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!
Re-Air Date: 01–26-25
Unless you were a member in January of 2025, this episode of SOLVED! will be brand new to you! If you were a member back then, THANK YOU and this one is worth a re-listen. We're working on slowly increasing our production again, but, for now, enjoy this episode from our archives (and before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
00:00:00 - Ch. 1 - The mindset of collaborators
00:07:55 - Ch. 2 - Why many people turn inward and drop out - at their own risk - under authoritarianism
00:32:14 - Ch. 3 - The nature of true dissidents and what we can learn from them
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REFERENCES:
"People, Power, Change" by Marshall Ganz
History Will Judge the Complicit - The Atlantic
The Desire to Turn Inward Is a Delusion /// Don't Let Donald Trump Drive You Into Internal Exile - The New York Times
How to Keep Your Moral Compass /// A Mindset for the Trump Era - The Atlantic
TAKE ACTION:
How to Support Minneapolis Communities
In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach
No Kings - March 28th
Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY - Tell Congress to stand down the federal escalation
Use the 5 Calls app for scripts and to reach all your elected officials
Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121
Find your Indivisible group - or start one
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Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date: 3/7/2026
Welcome to this episode of the Award-Winning Best of the Left Podcast. Today we examine the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson civil rights icon, two-time presidential candidate and one of the most consequential political figures of the 20th century.
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TOP TAKES
KP 1: Remembering Jesse Jackson - Here & Now Anytime - Air Date 2-17-26
KP 2: I Am Somebody - Jesse Jackson -Sesame Street - Air Date 2-17-26
KP 3: Why Jesse Jackson Mattered - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie -Air Date 2-23-26
(00:47:43) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Don't hate the game, change the rules
DEEPER DIVES
(00:58:53) SECTION A: PRESIDENTIAL RUNS
A3: Making Jesse Jackson - Making - Air Date 10-26-22
(01:36:11) SECTION B: RAINBOW COALITION
B1: The Original Rainbow Coalition - Code Switch - Air Date 1-24-23
B2: Is a New Rainbow Coalition of Voters Possible? - Some of My Best Friends Are - Air Date 2-15-23
B3: The Life and Times of a 'revolutionary Hillbilly' - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 9-1-21
B4: We Can't Erase the Radicalism of the Rainbow Coalition - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 3-19-21
(02:14:46) SECTION C: THE MAN
C1: Rev. Jesse Jackson's 1975 Message to America - THIRTEEN PBS - Air Date 2-18-26
(02:49:46) SECTION D: HIS LEGACY
D3: Jesse Jackson: Crash Course Black American History #44 - CrashCourse - Air Date 8-9-22
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Black and white photo of Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1983
Credit:"Jesse Jackson, half-length portrait of Jackson seated at table, July 1, 1983" via Wikimedia Commons | U.S. News & World Report collection at the Library of Congress. No known copyright restrictions.
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Air Date: 3/3/2026
The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we examine the multi-front struggle for control: military force and economic coercion seizing resources abroad, institutions weaponized to constrain bodies at home, platforms and propaganda capturing minds, and the democratic resistance proving that organized people can still win.
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PART 1: TAKING WHAT THEY WANT(00:02:31) #1762 - Trump's Imperialistic Shakedown of Venezuela
3: Trump's Piracy in the Caribbean - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 12-23-25
6: Mark Carney and the New World Order - Front Burner - Air Date 1-20-26
(00:53:33) #1764 - Wealth Inequality is Bad for Society and There's No Good Counterargument
7: The Capitalist Mindset - The Market Exit - Air Date 12-9-25
8: Where Are Americas Leaders? - Robert Reich and Inequality Media Civic Action - Air Date 1-6-26
PART 2: CONTROLLING BODIES9: Abolish ICE - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 1-7-26
10: ICE Is a Way to Deal With Surplus Males - Therese - Air Date 1-9-25
11: ICE Can Hack Your Phone Without You Knowing - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 9-5-25
(01:30:58) #1763 - It's Not a Health Care System, it's a Wealth Extraction System
13: Agonizing Choices on ACA Deadline Day Part 1 - Brian Lehrer_ A Daily Podcast - Air Date 12-15-25
14: Medicare For All Non-Negotiable #3 Part 1 - UNFTR - Air Date 2-8-25
(01:57:14) #1767 - Wars Are Won By Teachers and Trump is Attacking Them Like a Foreign Adversary
16: How Trumps Agenda Hurts College Students - Right Now With Perry Bacon - Air Date 11-19-25
