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: 05-06-2026
Today we examine how the U.S. war on Iran is producing an economic crisis with echoes of the 1970s stagflation era which explains why Trump is now less popular on inflation than Jimmy Carter. We'll also be exploring various element of the structure of our economy, including how GDP became a deeply misleading measure of welfare, why consumer spending increasingly goes toward things people don't want to buy, and how gambling and junk fees are literally counted as economic growth.
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
TOP TAKES
KP 3: These Georgia Swing Voters Do Not Like the Iran War - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-16-26
KP 4: Monday Morning Economy Politics Inflation Soars Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 4-13-26
(00:56:48) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Trump's Iran War Is Crashing the Economy And It's Time To Get Ready
DEEPER DIVES
(01:05:14) SECTION A: THE PUMP AND THE WAR
(01:28:41) SECTION B: LIES, SPIN, AND THE ROARING ECONOMY
(02:00:33) SECTION C: THE BOOMCESSION
(02:39:10) SECTION D: WHAT THIS COSTS REAL PEOPLE
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!
Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads
Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Air Date: 05/01/2026
The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we open with Jesse Jackson's death as a reckoning with the multiracial coalition America chose not to build, trace the American playbook from the 1953 Iran coup to Cuba to the current war on Iran, examine how the same logic of control operates at home through AI monopolies, sports money, and captured courts, and close with the religious and labor traditions that have always driven change — plus Orbán's defeat in Hungary as proof that authoritarian projects don't last forever.
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
PART 1: AMERICA, CONTESTED(00:01:19) #1775 - Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and the Remaking of American Politics
(00:23:12) #1776 - Trump's Pharaoh Complex, Our Flawed Constitution, and the 250th Anniversary
PART 2: THE AMERICAN WAY(00:45:27) #1777 - How Christian Nationalism, Oil, and Zionism Built The War Against Iran
(01:06:48) #1782 - Cuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime Change
(01:29:45) #1785 - Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never)
PART 3: CONTROLLING THE GAME(01:51:40) #1778 - AI, the Pentagon, Labor and Capitalism: The Fight Over Who Controls the Future
(02:15:29) #1781 - Your Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American Sports
02:29:38) #1783 - The Ideology of a Cancer Cell: AI, Surveillance, and Silicon Valley's Psychopath Problem
(02:51:36) #1784 - Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides
PART 4: HISTORY'S ENGINE(03:17:49) #1779 - Community After God: Why the Left Needs What Church Provided
(03:43:07) #1780 - Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped
(04:09:26) #1786 - Defeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook Worldwide
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!
Air Date: 4–29-2026
Today we explore the extraordinary clash between Pope Leo XIV and the Trump White House — a feud involving military threats, medieval papal history, and an American-born pope who refuses to back down. We'll hear why analysts say MAGA's religiosity is pure aesthetic, and what that hollowness means for the millions of Americans still taking their faith seriously.
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
TOP TAKES
KP 4: Why Are US Catholics Like That !? - The Kavernacle - Air Date 4-16-26
KP 5: Pope Bob Vs. Trump World Part 1 - Conspirituality - Air Date 5-22-25
KP 6: Did Trump Officials Threaten the Vatican' The Avignon Papacy Warning Explained - SWAJ with Brad Onishi and Dan Miller - Air Date 4-11-26
KP 7: Republicans .0002 Seconds After the Pope Says Anything - Man Carrying Thing - Air Date 4-18-26
(00:47:36) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Pope Leo vs. Trump: The Catholic Opening Democrats Are Blowing
DEEPER DIVES
(00:56:09) SECTION A: TRUMP AND COMPANY'S LOVE/HATE PAPAL RELATIONSHIP
(01:39:29) SECTION B: ANTI CATHOLIC SENTIMENT IN AMERICA
(02:05:17) SECTION C: THE POPE VS THE TRUMP
(02:49:26) SECTION D: SOME MISC HISTORICAL CONTEXT
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Composite image of Pope Leo XIV and Trump against the background of Trump's AI image of himself as Jesus.
