Stay ConnectedExpertly-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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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.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The New Luddites - SHIFT - Air Date 2-14-24
Ch. 2: Being a Luddite Is Good, Actually ft. Jathan Sadowski - Left Reckoning - Air Date 5-29-21
Ch. 4: This is not good - jstoobs (TikTok) - Air Date 2-16-24
Ch. 5: The ACTUAL Danger of A.I. with Gary Marcus Part 1 - Factually! - Air Date 7-2-23
Ch. 6: The Left Luddites and the AI Accelerationists - torres - Air Date - 5-15-23
Ch. 8: The ACTUAL Danger of A.I. with Gary Marcus Part 2 - Factually! - Air Date 7-2-23
Ch. 9: The anti-tech movement is back. - Alice Cappelle - Air Date 6-15-22
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: An 1812 block print of "The Leader of the Luddites" depicting a man in disheveled early 1800s clothing and missing one shoe leading other men up a hill while a building burns in the background.
Credit: "The Leader of the Luddites", Messrs | Working Class Movement Library catalog | Public Domain
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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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-aligned curriculum. Meanwhile, genuinely inexcusable antisemitism is being either condemned or excused by Israel supporters based more on political affiliation than the danger posed to Jews.
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KEY POINTS
KP 1: I Am Not Your Pawn - Rabbi Sharon Brous | Purim 5785 - IKAR - Air Date 3-8-25
KP 2: U.S. Jewish Anti-Zionism - Against the Grain - Air Date 4-2-25
KP 3: Who Are 'JINO Jews' and Why Do Conservatives Hate Them? - Zeteo - Air Date 3-6-25
KP 5: CNN Attempts To Make 'Free Palestine' Offensive - The Rational National - Air Date 5-23-25
KP 6: The Antisemitism Panic Part 1 - matt bernstein - Air Date 5-30-25
(00:50:04) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On why violence makes for a terrible theory of change
DEEPER DIVES
(00:59:36) SECTION A: FREE SPEECH
A3: Harvard professor hits back at Trump administration - LBC - Air Date 5-24-25
(01:28:03) SECTION B: WEAPONIZATION
B3: Why the U.S. is pausing all student visa interviews - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 5-28-25
B4: The Antisemitism Panic Part 2 - matt bernstein - Air Date 5-30-25
(01:59:28) SECTION C: INDEFENSIBLE
C1: Palestinian BABIES are the ENEMY - Israeli politician - Owen Jones - Air Date 5-23-25
(02:11:29) SECTION D: BACKFIRE
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: A metal placeholder with the Star of David on it resting between two pages of the Torah. Credit: "Star of David emblem" via Ri_Ya, Pixabay | Pixabay license
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date: 6-8-25
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Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
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REFERENCES:
Trump's Attack on Harvard Marks a New Phase in the Culture War - New York Magazine
There's No Trumponomics Without the Tradwife - New York Magazine
To Stop Losing the Culture Wars, Learn From Gay Marriage - Jacobin
I Can't Believe We're Still Arguing About This - The New York Times
Democrats Can Avoid Trump's Culture-War Traps - Jacobin
SOLVED! SONG! "Rob You Blind" - Concepts: Human Intelligence. Song: Artificial Intelligence. Based on SOLVED! Ep. #11: "Culture War Distractions While the Oligarchs Rob You Blind" (June 8, 2025)
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Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
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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 a public that demands democracy while an uneducated public is much easier to manipulate and oppress.
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KEY POINTS
KP 1: How Trump has reshaped the federal workforce - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 5-29-25
(01:00:04) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On what will fill the gap left by anti-intellectualism
DEEPER DIVES
(01:07:27) SECTION A: ANTI-SCIENCE
(02:27:53) SECTION B: ANTI-HIGHER EDUCATION
(02:56:38) SECTION C: ANTI-PUBLIC GOODS
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: An illustrated image of an arm and hand holding up a protest sign with an image of a brain on it.