17: Trump Set to Garnish Wages for Student Loan Defaults - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-30-25
PART 3: CONTROLLING MINDS(02:20:20) #1773 - How Big Tech Captured Attention, Kids, and Democracy
18: Trouble at TikTok Part 1 - Today, Explained - Air Date 2-4-26
19: Is Social Media Having Its Big Tobacco Moment Part 1 - The Global Story - Air Date 2-16-26
20: DMs! My Kingdom For DMs! - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 2-17-26
(02:46:22) #1765 - AI Capitalism Will Not Deliver an AI Utopia
21: The AI Bubble Part 1 - Today, Explained - Air Date 10-28-25
22: Desperate OpenAI Turns To Erotica - Novara Media - Air Date 10-16-25
(03:09:13) #1772 - From Fragile to Fascist: How Broken Masculinity Feeds Authoritarianism
24: The Terrifying Rise of "Vice Signalling" - JimmyTheGiant - Air Date 1-28-26
26: The Rise of the Authoritarian-Curious - Then & Now - Air Date 2-9-26
(03:35:07) #1769 - Politics Beyond the Ballot Box: Elections and the Movements that Power Them
28: The Next Socialist In Congress with Claire Valdez Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 1-22-26
PART 4: THE PEOPLE PUSH BACK(03:48:36) #1770 - Getting in the Fight Against ICE and Authoritarianism
29: What I've Learned From Reading History - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 1-28-26
(04:04:47) #1771 - They Need You in the Dark: Information, Journalism, and the Fight Against Fascism
32: AG Bondi Confirms FBI Executed Search Warrant at WaPo Reporter's Home - MS Now - Air Date 1-13-26
33: Why Trump Arresting Journalists Is a Sign of Weakness - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 1-30-26
34: Humor Can Topple Dictators Part 1 - Why, America with Leeja Miller - Air Date 10-18-25
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Original Air Date: 3-1-2024
We don't have to think too hard to understand the fears of a world in which work, and the ability of millions to support themselves, are lost to automation and artificial intelligence. But that is only a capitalist future in which the benefits of technological advancement are hoarded by the already-wealthy. Today we imagine a different path.
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SHOW NOTES
Introduction to Inventing the Future: Postcapitalism and a World Without Work by Nick Srnicek and Alex Williams
Since the demise of the USSR, the mantle of the largest planned economies in the world has been taken up by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and other multinational corporations.
Ch. 3: The Two Futures Of Automation Capitalism VS Socialism - Second Thought - Air Date 12-15-21
With jobs being automated and handed off to machines at an ever-increasing pace, it's only natural to consider what our future will look like.
Ch. 4: Planet of the Robots: Four Futures of AI (Documentary) - 1Dime - Air Date 10-15-21
In this video we will be discussing automation, which is often confused with being the 'technological revolution' in it of itself as it is what the mainstream focuses on, and for good reason, as how we handle automation will determine the trajectory or co
Ch. 5: Universal Basic Income Explained (An Automation Solution) - Futurology - Air Date 5-28-24
With jobs being automated and handed off to machines at an ever-increasing pace, it's only natural to consider what our future will look like.
Ch. 6: The Two Futures Of Automation Capitalism VS Socialism Part 2 - Second Thought - Air Date 12-15-21
In this video we will be discussing automation, which is often confused with being the 'technological revolution' in it of itself as it is what the mainstream focuses on, and for good reason, as how we handle automation will determine the trajectory or co
Ch. 7: Universal Basic Income Explained (An Automation Solution) Part 2 - Futurology - Air Date 5-28-24
Since the demise of the USSR, the mantle of the largest planned economies in the world has been taken up by the likes of Walmart, Amazon and other multinational corporations.
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS:
Description: Photo of a patch on a backpack that says "What would you do if your income were taken care of?"
Credit: "Berlin UBI March" by Patrick Maynard, Flickr | License: CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped
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Original Air Date: 1/31/2023
Today, we take a look at just some of the nearly infinite ways in which our society, culture and economy are infused from top to bottom with Scam Culture™ that is bleeding us dry both financially and mentally.
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SHOW NOTES
Ch. 1: The Grift Economy: Everything is a scam, always. - Thought Slime - Air Date 11-5-21
For those that need to read this: you aren't a capitalist. You're capital.
Ch. 2: Power and Corruption: The Devos Family - iilluminaughtii - Air Date 1-20-23
Betsy DeVos and her family have been important figures in the business world for decades. They're involved in a massive MLM, invest in shady businesses, and have put their money toward politics for as long as anyone can remember.