Credit: Internal design. Components: 1. "Pope Leo XIV 3 (3x4 crop)" by Edgar Beltran, The Pillar via Wikimedia Commons | CC BY-SA 3.0 | Changes: Transparent background | 2. "Donald Trump" by Gage Skidmore, Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Transparent background | 3. Trump as Jesus, AI image, Truth Social, Public Domain
Air Date: 4/24/2026
Today we explore how Viktor Orban spent 16 years transforming Hungary into a blueprint for 21st-century autocracy, how that blueprint traveled directly to the United States and what Hungary's stunning defeat of Orban can teach Americans about fighting back against authoritarianism.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
TOP TAKES
KP 1: If Hungary Can Do It Part 1 - Radio Atlantic - Air Date 4-16-26
KP 3: Viktor Orbán Part 1 - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Air Date 3-30-26
KP 5: On Tyranny, Orbán, and Trump (with Timothy Snyder) Part 1 - Stay Tuned with Preet - Air Date 4-16-26
KP 6: They Actually Voted Him Out Part 1 - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 4-16-26
(00:48:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Trumpism Won't End With Trump, Here's What Comes Next
DEEPER DIVES
(00:56:57) SECTION A: ORIGINS
(01:37:50) SECTION B: TACTICS
(02:03:08) SECTION C: INTERNATIONAL
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Photo of Hungary's out-going president Victor Orban standing with Trump in the White House while both display a thumbs-up. A "REJECTED" stamp is on Orban and a voting checkbox with an "X" in it is above him. A voting checkbox with a question mark in it is over Trump.
Credit: Internal design. Component images: Pixabay Photo Credit: "President Victor Orban and President Trump", White House Instagram, Nov. 7, 2025 | Public Domain
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Re-Air Date: 4-21-2026
Original Air Date: 1–18-2020
Today we take a look at The Afghanistan Papers which reveal in stark detail much of what the anti-war movement has known or strongly suspected since the beginning. Going beyond the scope of The Pentagon Papers of the Vietnam War era, The Afghanistan Papers feature interviews and documentation from top-ranking officials admitting from the start that they had no idea what they were doing in Afghanistan.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: Headlines: The Afghanistan Papers - Democracy Now - Air Date 12-10-19
Ch. 2: The "Pentagon Papers" Of Our Time with Craig Whitlock - On the Media - Air Date 12-20-19
Ch. 3: They Lied To Us All Along with Danny Sjursen - The Real News with Marc Steiner - Air Date 12-15-19
Ch. 5: The Afghan Pentagon Papers - The Michael Brooks Show - Air Date 12-14-19
Ch. 6: The Afghanistan Papers - Eyes Left with Spenser Rapone and Mike Prysner - Air Date 12-16-19
SHOW IMAGE:
"Afghanistan War Anniversary", Jayel Aheram on Flickr / License / Changes: Zoomed in and cropped
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!
Air Date: 4-8-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
Leave us a message on our new system!
FOLLOW US ON:
YouTube (This episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please subscribe and share!)
REFERENCES
How Inequality Was Redefined as "Poverty"—Letting Capitalism Off the Hook - The Nation
Talking of poverty: From the analytical to the political - Sage Journals
The 9.9 Percent is the New American Aristocracy - The Atlantic
To Build Working-Class Power, We Need a Workers' Education Movement - The Nation
BACKSTAGE
EXTRAS:
Best of the Left #1780 - Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped
BOOK: "We Do This Til We Free Us" by Mariame Kaba
(Buying through this link supports indie book stores and this show!)
SOLVED! #36 - Bribery Jazz: Corruption is the Water We Swim In
SOLVED! #37 - Solidarity Forever: Boycotts, Strikes, & the Labor Movement We Need
TAKE ACTION:
MayDayStrong.org - May 1st - No Work. No School. No Shopping.
REI Co-Op Members: Vote to Boycott
Greeley Meatpacking Workers (UFCW Local 7R) Strike Fund
In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach
How to Support Minneapolis Communities
Air Date: 4/17/2026
Today we examine how the U.S. war with Iran has exposed the deep structural rot at the heart of American power, the global economic catastrophe quietly building beneath the surface, and the cuts felt at home in order to pay for it all.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
TOP TAKES
KP 1: Excerpt, "Cross of Iron" Speech, 1956 - Dwight D. Eisenhower
KP 3: Lets Talk About Fertilizer - Paul Krugman - Air Date 3-21-26
KP 5: Will There Even Be a "Ceasefire"? - Drop Site News - Air Date 4-9-26
KP 6: The TV War That Backfired - Brendan Miller - Air Date 3-20-26
KP 7: Why the US Couldnt Force a Deal with Iran - LBC - Air Date 4-12-26
(00:52:25) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Eisenhower Warned Us: Trump's $1.5T Military Budget Is Gutting America
DEEPER DIVES
(01:03:57) SECTION A: LEBANON UNDER ATTACK
(01:29:29) SECTION B: THE WORLD DEDOLLARISES
(01:49:40) SECTION C: WORLD ECONOMY IN PERIL
(02:21:45) SECTION D: THE MORAL ROT OF WAR PROFITEERING
(02:46:42) SECTION E: THE DAMAGE OUR MILITARY DOES
(03:06:15) SECTION F: MAKING CHINA GREAT AGAIN
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: A composite image showing a satellite image of the Straight of Hormuz behind a screenshot of Trump's post that says "A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again…."