Credit: "brain icon mind thinking" via Mohamed_hasan, Pixabay | Pixabay license
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 precarity which are coopted by the false promises of right-wing populism.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Far-right extremism on the rise around the globe - The ReidOut with Joy Reid - Air Day 11-28-23
Ch. 5: Media Coverage of the Trump Movement is Missing Vital Context - On the Media - Air Date 11-29-23
Air Date: 6–2-25
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
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REFERENCES:
Don't Expect Art To Save Us - Current Affairs
To Be a Consumer of Culture Means Living in a Hostage Situation - Slate (from 2023)
The Problem Goes Well Beyond Biden - Current Affairs
The Democratic Party Is Literally Dying - The Nation
Inside the Democrats' Reboot - Time
The DNC Executive Committee Meeting via Progressive Hub
SOLVED! SONG! "Push" - Concepts: Human Intelligence. Song: Artificial Intelligence. Based on SOLVED! Ep. #10: "The Old Guard is Dying" (June 2nd)
TAKE ACTION:
June 14th - "No Kings" Nationwide Day of Action
Find your Indivisible group - or start one
Use the 5 Calls app for scripts and to reach all your elected officials
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
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Leave a message at 202-999-3991
Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
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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 Republican Party policy priorities. In reality, what's weird is how deeply normal it is: take from the poor and give to the rich while letting corporations get away with murder.
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KEY POINTS
KP 1: All the president's side hustles - Today, Explained - Air Date 5-15-25
KP 5: Trump's Big Beautiful Bill is Baloney - The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich - Air Date 5-17-25
(00:55:49) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On why seeing is not believing and how that helps Republicans
DEEPER DIVES
(01:02:25) SECTION A: CORRUPTION
(01:45:05) SECTION B: BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL
(02:19:13) SECTION C: IMPACT
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Composite image depicting Trump giving a speech at a podium with his hands out and an image of House Speaker Mike Johnson's face in a circle over his shoulder. Text over the image reads "THE BIG CRUEL STUPID BILL"
Credits: Composite design by A. Hoffman. Photo credit: "President of the United States Donald J. Trump at CPAC 2017 February 24th 2017" by Michael Vadon, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Darkened overlay and text and image overlays | "Mike Johnson" by Gage Skidmore, Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped into circle with darker overlay
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.
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KEY POINTS
KP 2: MAHA's Soft Eugenics - Conspirituality - Air Date 3-8-25
KP 3: It Must Be Eugenics - I Must Be BUG'N - Air Date 4-24-25
KP 4: Hayek's bastards w/ Quinn Slobodian - Politics Theory Other - Air Date 3-30-25
KP 6: Undercover inside a 'scientific racism' network - Today in Focus - Air Date 10-25-24
(00:49:40) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On the likely future of gene editing ethics
DEEPER DIVES
(01:02:09) SECTION A: HISTORICAL CONTEXT
(01:44:19) SECTION B: RFK JR. ON AUTISM
(01:59:39) SECTION C: TECH BROS
(02:46:44) SECTION D: PRONATALISM
(03:05:05) SECTION E: MAGA
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Composite image depicting HHS Secretary RFK Jr. at a microphone in the center of an overlay of repeating, identical "people" icons. A handful of icons are different, bright neon colors and have a red X in a box over them.
Credits: Composite design by A. Hoffman. Elements from Pixabay. Photo credit: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr." by Gage Skidmore, Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped, background color change, and added overlay
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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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 mythology in general, and the extremely relevant and fascinating themes of the new Ryan Coogler film "Sinners," in particular. Because storytelling is the process by which humans attempt to understand ourselves, it is, by its nature, never ending.
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REFERENCES:
Humans are not the only animals that create their own culture - Earth.com
Ancient Myths in Modern Times: Illuminating Bygone Legends Through Technology - Connolly Cove
The Vampire in Mythology: Analyzing the Symbolic Meanings and Archetypes of Vampire Figures - Mythology Worldwide
"Sinners" - A film by Ryan Coogler starring Michael B. Jordan
TAKE ACTION:
June 14th - "No Kings" Nationwide Day of Action
Find your Indivisible group - or start one
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Leave a message at 202-999-3991
Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
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Original Air Date: 6/29/2020
From 2020: Today we take a look deeper at the concept of "I can't breathe," going beyond the literal utterances by victims of police brutality and COVID-19 sufferers to the metaphorical epidemic of exhaustion, burnout, depression and disaffection in the US and around the world.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 3: George Floyd, you, me… us - Jim Hightower - Air Date 6-9-20
Ch. 4: The End of Policing with Alex Vitale Part 1 - Tysky Sour, Novara Media - Air Date 6-3-20
Ch. 6: The End of Policing with Alex Vitale Part 2 - Tysky, Novara Media - Air Date 6-3-20
Ch. 8: The End of Policing with Alex Vitale Part 3 - Tysky, Novara Media - Air Date 6-3-20
Produced by Jay!
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