Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Air Date 10/4/2024 When women's value is seen only in relation to their ability to bear and raise children, you get policies that strip them of the right to choose whether that is something they actually want for themselves - the lived consequences are devastating. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: ‘Authoritarian’: Vance’s weird war on women echoes history's biggest fascists - The ReidOut - Air Date 8-15-24 KP 2: Where Did MAGA's 'Post-Birth' Abortion Claim Come From? - NowThis Impact - Air Date 9-12-24 KP 3: Woman Shares 'Trauma' of Abortion Bans During Senate Hearing - NowThis Impact - Air Date 9-24-24 KP 4: Donald wants to CONTROL WOMEN not PROTECT them. The truth behind his FALSE PROMISE. - Danielle Moodie - Air Date 9-25-24 KP 5: Georgia's Deadly Abortion Ban: The Tragic Deaths of Two Black Women, Candi Miller & Amber Thurman - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-18-24 KP 6: Texas Republicans ARE KILLING WOMEN!!! - Brittany Page - Air Date 9-26-24 KP 7: Everyone Loves Someone Who's Had an Abortion - The Defenders - Air Date 12-30-23 (48:52) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the further demands for reproductive justice Articles:  We Need Better Than a Return to the Roe Status Quo National Abortion Rights Groups Have the Wrong Priorities for Our Movement Abortion Access Right Now Fund DEEPER DIVES (56:49) SECTION A: THE CASUALTIES (1:32:58) SECTION B: RELIGION (2:00:00) SECTION C: THE PUNISHMENT IS THE POINT (2:26:03) SECTION D: BLACK WOMEN (2:42:41) SECTION E: THE PUSHBACK SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: A protestor holds a hand-painted sign that says “Justices Lie. Women Die!” with a drawing of a coat hanger. Credit: “220503_RoeVWade_Rally_Pittsburgh-100103” by Mark Dixon, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0

Air Date 10/1/2024 There's still no end in sight to Israel's war on its neighbors and the US continues its toothless efforts to de-escalate while maintaining seemingly unconditional support in spite of standing laws that should prevent our sale of weapons to any country committing war crimes - which Israel certainly it. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Israel Terrorizes Hezbollah With Exploding Pagers - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 9-20-24 KP 2: Hell Is Breaking Loose in Lebanon Israel Rejects Ceasefire Proposal as U.N. Chief Calls for Peace Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-26-24 KP 3: U.S. Gov't Agencies Found Israel Was Blocking Gaza Aid. Blinken Ignored Them to Keep Weapons Flowing - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-26-24 KP 4: 'Whitewashing genocide' How Democrats & the media kept Gaza out of the DNC - The Real News Network - Air Date 8-31-24 KP 5: Palestine In Israeli School Books w Author Nurit Peled-Elhanan - Book Cafe Podcast - Air Date 2-22-24 KP 6: How U.S. College Administrators Are Dreaming Up Ways to Squash Gaza Protests - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-5-24 KP 7: Arrest Netanyahu: NYC activists call for mass march during Netanyahu's UN address - The Real News Network (55:08) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the ease of misunderstanding when discussing Israel Article: A Leftist Analysis of Antisemitism - Jacobin DEEPER DIVES (1:01:15) SECTION A: STATE TERRORISM (1:27:44) SECTION B: GLOBAL COMPLICITY (2:00:10) SECTION C: PROTESTS AND INDOCTRINATION (2:14:13) SECTION D: RESISTANCE SHOW IMAGE CREDIT Description: A black and white photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu making a speech with the flags of Israel and the United States behind him. Credit: “Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III participates in a joint press briefing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, April 12, 2021” by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jack Sanders / U.S. Secretary of Defense, Wikimedia Commons  | License: Public Domain

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 9-29-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Why Cards Against Humanity is fighting Elon Musk - How car-related deaths have soared in the US - How partial automation tech in cars is making driving more dangerous - Why truck bloat(or C.O.U.S.s, if you prefer)is deadly - Surveillance CARpitalism that will blow your mind - The electric school bus fleets sweeping the nation - The fratzonic sound of the electric Dodge Charger REFERENCES: "Cards Against Humanity Sues Elon Musk’s SpaceX “With Great Vengeance and Furious Anger” For Trespassing" "Cards Against Humanity Sues Elon Musk for 15 million dollars"  The Stubborn Problem of Cars Killing People Tesla and Volvo drivers using partial automation tech were studied. Here are the results The US finally takes aim at truck bloat It’s Official: Cars Are the Worst Product Category We Have Ever Reviewed for Privacy Electric school buses are the future we deserve Here’s what the new Dodge Charger Daytona’s fake engine sounds like   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!