Ch. 3: Bill Black: The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One - theAnalysis.news - Air Date 5-31-21
How does a corrupt mortgage scam by brokers in California become a massive national fraud that puts the whole economy into a deep crisis? Bill Black on theAnalysis.news with Paul Jay.
"Whatever fun name you wanna put on it, it's the same damn thing we've seen over and over again." David Dayen, Executive Editor of The American Prospect, joins us to talk through the spectacular rise and fall of crypto exchange FTX
Ch. 5: The Gig Economy Was Always A Scam - Wisecrack - Air Date 8-8-22
The gig economy has revolutionized how we think about work, but not necessarily for the better. How have a bunch of multi-billion-dollar companies like Uber or Instacart so fundamentally changed our economy?
Ch. 6: Why Spotify Will Ultimately Fail - Benn Jordan - Air Date 1-9-23
An investor's guide to breaking the thing you're trying to sell.
Ch. 7: James O'Brien caller wrote his dissertation on 'incel' culture - LBC - Air Date 1-27-23
Explaining the appeal of Andrew Tate and his accolites to young, insecure men
Ch. 8: TikToker Exposes New A.I. Scam That Is Absolutely TERRIFYING - Rebel HQ - Air Date 1-13-23
TikToker @benno56 shares his family's experience with a terrifying new A.I. voice-mimicking scam. Max Burns breaks it down.
Ch. 9: Mark Rober's Prank And The Truth About Scammers And Capitalism - Second Thought - Air Date 6-17-22
Scam call centers are just one cancerous offshoot of bureaucracy under capitalism, and while pranking these places may be cathartic, it's not enough to tackle the root cause.
Ch. 10: Is all money just a ponzi scheme? | Vicki Robin - Big Think - Air Date 7-22-18
"Money, it's a gas," wrote Pink Floyd's Roger Waters for their hit 'Money'. Author, speaker, and social innovator Vicki Robin would probably agree: she posits that most people don't understand the true, human, working value of money.
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date: 2-17-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
Leave a message on our new system!
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REFERENCES
Your friends are still acting like everything is normal in America. What do you do? - Vox
They Were Ordinary Germans. We Are Ordinary Americans. - The New York Times
How to Survive the Information War - The Atlantic
Galaxy Brain podcast: How to Be A Citizen in the Information War (And Stay Sane) - Galaxy Brain (The Atlantic)
Can Woke 2 Go IRL? Even Thomas Chatterton Williams Thinks It's Possible - Vanity Fair
Why Hannah Arendt and the Banality of Evil Still Matter Today - Philosopedia
The Popular Front Isn't Foreign — It's American /// Want to Fight Fascism? Look to U.S. History. - In These Times
As Congress Begins to Grapple With Restrictions on ICE, States Take Matters Into Their Own - Talking Points Memo
Lawmakers visit Minnesota for inspiration — and to warn the nation - Minnesota Reformer
BACKSTAGE
We Must Establish The Run Against Authoritarianism - Bad Faith Times
EXTRAS:
00:13:27 Best of the Left #1770 - Getting in the Fight Against ICE and Authoritarianism
00:19:42 Best of the Left Bonus Edition #334 - "Collaborators, Internal Exiles, and Dissidents" from Jan. 26, 2025 (pre-YouTube)
Prosecutor Fired After Voicing Frustration With Immigration Caseload - The New York Times
TAKE ACTION:
How to Support Minneapolis Communities
In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach
Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Find your Indivisible group - or start one
Reach us via Signal:
Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
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Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Review the show on Apple Podcasts!
Air Date: 2/23/2026
Today we examine how the platforms that monetize your attention are merging with state power. We'll hear how TikTok's new owners include Trump ally Larry Ellison, how DHS sent hundreds of subpoenas to unmask anonymous ICE critics, how Ring's Super Bowl ad cheerfully introduced AI-powered neighborhood surveillance, and how the social media addiction trials that are being likened to the Big Tobacco settlement of the 90s, are finally exposing what these companies knew about the harmful nature of their products all along.
