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!
Original Air Date 9-11-2018
Strategies to, and reasons why we need to, have better political conversations. As the first GOP debate signals the beginning of a new election cycle with the country divided as ever, we could always use a refresher on better ways to communicate.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Robb Willer: How to have better political conversations - @TEDTalks - Air Date 2-9-17
Robb Willer studies the forces that unite and divide us. As a social psychologist, he researches how moral values -- typically a source of division -- can also be used to bring people together.
Ch. 2: Understanding the backfire effect Part 1 - You are not so smart - Air Date 2-10-17
Stephan Lewandowsky takes us step-by-step through The Debunking Handbook, a guide he and John Cook wrote for avoiding the backfire effect when confronting vaccine and climate change deniers.
Ch. 3: THE MIDTERMS MINUTE: California's Battleground Races! - Best of the Left Activism
Take action! Click the title and/or scroll down for quick links and resources from this segment.
The amount of political disagreement in the nation is matched only by righteous indignation. But in order to disagree without disrespecting each other, we need to look hard at our own positions, and Van Jones does just that.
Explaining the key takeaway regarding the backfire effect. Always replace a faulty idea with a valid one. Never debunk a claim only to leave a void.
Explaining why saying the things you may want to say to your political adversaries is more likely to exacerbate the problems in our political divide further, making you part of the problem.
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date 8/23/2023
For decades, we have rightly been focused on dialing back endemic misogyny and poking holes in the patriarchy in the hopes of a new normal of gender relations emerging that would be genuinely healthier for everyone, not just women. But, with so much of the focus on the type of masculinity men and boys shouldn't embrace, we may have fallen short on giving positive direction to boys about what they should be and do.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Andrew Tate & Re-examining Masculinity - Long Story Short The Daily Show - Air Date 4-21-23
Jordan Klepper looks at Andrew Tate and breaks down how a void of role models has harmful consequences for young boys.
Ch. 2: The new crisis of masculinity - The Gray Area - Air Date 8-7-23
What does masculinity mean these days? Sean Illing speaks with Christine Emba, a columnist at The Washington Post who wrote the piece "Men are lost. Here's a map out of the wilderness."
Ch. 3: The New Masculinity - ON BOYS podcast - Air Date 4-27-23
Boys and men, Manley says, are caught between traditional definitions and understandings of masculinity, and a future definition that hasn't been fully defined.
Host Roy Wood Jr. sits down with the co-founder of "A Call to Men," Ted Bunch, and developmental psychology professor at NYU, Niobe Way, to chat about boys' friendships and how therapy could be transformative for a lot of men.
Ch. 5: What Does Positive Masculinity Look Like? - Paging Dr. NerdLove - Air Date 4-12-18
Toxic masculinity doesn't mean that being a man is toxic, bad, or even undesirable. At the same time, non-toxic or positive masculinity doesn't mean apologizing for being a man or trying to be as gender-neutral as possible.
Ch. 6: What is Positive Masculinity: How Patriarchy Oppresses Men - Swolesome - Air Date 12-2-22
Looking at what patriarchy teaches boys to do
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 8: The New Masculinity Part 2 - ON BOYS podcast - Air Date 4-27-23
Ch. 9: Why Allan Energy Is The New "Big D_CK Energy" - Barbie Movie - Fashionistas - Air date 8-4-23
Examining positive masculinity through Allen from The Barbie Movie
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments on why emotionally stunted men are a social, not individual, problem
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date 8/20/2023
Big tech is currently scrambling to bring untested A.I. products to market, over-promising, under-delivering, and working hard obscure and ignore any possible downsides for society. Big tech needs A.I. regulation now before we all suffer the easily foreseeable consequences as well as some unforeseeable ones.
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Transcript
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: A.I. is B.S. - Adam Conover - Air Date 3-31-23
The real risk of A.I. isn't that some super-intelligent computer is going to take over in the future - it's that the humans in the tech industry are going to screw the rest of us over right now.
What does it look like to align technology with humanity's best interests? Tristan Harris and Aza Raskin discuss how existing A.I. capabilities already pose catastrophic risks to a functional society
Ch. 3: Tech's Mask Off Moment - What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Air Date 8-13-23
When conservative writer Richard Hanania's old posts, originally published under a pseudonym, came to light people were shocked at just how racist and reactionary they were. Perhaps less shocking were the tech moguls who were revealed to be supporting him
A shocking story of wrongful arrest in Detroit has renewed scrutiny of how facial recognition software is being deployed by police departments, despite major flaws in the technology.