Credit: Internal composite design. Image: "Satellite image of the Strait of Hormuz." by Jacques Descloitres, NASA | Public Domain
Air Date: 4/14/2026
Today we examine the legal battles shaking the foundations of American citizenship and voting rights as Trump's legal team uses the courts as a weapon against democratic participation — and how advocates are fighting back. We'll hear about the three-D playbook of deceive, disrupt, and deny used by authoritarians and being deployed by Trump ahead of the midterms, and what ordinary people can do right now to protect their votes before November.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!)
TOP TAKES
KP 1: SCOTUS Hears Birthright Citizenship Arguments - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 4-1-26
KP 2: Will SCOTUS Join the GOP War on Mail-in Ballots Part 1 - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 3-30-26
KP 4: Desperate Election STUNT in California BLOCKED by Supreme Court - Legal AF - Air Date 4-9-26
(00:52:29) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Conservatives' Judicial Originalism Isn't Principle — It's a 40-Year Political Project
DEEPER DIVES
(01:07:20) SECTION A: BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP
(01:39:42) SECTION B: ELECTION INTERFERENCE
(02:03:37) SECTION C: MAIL-IN VOTING
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com
Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere!
Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X
Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft
Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Air Date: 4/10/2026
Today we examine the ideology quietly driving Silicon Valley — a worldview that treats growth, extraction, and the erasure of human messiness as virtues. We'll hear how tech leaders from Sam Altman to Larry Ellison embody a kind of corporate psychopathy, why Zuckerberg never understood what Facebook actually is, and how the cult of "go for its own sake" may be the most dangerous religion of our time.
Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads)
TOP TAKES
KP 1: This Will Be the Death of Us All! - PissedMagistus - Air Date 3-18-26
KP 2: Palantir Weirdo Gets Cornered By Journalist - The Majority Report w/Sam Seder - Air Date 1-24-26
KP 4: Sam Altman Is Dangerous To Silicon Valley - Better Offline - Air Date 6-13-24
KP 6: Why Fun Tech Jobs Went Extinct - Good Work - Air Date 3-27-26
KP 7: Zuck Never Understood the Metaverse - The Morbid Zoo - Air Date 4-4-26
(00:47:59) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
AI Isn't Taking Your Job—But Your Boss Wants You to Think It Is
DEEPER DIVES
(01:02:18) SECTION A: ARE THEY ALL PSCHOPATHS?
(01:50:08) SECTION B: THE CULT(URE) OF SILICON VALLEY
(02:34:34) SECTION C: AN END TO THE ENDLESS SCROLL
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Credit: Internal design. Component images: "Sam Altman" by TechCrunch, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | "Larry Ellison" by Greg Rubenstein, Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | "Mark Zuckerberg" by Ian Kennedy, Flickr | License: CC BY SA 2.0 | Changes for all 3: Cropped and effects applied. Other image from Pixabay
Air Date: 4-1-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
Leave us a message on our new system!
REFERENCES
Your Individual Boycotts Aren't Helping - Jacobin
REI Workers Threaten Boycott Ahead Of Retailer's Most Crucial Sale Of The Year - Huffington Post
Thousands of Colorado Meatpacking Workers Are on Strike - Jacobin
From Class to Special Interest - Jacobin (from 2016)
Today's Labor Movement Needs a Bigger Vision - Labor Notes
BACKSTAGE
EXTRAS:
Best of the Left #1780 - Cynicism Is a Scab: Hope, Solidarity, and the Labor Fight That Never Stopped
MayDayStrong.org - May 1st - No Work. No School. No Shopping.
SOLVED! #36 - Bribery Jazz: Corruption is the Water We Swim In
'No Flock, No ICE': Student protest demands removal of Flock surveillance at UW
Anti-ICE protests Friday at Berkeley schools and a Hilton hotel in the Southside neighborhood
SUPPORT REI WORKERS:
@REIUnion (Instagram)
REI Co-Op Members: Vote to Boycott
SUPPORT MEATPACKING WORKERS:
Greeley Meatpacking Workers (UFCW Local 7R) Strike Fund
UFCW Local 7R (Greeley Meatpacking Workers) Union Facebook page with updates
TAKE ACTION:
MayDayStrong.org - May 1st - No Work. No School. No Shopping.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