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TOP TAKES
KP 2: Trouble at TikTok Part 1 - Today, Explained - Air Date 2-4-26
KP 3: Is Social Media Having Its Big Tobacco Moment Part 1 - The Global Story - Air Date 2-16-26
KP 4: The Social Media Addiction Trials Begin Part 1 - On The Media - Air Date 2-13-26
KP 5: Ring's Lost Pet Ad Fetching a Surveillance State - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 2-10-26
KP 6: DMs! My Kingdom For DMs! - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 2-17-26
(00:53:14) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
Big Tech is the New Big Tobacco - Here's what that means for our future
DEEPER DIVES
(01:01:11) SECTION A: LAWSUITS
A2: Why New Mexico Is Taking Meta to Court - Here & Now Anytime - 2-5-26
A3: The Social Media Addiction Trials Begin Part 2 - On The Media- Air Date 2-13-26
A4: Is Social Media Having Its Big Tobacco Moment Part 2 - The Global Story - Air Date 2-16-26
A5: Trouble at TikTok Part 2 - Today, Explained - Air Date 2-4-26
(01:44:53) SECTION B: TIKTOK
B2: TikTok's New Trump-Approved US Owners Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 1-28-26
B4: TikTok's New Trump-Approved US Owners Part 2 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 1-28-26
(02:19:50) SECTION C: PLATFORM POWER
(02:56:37) SECTION D: ATTENTION HARMS
D2: AI Chatbots Upended Their Lives. Then They Turned to Each Other - Consider This - Air Date 2-4-26
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Photo of a pre-teen girl leaning on a table holding a phone in her hands that she looks at so closely it covers her entire face.
Credit:"teen iphone smartphone girl" by cyndidyoder83, Pixabay | Pixabay License
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Air Date: 2/19/2026
Today we trace the pipeline from masculine grievance to fascism. We'll hear how ICE agents' own family members describe them as low-IQ bullies chasing signing bonuses, why a former white nationalist explains that the alternative to unpacking discomfort is becoming overtly racist, how incel culture evolved from lonely forums into a MAGA recruitment tool, and what researchers found about why men socialized to equate violence with manhood end up joining state-sanctioned death squads.
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TOP TAKES
KP 1: White Men, We Have A Problem - Swolesome - Air Date 1-7-26
KP 2: Do You Get It Now, Ben? - SOME MORE NEWS - Air Date 2-11-26
KP 4: The Terrifying Rise of "Vice Signalling" - JimmyTheGiant - Air Date 1-28-26
KP 5: Who's We? - PissedMagistus - Air Date 1-17-26
(00:49:13) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
The Manosphere Correctly Diagnoses Some Problems but Their Solutions are a Con
DEEPER DIVES
(01:04:19) SECTION A: FRAGILE MASCULINITY
A1: The Patriarchy Is Fracturing… - Dr. Deneen Speaks - Air Date 1-17-26
A2: Are Women Responsible For Fixing Broken Men? - The Speech Prof - Air Date 2-9-26
A3: Masculinity Isn't Real | The History They Won't Teach - Therese - Air Date 1-27-26
A4: "Any Woman Who Doesn't Find Me Attractive Is LYING!!!" - The Speech Prof - Air Date 1-27-26
(01:27:11) SECTION B: PIPELINE TO HELL
B2: The Masculine Urge to Join a Fascist Death Squad - Signified B Sides - Air Date 1-26-26
B3: Here's Why Tim Pool LOVES ICE - Luke Thomas Gets Political (LTGP) - Air Date 1-27-26
B4: Syril Karn in Andor Is The PERFECT Representation of Fascism! - Film Obsessed - Air Date 1-22-26
B5: Everything Is Gender - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 1-11-26
(02:07:49) SECTION C: THE PROPAGANDA MACHINE
C1: Political Meme Propaganda Machine - Harland Spinks - Air Date 1-25-26
C2: Exposing the Far Right - Against the Grain - Air Date 2-4-26
(02:26:50) SECTION D: AUTHORITARIAN CURIOUS
D1: The Contradiction That Exposes Scott Galloway's Real Agenda - Therese - Air Date 12-4-25
D2: The Rise of the Authoritarian-Curious - Then & Now - Air Date 2-9-26
D3: Shirley, He Can't Be This Stupid - We Gon Be Alright - Air Date 1-19-26
D4: America's Nazi Influencers - Novara Media - Air Date 1-20-26
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Composite image of photos of a white man looking sad facing away from the camera, and then enraged looking toward the camera.
Credit: Internal composite design. Images by Engin_Akyurt, Pixabay | Pixabay License
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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Air Date 2/15/2026
Today we explore the gap between free speech rhetoric and the reality of arrested reporters. We'll hear how a decade of cancel culture panic over college students gave way to actual government suppression of journalists, why the DOJ is perverting a law designed to fight the Ku Klux Klan to prosecute Black journalists, how the administration that promised to "bring back free speech" is maintaining lists of forbidden words, and what history teaches about humor as a weapon against authoritarianism.