Ch. 5: Princeton University's Ruja Benjamin on Bias in Data and A.I. - The Data Chief - Air Date - 2-3-21
Joining Cindi today is Ruha Benjamin, a professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and the founding director of the IDA B. WELLS Just Data Lab. She has studied the social dimensions of science, technology, and medicine for over 15 years
Timnit Gebru was fired by Google in a cloud of controversy, now she's making waves beyond Big Tech's pervasive influence
Ch. 8: Can We Govern AI? - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 4-21-23
Our guest Marietje Schaake was at the forefront of crafting tech regulations for the EU. In spite of AI's complexity, she argues there is a path forward for the U.S. and other governing bodies to rein in companies that continue to release these products
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 9: Buddhism in the Age of AI - Soryu Forall - Monastic Academy - Air Date 6-21-23
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 10: Final comments on the difference between Microsoft's marketing and the realities of capitalism
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Original Air Date 12-7-2019
In the context of the devastating fire on Maui, we are replaying this throwback episode to look at the reaction to decades of the fetishization of privatization in the form of a reinvigorated movement for public ownership of institutions meant to serve the public such as utilities, banks, train systems and so on. But this isn't your grandfather's top-down public ownership, the new movement has bottom-up, accountable, democratic control of institutions at the very core of its mission.
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SHOW NOTES
PG&E declared bankruptcy amid a number of lawsuits related to the wildfires. We speak with California Congressmember Ro Khanna, who is calling for the California state government to take over control of PG&E.
Ch. 2: When Power Goes Out, Who Is Held Accountable? - Building Local Power - Air Date 10-31-19
PG&E's negligence and how a distributed energy system could avoid future outages and detrimental fire damage.
Ch. 3: Public Ownership 2.0 - Weekly Economics - Air Date 2-18-19
Public ownership is back on the agenda. But if privatization has failed, what kind of public ownership should replace it?
Ch. 4: From Private Profits to Public Alternatives - The Next System Podcast - Air Date 1-24-19
The conversation runs the gamut from the pitfalls of the privatization of goods and services to the social benefits of public ownership and envisioning democratic governance thereof.
Ch. 5: The Future of Banking - Ralph Nader Radio Hour - Air Date 6-29-19
Ralph welcomes Walt McRee President of Public Banking Associates, who explains how public banks should be the future of banking.
Ch. 6: Trinity Tran on Public Banking - CounterSpin - Air Date 10-11-19
Trinity Tran, co-founder and lead organizer for Public Bank LA and a founding member of the California Public Banking Alliance.
Ch. 7: Who's Afraid of Public Ownership? - The Laura Flanders Show - Air Date 1-28-19
Laura in conversation with Thomas Hanna, research director at The Democracy Collaborative and author of "Our Common Wealth: The Return of Public Ownership in the United States".
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date: 8-15-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - The Internet, it turns out, is bad - Musk and Zuckerberg cage fight - The "Dopamine Detox" movement
REFERENCES: The Ugly Honesty of Elon Musk's Twitter Rebrand
The 'Dopamine Detox' Is Having a Moment
Dopamine fasting: Misunderstanding science spawns a maladaptive fad
#dopamine #dopamineaddiction #classpolitics #disabilitystudies - slug.town on TikTok
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Air Date 8/12/2023
Today, we take a look at the most consequential case against Trump which summarizes his direct involvement in using allegedly illegal means to contest the 2020 election while making knowingly false claims about the legitimacy of election process while directing a conspiracy of followers to do the same.
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SHOW NOTES
We speak with Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, and former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut on the new criminal charges against Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
Ch. 2: A Special Reading Of The Special Counsel's Trump Indictment Part 1 - Brian Lehrer - Air Date 8-4-23
We present longform readings of key excerpts from the Trump indictment, plus analysis from legal experts.
House Democrats: The Trump trials should be televised.
Ch. 4: Charges to Overturn an Election - Prosecuting Donald Trump - Air Date 8-2-23
Donald Trump has been indicted for a third time, twice now at the federal level. Jack Smith's indictment lays out the chilling details of his alleged plot to overturn the 2020 election.
We speak with Author Carol Anderson about Trump's attempt to wipe out the votes of Americans of color and the intimidation of Black voters and election workers.
Ch. 8: A Protective Order - Prosecuting Donald Trump - Air Date 8-7-23
Trump and team spent the weekend unleashing defenses across social media and major news networks. This, along with the former president's record of revealing private information, led prosecutors to seek a protective order from Judge Chutkan.
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Ch. 10: A Special Reading Of The Special Counsel's Trump Indictment Part 3 - Brian Lehrer - Air Date 8-4-23
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 11: Final comments on the possibility of accountability for Trump at last
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
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Original Air Date 11-1-2016
Today we dive deeply into the world of conservatives as described in the new book "Strangers in their own Land" by Arlie Russel Hochschild in an attempt to understand how some non-deplorable people in the country could be supporting Donald Trump.
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Show NotesCh. 1: Opening Theme: A Fond Farewell - From a Basement On the Hill
Ch. 6: Act 3: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics Part 1 - @BillMoyersHQ in Conversation - Air Date 4-15-16
Ch. 10: Act 5: The Deep Story of conservatives and the rise of Trump - Economic Update w/ @profwolff - Air Date 9-29-16
Ch. 12: Act 6: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics Part 2 - @BillMoyersHQ in Conversation - Air Date 4-15-16
Ch. 14: Act 7: Where shame is the companion to need - @thisishellradio - Air Date 10-22-16
Ch. 16: Act 8: The Media That Created Trump - United States of Anxiety - Air Date 10-13-16
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Original Air Date 6/25/2022
Today we take a look at some of the takeaways from the hearings investigating the January 6th insurrection. Most notably: they knew, they knew, they knew, they knew from the very beginning that their fraud claims were nonsense and they pushed ahead anyway.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The Jan. 6 Insurrection Understanding The Big Picture Part 1 - Fresh Air - Air Date 6-9-22
New York Times Congressional reporter Luke Broadwater says the effort to overturn the 2020 election results was a "sprawling and diffuse" one that involved local governments as well as White House insiders.
