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.
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!
Air Date 2/23/2024
2024 is already shaping up to be even more of a disaster than expected. The causes for anxiety are many and varied, leaving many of us with questions. We generally try to avoid topics and commentaries that lean into the realm of pure speculation but today we decided to lean all the way in to answer your most pressing questions. What about Biden's support of Israel? What about his age? Should he be replaced at the Democratic Convention? How likely is Trump to do the horrible things he promises? And what about his court cases?
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Biden GENOCIDE COMPLICITY US Court Backs ICJ - Breaking Points - Air Date 2-1-24
Krystal and Emily discuss a US court ruling Biden may be complicit in genocide after the ICJ's ruling against Israel.
Ch. 2: Moral Failure Democrats Urge Biden to Change Gaza Policy - Democracy Now! - Air Date 2-21-24
"The administration needs to change course in foreign policy in the Middle East to gain the trust of people who we have lost," says California Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna.
Did the media convince you that Biden is losing his touch? Thom Hartmann explains why you can't trust this false narrative.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 11: Final comments on the presidential age debate and what we're really voting for
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: Graphic design composite featuring a large pile of red, triangular traffic attention/warning signs. Every sign has a question mark in the middle with the exception of two, which show the faces of President Biden and Donald Trump, respectively.
Credit: Composite design by A. Hoffman. Composite components: "Joe Biden" by Gage Skidmore, Flickr (License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped). "The Swearing-in Ceremony of the Honorable Brett M. Kavanaugh" via Trump White House Archive, Flickr (Public domain). "Traffic-signs-attention-right-of-way" via Pixabay (Public domain).
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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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
Activists are fighting back against generative AI and reclaiming a misunderstood label in the process, says Brian Merchant in a new piece for The Atlantic.
Ch. 2: Being a Luddite Is Good, Actually ft. Jathan Sadowski - Left Reckoning - Air Date 5-29-21
Jathan Sadowski (@jathansadowski) of the This Machine Kills (@machinekillspod) podcast repairs our sabotaged understanding of the legacy of the Luddites.
Lauded for his groundbreaking work in reverse-engineering OpenAI's large language model, GPT-2, AI expert Connor Leahy tells Imran Garda why he is now sounding the alarm.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on the fork in the road and a look at our options
References:
Rethinking the Luddites in the Age of A.I.
A Scottish Jewish joke - Things Fall Apart - Air Date 1-25-22
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: 2-19-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda and Deon discuss: - how augmented reality and the Apple Vision Pro affects the human brain - how algorithms are changing and flattening our culture - how to take back your life from algorithmic choices
REFERENCES: The Vision Pro's scary side effect
Why Tim Cook Is Going All In on the Apple Vision Pro
We've Forgotten How to Use Computers
Have Algorithms Ruined Our Culture?
How to Take Back Your Life From Algorithms
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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 2/17/2024
The debate over education has been derailed from the legitimate concerns of the past focused on the downfalls of No Child Left Behind and Common Core policies into a cul-de-sac of ignorance over opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion programs and the teaching of critical race theory. Not to mention the new McCarthyism that has sprung up to squash any criticism of Israel's genocidal war in Gaza.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: How to Dismantle the Anti-DEI Machine - At Liberty Podcast - Air Date 2-9-24
Free speech on campus, book bans, education gag orders, the overturn of affirmative action, the resignation of former Harvard president Claudine Gay. All of these issues center on one hot-button topic: DEI.
Author Bradford Vivian joins Emma to discuss his book Campus Misinformation: The Real Threat to Free Speech in American Higher Education.
Ch. 3: Wadie Said on the New McCarthyism - CounterSpin - Air Date 12-22-23
Powerful institutions, including the media, combine a selective understanding of free expression with a vehement desire to enforce it.
Sam and Emma host Jon Shelton, professor at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, to discuss his recent book The Education Myth: How Human Capital Trumped Social Democracy.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on the tradeoffs we make when we allow culture wars to dominate the education debate
Articles:
The Loss of Things I Took for Granted - Slate
In the Fight Over How to Teach Reading, This Guru Makes a Major Retreat - NYTimes
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: Photo of the gothic facade of a university with dark clouds overhead.
Credit: "Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana", Pixabay | License
Air Date 2/13/2024
The entire political system has lurched to the right on immigration as Democrats adopt the talking points of the Republicans and the MAGA Republicans put Trump's election chances over the policies they claim to support.
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SHOW NOTES
MAGA Republicans have vowed to block the latest immigration reform bill, while also saying immigration is a crisis and immediate threat. Donald Trump's influence over MAGA Republican elected officials regarding immigration is discussed
Republican Chip Roy goes off on a fiery rant against his own party, explicitly calling out Donald Trump for posting false claims on Truth Social over the border deal he plotted to destroy. John Iadarola and Sharon Reed break it down on The Damage Report.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on the incentives for our politicians to fail at governing
Related Articles:
How Texas officials stymied nonprofits' efforts to help migrants they bused to northern cities
Half of Republicans say California isn't really American
Commentary: If only Congress would listen to the CBO on immigration
SHOW IMAGE: Description: Photo of detained migrants - adults and children - lined up against the US-Mexico border fence as a border patrol officer walks by.
