29

Air Date 6/21/2025 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month, we're focusing on the way authoritarian movements operate across multiple fronts simultaneously to reshape society. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on the infamous Signal at the hand…

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#1716 The Fight for Workers: Oligarchy and its Bipartisan Enablers 3:26:08

3M ago3:26:08

3:26:08

Air Date 6/18/2025 Critics of capitalism like us often advocate for the system to come to an end and be replaced with another that aligns better with human needs and continued existence. Well, it's possible that the system is close to having run its course and will be making way for something different. Unfortunately, the natural course of capitali…

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#1612 New Tech and the New Luddite Movement; Inequitable Distribution of Benefits from New Technology Always Sparks Demands from Labor and AI is Rekindling the Old Arguments (Throwback) 58:19

4M ago58:19

58:19

Original Air Date: 2-20-2024 "Luddite" should never have become the epithet that it is as the Luddites were never afraid of or opposed to technological advancement, they only opposed the exploitation of workers and the degradation to society that came with the unfair distribution of the benefits of the targeted technology. Be part of the show! Leav…

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#1715 The Weaponization of Antisemitism and Counterproductive Violence 2:36:28

4M ago2:36:28

2:36:28

Air Date: 6-11-2025 Following the 2023 attack and counterattack between Israel and Hamas which brought the simmering conflict into the mainstream of American politics, we're now living with the opportunistic weaponization of antisemitism being used as a pretext to crack down on anti-Israel protests and universities that just aren't teaching a Trump…

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SOLVED! #11 - Culture War Distractions While the Oligarchs Rob You Blind 24:25

4M ago24:25

24:25

Air Date: 6-8-25 BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: The right’s attack on free speech and academic freedom Trumponomics, men, and tradwives The lessons to learn about culture wars from the fight for gay marriage How the internet and Trump force us to live in…

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#1714 Trump's Anti-Knowledge Agenda is Inviting the Next Authoritarian Dark Age 3:50:49

4M ago3:50:49

3:50:49

Air Date 6/6/2025 Today, Trump's administration is doing everything in its power to end the era of educational dominance the US has enjoyed for decades. The simple fact that explains the change is that democracy used to be valued across the political spectrum while todays Republican Party is authoritarian and understands that an educated public is …

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#1597 The rise of fascism around the world driven by economic insecurity (Throwback) 1:03:12

4M ago1:03:12

1:03:12

Original Air Date: 12-8-2023 Neoliberalism has created a lot of economic suffering and insecurity in addition to weakened social ties over the past few decades. And now, in what may be the most devastating result of the ideology yet, neoliberalism may be leading much of the world toward fascism bolstered by legitimate grievances about economic prec…

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SOLVED! #10 - The Old Guard is Dying 23:26

4M ago23:26

23:26

Air Date: 6–2-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: The role of art in political movements and moments under capitalism The problems with the Democratic Party that go far beyond Biden The Democrats’ gerontocracy that is literally dying and allowing Trump legislation to pass Our response to the latest DNC Executive Committee Meeting (held …

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#1713 Yes, GOP Policies Really Are That Bad: Trump's Corruption and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act 3:12:04

4M ago3:12:04

3:12:04

Air Date 5/30/2025 Given the overwhelming weirdness of Trump and his malfeasant style of governance, it would be perfectly understandable for casual observers to believe that his signature piece of legislation, weirdly named in reality the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," was itself also likely to be pretty weird; a potential departure from usual Repu…

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#1712 Eugenics Redux: A Gilded Age Ideology Brought Back for the Second Gilded Age 3:25:11

4M ago3:25:11

3:25:11

Air Date 5/27/2025 Slippery slope arguments persist because good ideas taken to extremes become bad ones. Eugenics exemplifies this—often starting with good intentions. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email [email protected] Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our…

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SPECIAL MEMBERS EDITION! Myths, Vampires, and Sinners (the movie!) - SPOILERS! 17:13

4M ago17:13

17:13

Air Date: 5-26-25 *CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE MOVIE “SINNERS”* You thought you were going to listen to SOLVED! today, and you're not alone. We also thought we were going to make an episode of SOLVED!, but this turned into something a little bit different. So, we're calling it a “special” in which Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss storytelling and …