Air Date 9/27/2024 Let's just say that it's not a coincidence that right-wing authoritarians are on the rise at the same time as people around the world are having a harder time than ever figuring out what's true. That said, society is beginning to fight back. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trump-project-2025-will-lay-groundwork-for-second-term KP 2: NBC's Jacob Ward: How Technology Shapes Our Thinking and Decisions Part 1 - Commonwealth Club World Affairs (CCWA) - Air Date 1-31-22 KP 3: Streaming is Changing Politics...Is That A Good Thing? - Wisecrack - Air Date 9-20-24 KP 4: YouTube and the Death of Media Literacy - Zoe Bee - Air Date 9-2-24 KP 5: A Citizen's Guide to Disinformation - TechTank - Air Date 9-3-24 KP 6: Enshittification Part 3: Saving The Internet - On the Media - Air Date 5-19-23 (45:53) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On bad media diets and brain worms Article: Welcome to the Era of ‘Deep Doubt’ DEEPER DIVES (54:23) SECTION A: SOCIAL MISINFORMATION (1:23:18) SECTION B: LIVE BY THE ALGORITHM (1:55:54) SECTION C: SOLUTIONS MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Graphic of two profiles back to back, one red, one blue. A white question mark is in the middle. Credit: “face-question mark-disoriented” by geralt| License: Pixabay   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

In this discussion, Tim Walz, a prominent advocate for positive masculinity, sheds light on the contemporary crisis of masculinity, emphasizing the need for authentic role models. He explores the political ramifications of evolving gender roles and the challenges boys face in an increasingly polarized society. The conversation highlights the importance of vulnerability and emotional expression, contrasting toxic masculinity with a healthier, nurturing approach. With a heartfelt focus on father-son bonds, Walz advocates for a cultural shift toward empathy and understanding in shaping boys' identities.

BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Hear the Full Show, Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Air Date: 9-23-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Musk's latest - J.D. Vance's war on truth and brown people - The super villains who spread lies - Sane Washing Trump - Correcting the Left - Right-wing lies as a matter of course REFERENCES: Musk Claims ‘Joke’ About Assassinating Harris Was Funnier in Person J.D. Vance’s War on American Life Starts in Springfield JD Vance Thinks He Can Sell His Nationalism With Cat Memes J.D. Vance’s Admission Shouldn’t Shock You—They’ve Done This for Years How the Media Sanitizes Trump’s Insanity Trump Has Not Been ‘Sane-Washed’ The Sound of One MAGA Attacking (Retracted) “He’s one of us”: Trump defends political violence against the press, while the press remains silent Man arrested at Trump rally in Pa. wanted to hang a protest banner, police say How Right-Wingers Manufacture Scandal   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!

Original 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 of the general public. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: The Autocratic Nightmare of State Republicans (David Pepper Interview) - The David Pakman Show - Air Date 2-5-22 Ch. 2: Republicans Are Staging A Legislative Coup - More Perfect Union - Air Date 1-5-22 Ch. 3: Laboratories of Autocracy – David Pepper – It’s the States, Stupid! - The Al Franken Podcast - Air Date 10-29-22  Ch. 4: The Fight for Fair Maps - The Takeaway - Air Date 7-18-22 Ch. 5: Failing (Red)States - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 3-4-23 Ch. 6: Ending my sm sabbatical since Houston is once again under attack by the party of "small government" - princewilliamhtx - Air Date 3-15-23 Ch. 7: Wherever you live in America, here’s why you should care about Governor Abbott’s removal of school board members in Houston. - isiahrmartin - Air Date 3-16-23 Ch. 8: “Plantation Politics”: How White Mississippi Lawmakers Want to Seize Power in Majority-Black Jackson - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-9-23 Ch. 9: These Republicans are Trying to LITERALLY Send Your Kids Back To The Mines - The Young Turks - Air Date 2-11-23 Ch. 10: How Moore v. Harper Could Reshape Democracy - The Takeaway - Air Date 12-8-22 Ch. 11: Sarah Huckabee Sanders Rolls Back Child Labor Protections in Arkansas - The Young Turks - Air Date 3-10-23 Ch. 12: Missouri law barring police from enforcing federal gun laws creates confusion - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 2-26-23 Ch. 13: Tennessee legislator shocks with lynching suggestion - Alex Wagner Tonight - Air Date 3-3-23 FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 15: Final comments on how to fix the states MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions) Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