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TOP TAKES
KP 1: AG Bondi Confirms FBI Executed Search Warrant at WaPo Reporter's Home - MS Now - Air Date 1-13-26
KP 2: Why Trump Arresting Journalists Is a Sign of Weakness - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 1-30-26
KP 4: Stars and Stripes in Peril Part 1 - On The Media - Air Date 1-28-26
KP 5: Humor Can Topple Dictators Part 1 - Why, America with Leeja Miller - Air Date 10-18-25
KP 6: The Effectiveness of Nonviolent Activism - Inside International Affairs - Air Date 2-28-24
(00:52:02) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On why authoritarians are so afraid of the media
DEEPER DIVES
(01:02:13) SECTION A: STATE REPRESSION
A1: One Authoritarian's Playbook - Rights & Wrongs - Air Date 6-2-25
A2: Following Independent Journalists Fighting for Free Press in Russia - Fresh Air - Air Date 2-5-26
A3: Stars and Stripes in Peril Part 2 - On The Media - Air Date 1-28-26
(01:26:49) SECTION B: LEGAL ATTACKS
(02:03:30) SECTION C: MEDIA INSTITUTIONS
C3: 'If You Can Keep It' The Future Of The Free Press Part 1 - 1A - Air Date 2-2-26
C5: 'If You Can Keep It' The Future Of The Free Press Part 2 - 1A - Air Date 2-2-26
(02:56:52) SECTION D: LAUGHTIVISM
D1: Humor Can Topple Dictators Part 2 - Why, America with Leeja Miller - Air Date 10-18-25
D3: The Power of Laughtivism | Srdja Popovic at TEDxBG - TEDx Talks - Air Date 2-14-13
D5: A Message From The Frog Resistance - The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Air Date 10-13-25
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Composite design of a photo of a press pass on a lanyard on a table overlaying a photo of an ICE protest in Minneapolis.
Credit: Internal design. Photo 1: "Standard Press Credentials - Minneapolis Civil Unrest" by Tony Webster, Flickr | CC BY 2.0 | Cropped & blended | Photo 2: "Protest against ICE in downtown Minneapolis" by Fibonacci Blue, Flickr | CC BY 4.0 | Cropped & blended
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Air Date: 2-3-26
Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:
Ch. 1 - Trump's Pillars of Support, and plugging into community building & local support networks
Ch. 2 - Case studies in success: Avelo Airlines & Spotify and why they matter
Ch. 3 - Pressure campaigns at home and abroad and why they are important
Ch. 4 - The new cracks in MAGA, and building up the political opposition party we need
SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): The second amendment folks' weird moment after ICE murdered Alex Pretti
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REFERENCES DISCUSSED
Why Nonviolent Resistance Doesn't Require Your Opponent to Have a Conscience - Tim Hjersted, Films for Action
Think There's Nothing You Can Do to Stop ICE? Think Again. - The Nation
Here's How We Pressured an Airline to End Its Contract With ICE - TruthOut
Want to Stop ICE? Go After Its Corporate Collaborators. - The Nation
CEOs of major Minnesota businesses finally speak out, sign meek call for 'deescalation' - Bring Me The News
'Tariff for Oligarchs': Top Economist Urges Europe to Fight Trump by Punishing US Billionaires - Common Dreams
Some Conservatives Veer Off Party Line After DHS Agents Kill Another US Citizen - Mother Jones
Here's Your Damn Playbook, Democrats - The New Republic
This Could Be the Moment MAGA Collapses - The New Republic
MORE RESOURCES
Here's How to Find Out Which Corporations Are Collaborating With ICE - Little Sis
How to Weaken ICE: Cut Off the Corporations That Make Deportations Possible: Unified Strategy to Join, Support, or Build Boycott Campaigns Against ICE Vendors and Suppliers - Herman Legal Group
We Must Establish The Run Against Authoritarianism - Bad Faith Times
BACKSTAGE
Trump is Making an Enemy of the Gun Lobby - The Intercept
EXTRAS:
Meta lays off employees across multiple teams - Tech Crunch (Oct 16, 2024)
People Think Amazon Is an E-Commerce Company, but 74% of Its Profit Comes From This Instead
Best of the Left #1769 Politics Beyond the Ballot Box: Elections and the Movements that Power Them
ICE confirms new office in College Park - Atlanta News First
Ossoff Inquires about Rumored New ICE Detention Facility - Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB)
Prominent MAGA streamer compares ICE to Gestapo after Pretti shooting
TAKE ACTION:
How to Support Minneapolis Communities
In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach
Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Find your Indivisible group - or start one
Reach us via Signal:
Leave a message at 202-999-3991
Produced by:
Jay! Tomlinson
Thanks for listening!
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Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Review the show on Apple Podcasts!
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