Ch. 2: January 6th Goes Primetime Part 1 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 6-10-22
Brad is joined by guest co-host Dr. Leah Payne. They begin by discussing the first primetime hearing of the J6 Select Committee. They then focus on Tucker Carlson's response to hearings.
Ch. 3: Special coverage of House J6 Hearing, Day 3 Part 1 - The BradCast - Air Date 6-16-22
RANDALL D. ELIASON, and HEATHER DIGBY offer important insights into today's hearing, which was focused on Donald Trump's corrupt pressure campaign to induce former Vice President Mike Pence to violate his oath to the Constitution
Ch. 4: The Jan. 6 Insurrection Understanding The Big Picture Part 2 - Fresh Air - Air Date 6-9-22
Ch. 5: January 6th Goes Primetime Part 2 - Straight White American Jesus - Air Date 6-10-22
Ch. 6: Special coverage of House J6 Hearing, Day 3 Part 2 - The BradCast - Air Date 6-16-22
This week on Intercepted, investigative reporter Trevor Aaronson is joined by Margot Williams, research editor for The Intercept, and Michael Loadenthal, founder and executive director of the Prosecution Project.
These retired Generals fought to defend Democracy abroad, now they are warning that America's Democracy needs to be defended from threats inside the country.
Six Republican members of Congress who supported Donald Trump's lies sought broad presidential pardons for their involvement in the campaign to discredit the election results
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
Republican Speaker of the Arizona House "Rusty" Bowers described how he was pushed by Trump, John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani to call the Arizona Legislature back into session to investigate claimed illegal votes.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 11: Final comments on turning anger into election action
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
SHOW IMAGE:
Description: The logo of the House January 6th Commission sits on a background image of the interior ceiling of the U.S. Capitol dome. The logo is a white illustration of the U.S. Capitol dome and below it are the words "Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol".
Credit: January6th.house.gov
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Air Date 8/6/2023
Today, we take a look at the education curriculum reforms currently being pushed through in Florida through the lens of the long pattern of choosing to see our history in a way that comforts the comfortable and afflicts the afflicted.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Meet the Man Driving the Right's Culture War Panic - Deconstructed - Air Date 7-28-23
The Republican Party's full embrace of the culture war as a political tactic — from drag queen story hour to critical race theory and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives — has been chiefly guided by activist and polemicist Christopher Rufo
Rachel Chapman, who teaches AP Psychology in Florida, talks with Alex Wagner about being an educator in Florida why psychology can't pick and choose which people to consider.
Co-hosts Jared Yates Sexton and Nick Hauselman had to break down why the new curriculum in Florida that requires teachers to explain how slaves benefitted from slavery is racist
Ch. 4: PragerU in Florida Schools - I Doubt It Podcast - Air Date 7-28-23
Jesse and Brittany discuss the heat wave wreaking havoc on the nation as well as their recent adventures engaged in tourist activities in DC, listener communication related to Biden's re-election and the new Florida education guidelines
Highlighting some of the gentle pushback from Black Republicans to the new Florida education curriculum
Ch. 6: Fox News BUSTED For Rewriting History Of Slavery - The Majority Report - Air Date 7-26-23
Jesse Watters spoke with William Allen, one of the authors of Florida's revised Black History curriculum, about Vice President Harris's representation that one of the standards outlined implies teaching that slavery in some ways benefitted Black Americans
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis is trying to control the type of education that Florida students can receive, most recently rejecting an advanced placement course in African-American studies, claiming it was "contrary to Florida law"
MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)
If the average American were to learn about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) training through its discussion in the political arena alone, suspicion of it should be expected, and hostility toward it would be understandable. Duh.
Andrew Spar, President of the Florida Education Association, joined the America's Work Force Union Podcast and discussed the fight over African American studies in Florida's curriculum
Ch. 10: The Court Room of History - Why Now? A Political Junkie Podcast - Air Date 7-29-23
In this episode, we are talking about her most recent book, Sisters and Rebels: A Struggle for the Soul of America (W.W. Norton, 2019), which tells the story of three sisters, women from the slave-holding Lumpkin family of Georgia.
FINAL COMMENTS
Ch. 11: Final comments on how education curriculum is helping maintain power imbalances
MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions)
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date: 8-4-23 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Erin and Deon discuss: - Barbie, Black Mirror and corporations in on the joke - The Extended Mattel Cinematic Universe - The alternate conservative commerce universe - The alternate conservative entertainment universe
REFERENCES: Sorry Netflix, Streamberry isn't funny - Mashable
Matt Gaetz Can't Say Margot Robbie Is Hot Without Being Transphobic - Rolling Stone
Can the Daily Wire Become a Right-Wing Entertainment Machine? - Bloomberg
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