Air Date: 9-19-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - the fallout from the debate, Trump's lies, and how his incoherence is being sanitized - The inadequacy of workplace protections, even in unionized shops - how worker stress and consumer misery are actually features, not bugs - the hope of Philosopher Obama and Trump's Power of Positivity®  - people's need to feel like they're getting their money's worth at the expense of all else REFERENCES: UPS Drivers Won “Historic Heat Protections.” They Say the Company Hasn’t Lived Up to That Promise In Fast Food, Worker Stress Is the Business Model Why Airlines Want to Make You Suffer Barack Obama Is the Last American Transcendentalist The True Source of Trump’s Delusions: The Gospel of Positive Thinking   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!

Air Date 9/17/2024 It's not just the threat of the electoral college handing the presidency to the loser of the popular vote, nor the specter of a repeat of a January 6th-like event hanging over the election - there's also copious lies and disinformation including a new and improved nazi-to-Republican-talking-point-pipeline, and fresh new intimidation and voter suppression tactic experiments underway in the laboratories of democracy. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Ignore your lying eyes: Republicans attempt to overwrite living memory to rewrite history - Alex Wagner Tonight - Air Date 8-14-24 KP 2: Trump Admits He Lost 2020 Election?!? - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 9-5-24 KP 3: How Pro-Trump Election Officials Could Refuse To Certify The 2024 Election - Democracy Docket - Air Date 8-15-24 KP 4: What Does “Election Interference” Even Mean Anymore? - The Political Scene Podcast - Air Date 9-4-24 KP 5: Subvert the Election, But Make It Legal - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Air Dat 9-7-24 KP 6: ‘Intimidation’: MAGA Texas AG orders raids on homes of Latino Democrats - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 8-29-24 KP 7: Republicans caught in BOMBSHELL lie - Brian Tyler Cohen - Air Date 9-9-24 KP 8: This is also ominous foreboding for what these people will do in office - Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 9-13-24 (49:26) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On what puts democracies at risk DEEPER DIVES (1:01:09) SECTION A: INTIMIDATION (1:15:27) SECTION B: INTERFERENCE (1:54:14) SECTION C: LIES (2:08:49) SECTION D: ELECTION INTEGRITY SHOW IMAGE Description: Photo of a woman holding a sign above her head that says “Voting Rights are Human Rights”. She is wearing a bucket hat that says “Good Trouble.” Credit: “210828 - voting rights-6” by Johnny Silvercloud | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped     Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com

Air Date 9/13/2024 We've been living through the modern equivalent of the oil boom, back when poking a hole in the ground would make one of the world's most valuable substances, upon which entire economies would be built. But in our case, it's not oil, it's data. Now we are at a pivotal moment as the old unchallenged master of data, Google, has been found guilty of illegal anti-competitive behavior at the same time as generative AI companies are in a new desperate rush to stake claims on every last piece of data they can find. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com Full Show Notes | Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: The New Colonialism of Big Tech - Andrewism - Air Date 9-3-24 KP 2: Tech's Big Money Campaign is Getting Pushback with Margaret O'Mara and Brody Mullins - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 8-26-24 KP 3: Nathan Calvin on California AI bill SB 1047 and it's potential to shape US AI policy - 80,000 Hours Podcast - Air Date 8-29-24 KP 4: This Moment in AI How We Got Here and Where Were Going - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 8-12-24 KP 5: Newsoms AI dilemma To sign or not to sign - POLITICO Tech - Air Date 9-6-24 KP 6: At Last Big Tech's Free Ride May Be Over - The Hartmann Report - Air Date 9-4-24 KP 7: Where AI Isn't a Four Letter Word China Builds Robots to Aid Workers - The Socialist Program - Air Date 9-4-24 KP 8: Tech's Big Money Campaign is Getting Pushback with Margaret O'Mara and Brody Mullins Part 2 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 8-26-24 (1:00:18) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On a possible future for humanity DEEPER DIVES (1:07:35) SECTION A: THE THREAT (1:20:31) SECTION B: BIG TECH LOBBYING (1:39:26) SECTION C: REGULATION (1:56:17) SECTION D: THINKING THROUGH SOLUTIONS SHOW IMAGE Description: Photo of a giant wall-sized screen displaying data numbers and a hand touching a finger to it. Credit: “ai analyzing data” via mimpori01, Pixabay | Pixabay License   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com