Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Air Date: 5–9-2026 Today we examine how political violence has always been woven into the fabric of American life and who gets to decide what counts as violence in the first place. We'll hear about presidential assassinations, the assassination of Fred Hampton, the MOVE bombing in Philadelphia, and the long history of state-sanctioned violence. And I'll discuss the only real way to bend the curve back away from endemic violence in the US. Full show notes Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: The Real 'Political Violence' in America - Taylor Lorenz - Air Date 9-12-25 KP 2: The Largely Forgotten History of Philadelphias Police Bombing of Black Organization MOVE - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 5-17-25 KP 3: America's History of Assassinations and Political Violence - Front Burner - Air Date 7-16-24 KP 4: America's Addiction to Gun Violence, Racism, and White Rage Will Be Its Downfall Part 1 - The Chauncey DeVega Show -Air Date 9-19-25 KP 5: "Slow Civil War" Author Jeff Sharlet on the Growing NormalAation of Violence at Home & Abroad - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-27-26 KP 6: The World Is Broken and on Fire. Use Your Anger to Remake It for the Better - The Chauncey DeVega Show - Air Date 3-25-26 (00:50:50) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Why Billionaires Now Fear Civil War DEEPER DIVES (01:04:57) SECTION A: THE FRAMING WARS A1: The White House Correspondents Dinner Shooting: What the "Political Violence" Framing Is Hiding - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 4-26-26 A2: Who's to Blame for Political Violence? - WSJ Opinion: Free Expression - Air Date 9-17-25- Air Date 9-17-25 A3: We're MASSIVELY Overstating Our Political Violence Problem — and That's Dangerous! | Sean Westwood - People Who Read People: A Behavior and Psychology Podcast - Air Date 9-16-24 A4: Assassination Nation – Start Your Week with Ros Taylor - The Bunker – News Without the Nonsense - Air Date 4-27-26 (01:32:09) SECTION B: THE LONG AMERICAN TRADITION B1: The Pen or the Sword? How Lincoln and John Brown Disagreed on Achieving Emancipation Part 1 - History Unplugged Podcast - Air Date 2-23-21 B2: A History of US Political Violence - Americast - Air Date 11-2-22 B3: The Pen or the Sword? How Lincoln and John Brown Disagreed on Achieving Emancipation Part 2 - History Unplugged Podcast - Air Date 2-23-21 (01:52:52) SECTION C: STATE VIOLENCE AND ANTI-BLACKNESS C1: WATCH: "The Assassination of Fred Hampton: How the FBI and Chicago Police Murdered a Black Panther" - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-4-14 C2: America's Addiction to Gun Violence, Racism, and White Rage Will Be Its Downfall Part 2 - The Chauncey DeVega Show -Air Date 9-19-25 (02:12:44) SECTION D: THE RIGHT-WING ENGINE D1: Political Violence In The U.S. Part 1 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 6-16-25 D2: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism - The Lawfare Podcast - Air Date 5-25-23 D3: Political Violence In The U.S. Part 2 - The NPR Politics Podcast - Air Date 6-16-25Political Violence In The U.S. The NPR Politics Podcast Jun 16, 2025 (02:36:23) SECTION E: THE SYSTEM AND WHAT COMES NEXT E1: Assassin Nation with Patrick Blanchfield - The Dig - Air Date 12-18-24 E2: Holding Out for a Hero Feat. Hasan Piker - Chapo Trap House - Air Date 4-27-26 E3: The Cole Hard Truth - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 4-28-26 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 [email protected]

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. Full Show Notes 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 [email protected] BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 1 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26 KP 2: Economic Implications of the U.S. War on Iran Part 1 - Economic Update with Richard Wolff - Air Date 4-14-26 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 KP 5: Fiasco for Trump as Leaked GOP Memo Warns of Epic Midterm Bloodbath - The Daily Blast with Greg Sargent - Air Date 5-1-26 KP 6: From Safety Net to Power Base Reclaiming Economic Power for Working People (with Jamie Keene) Part 1 - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 4-21-26 KP 7: Simply Wrong GOP Lawmakers Caught LYING About Gas Prices Part 2 - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 4-30-26 (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 [email protected]

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. Full Show Notes 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 [email protected] BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! 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! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads

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. Full Show Notes Transcript 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 [email protected] BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community TOP TAKES KP 1: "Two Versions of Christianity": Pope Leo Calls for Peace as U.S. Uses Religion to Justify Iran War - Democracy Now! - Air Date 4-1-26 KP 2: What's Driving the Surge of Catholic Converts? Plus Gabriel Salguero - The Holy Post - Air Date 4-1-26 KP 3: What's Behind a Growing Rift Between Conservative U.S. Catholics and the Vatican - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 12-16-23 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 [email protected] Full Show Notes Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: If Hungary Can Do It Part 1 - Radio Atlantic - Air Date 4-16-26 KP 2: What Orban's Loss Means for Anti-Fascists; Iran's Endgame with Jason Stanley, Mohammad Ali Shabani Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 4-14-26 KP 3: Viktor Orbán Part 1 - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Air Date 3-30-26 KP 4: How Do Peter Magyar's Politics Differ From Orban's Right-wing Populism Part 1 - DW News - Air Date 4-13-26 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 KP 7: Viktor Orban's Loss in Hungary Gives Us the Roadmap to Destroy MAGA! - The Dean Obeidallah Show - Air Date 4-12-26 (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 Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X