Credit: "U.S. Border Patrol agent apprehends a group of migrants" via Picryl | License: Public Domain
Air Date 2/10/2024
Continuing to tell the stories of those directly impacted by abortion bans is important to demonstrate the extreme stances taken by anti-choice politicians but we also look ahead to potential ways the situation could be made even worse as well as efforts to relieve the suffering.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Texas Abortion Laws Cruel Outcomes - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 12-16-23
The results of overturning Roe have reached their awful, logical conclusion.
Ch. 2: Post-Roe America 5. Culture of Silence - The Nocturnists - Air Date 10-19-23
In episode 5 of The Nocturnists: Post-Roe America we talk about the culture of silence around reproductive health in medical spaces, and how breaking that silence is our only hope for reclaiming our reproductive freedom.
Ch. 3: Texas Abortion Laws Cruel Outcomes Part 2 - Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 12-16-23
Ch. 4: Did Kate Cox Expose GOP Plan To Turn Women into Property - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 12-14-23
The saga of Kate Cox in Texas is making it clear to every American that GOP opposition to abortion isn't just about abortion: it's ultimately about controlling every aspect of women's bodies and lives.
...
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 12: Final comments on addressing concerns regarding the 15-minute city concept of walkable towns
TAKE ACTION!
Support repro rights orgs doing vital work, such as:
National Network of Abortion Funds
Center for Reproductive Rights
Abortion Access Legal Defense Fund
Curated by BOTL Communications Director Amanda Hoffman
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: Photo of a protestor holding a handmade sign that reads "You can't ban abortion. You can only ban safe abortion."
Credit: "Defend Abortion Rights - Maintain the Rage" by Matt Hrkac, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Changes: Cropped
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date 2/7/2024
Loneliness is an epidemic that long-predates the COVID lockdowns that only made things worse but it's not primarily cultural or even technological in origin. The issue largely has to do with how our built environment is designed and then social and technological aspects compound the problem.
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SHOW NOTES
The U.S. Surgeon General declared a new public health epidemic in America, loneliness. A new report finds loneliness can have profound effects on mental health as well as heart disease, stroke and dementia.
Ch. 2: Our Loneliness Epidemic is Infrastructuralized - Studio Leonardo - Air Date 6-2-22
The infrastructure in the US is one of the main culprits for our loneliness. In this video, we deep-dive into why that is and how it has come to be this way. So, what can we do to fix this?
Ch. 3: Original Barcelona video - @The Happy Urbanist TikTok - Air Date 12-15-23
Ch. 4: How cohousing can make us happier (and live longer) | Grace Kim - TED - Air Date 8-7-17
Loneliness doesn't always stem from being alone. For architect Grace Kim, loneliness is a function of how socially connected we feel to the people around us -- and it's often the result of the homes we live in. She shares an age-old antidote to isolation
....
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: Photograph taken from behind a woman in a dark room who is leaning out an open window. She looks out at a brick apartment building across the way.
Credit: "Woman looking out the window" by Jon Eric Marababol, Wikimedia Commons | License: CC0 1.0 Universal
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date: 2-6-24 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - The impacts of the myth of the model minority - Haley and Ramaswamy Denying America's racism as they both experience and use racism during the Republican primary race
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REFERENCES: Vivek Ramaswamy and the lie of the "model minority"
Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy Can't Escape GOP Racism
Scholars worry Haley and Ramaswamy's race-blindness helps GOP advance "white supremacist worldview"
Jake Tapper Confronts Nikki Haley About Saying U.S. Is Not 'Racist'
Nikki Haley, MAGA and the Confederacy: Time to purge these myths
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Air Date 2/3/2024
We attempt to understand as many of the interlocking elements as possible in the current Middle East conflicts sparked most prominently by the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: From Red Sea to Iran, Will Israel's Gaza Assault Spark Wider War - Democracy Now! - Air Date 1-17-24
For a look at where all this is headed, we speak with journalist Spencer Ackerman, who says it's "the most dangerous moment for the Middle East" he has witnessed in over 20 years of covering war and security.
Helen Lackner, author of several books on Yemen, describes the history of the Houthis, the political landscape in Yemen, and debunks the idea the group is controlled by Iran.
Ch. 3: What does Iran want - The Inquiry - Air Date 1-25-24
After months of tension and hostility in the Middle East over the Gaza-Israel conflict, Iran has publicly stated its desire to avoid a regional conflict. It has however displayed its military force on several fronts.
After years of attempting to pivot away from the region, the Biden administration now looks set to deepen its military involvement in the Middle East as it fights the Houthis in Yemen and squares off in an escalating proxy war with Iran.
"There will be more of these attacks, for sure," says Palestinian American journalist Rami Khouri, who lays out the simmering regional conflict and questions U.S. foreign policy running counter to American opinion and strategic goals.
.......
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: A satellite image of the Middle East.
Credit: "Satellite relief map of Middle East" by Merikanto, Wikimedia | License: CC BY-SA 4.0 | Changes: Cropped
Air Date: 1-28-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon and Erin discuss: - Boardgames Ritual - Making kids cry buy taking their phones away at school - Making kids sad by never buying them phones in the first place
REFERENCES: It Sure Looks Like Phones Are Making Students Dumber
Schools don't want kids on cellphones. Is banning them the solution?
Birmingham head calls for ban after pupils 'in tears' when phones confiscated
The Schools That Ban Smartphones
I Won't Buy My Teenagers Smartphones
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!
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