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

Air Date 12/22/2025 It's said that mockery is one of the most effective weapons against dictators. I guess it depends on your goal, but still, there's truth there. And the good thing in that regard is that they are so very mockable. No really nice, likable, non-clownish people make themselves dictators and so the people who do are, without exception, absolutely ridiculous lunatics who deserve all the mockery and disdain in the world. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email [email protected] Full Show Notes In honor of our 20th birthday, we're giving new Members 20% OFF FOR THE LIFETIME OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP...this includes Gift Memberships! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube! Join our Discord community! KEY POINTS KP 1: Worlds Most Peaceful Man Finally Wins Peace Prize - Weekly Weird News - Internet Today - Air Date 12-6-25 KP 2: Why Is Trump so Obsessed with the Kennedy Center? - Post Reports - Air Date 8-14-25 KP 3: The Secret Life of Dictators with Frank Dikötter | Andrew Roberts | Hoover Institution Part 1 - The Secrets of Statecraft - Air Date 10-31-25 KP 4: A Guide to Propaganda - Shawn Grenier | The Canvas - Air Date 1-29-23 KP 5: How Dictators Really Control the World I Anne Applebaum Part 1 - Brad Carr - Air Date 9-18-25 KP 6: On The Epstein Loop and Parallel Improvisation - Robert Arnold - Air Date 12-20-25 (00:47:46) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On Trump's narcissism DEEPER DIVES (00:55:26) SECTION A: MADE UP AWARDS (01:18:24) SECTION B: MONUMENTS TO SELF (01:40:40) SECTION C: PROPAGANDA WORKS (02:08:56) SECTION D: DICTATORS ARE ALL THE SAME MAN (03:04:50) SECTION E: DICTATORSHIPS ALWAYS END HOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Cartoon image of Trump in the famous portrait of King Louis XIV, with a giant long curly wig, tights and robes. Credit: "donald-trump-louis-xiv-létat" by heblo, Pixabay | Pixabay License 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]

Re-Air Date: 12–18-25 Unless you were a member in December of 2024, 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 slowing down production for a little bit to reorganize our production processes, so enjoy this episode from our archives (and before YouTube) where Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - What the orcas are up to Ch. 2 - Confronting the truth about eating meat Ch. 3 - How to not let grief destroy leftist movements Ch. 4 - Living a better life by accepting our own mortality FOLLOW US ON: In honor of our 20th birthday, we're giving new Members 20% OFF FOR THE LIFETIME OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP...this includes Gift Memberships! YouTube (This full episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please share!) Bluesky Instagram Facebook Mastadon REFERENCES: Confessions of a Former Carnivore - The New Republic For Our Movements to Win, We Must Learn How Not to Let Our Grief Destroy Us - TruthOut You Are Going to Die - The Atlantic EXTRAS: 00:50:04 - Best of the Left Ep. #1672 - "Keep an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out' (11-26-24) TAKE ACTION: No Kings Next Steps Free DC Project: FOR ALLIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY - Tell Congress to stand down the federal escalation One Million Rising Trainings In a blue state? Help stop ICE overreach Join our Discord Server Reach us via Signal: Bestoftheleft.01 Leave a message at 202-999-3991 Produced by: Jay! Tomlinson Thanks for listening! Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Contact me directly at [email protected] Review the show on Apple Podcasts!

Air Date 12/14/2025 The sad ease with which we manage to ignore some atrocities, even while paying much attention to others, has to do with how visible or invisible to us the systems are that are propping up those events. Nothing happens in a vacuum and in our world, if you're willing to dig deep enough, you'll always find how we're all connected - across both time and geography. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, 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! KEY POINTS KP 1: Will the International Community Act Preschool Massacre & Large Piles of Bodies in Sudan Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 12-10-25 KP 2: Sudan Civil War the Terrifying Escape From El Fasher - Global News Podcast - Air Date 12-1-25 KP 3: Can Trump Help Sudan Part 1 - Today, Explained - Air Date 11-19-25 KP 4: The War In Sudan with Khalid Medani Part 1- American Prestige - Air Date 5-10-24 KP 5: South Sudans Failed Peace Deal with Joshua Craze Part 1 - American Prestige - Air Date 5-27-25 KP 6: Decolonise Sudan - The Sages Cabin - Herbs & Liberation - Air Date 11-6-25 (00:45:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On the past 20 years of politics DEEPER DIVES (00:50:08) SECTION A: VIOLENCE NOW (01:12:13) SECTION B: HISTORICAL ROOTS (01:51:58) SECTION C: OUTSIDE INTERFERENCE (02:12:01) SECTION D: RESOLUTION AND SOLIDARITY HOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Photo of Sudanese refugee women, one with her baby, standing in line for food aid in Chad carrying bags, and boxes. Credit: "24 January 2025, Adre, Chad. Sudanese refugees who have fled the conflict in Sudan register for food aid in neighbouring Chad." by Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (UK), Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped 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: 12-10-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, and Deon (Erin was out this week) discuss: Ch. 1 - Generational humor, and analysis of Gen Z's absurdist humor and the impact it's having Ch. 2 - The unexpected social side effects of NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani's campaign on Gen Z volunteers Ch. 3 - The "App"stinence Movement helping people get off of social media Ch. 4 - How the peak Millennial humor mobile game "Sword and Sworcery" has evolved with the times SOLVED! Backstage: Behind the Algorithm: Elon Musk's "Grokapedia" reminding us of the "Conservapedia" of 2010s punchlines, and the co-opting of Gen Z meme humor by right wing extremists to normalize hate. REFERENCES Gen Z Humour: What's so funny about something so unfunny? - Hayden Lim Khai Eun via Medium Inside 'Gen Z humor,' the layered and absurdist internet jokes millennials are struggling to keep up with - Business Insider A crash course in Gen Z humor - Pion We Laughed Into The Void—And It Laughed Back: Understanding Gen Z Humor - Berkeley Political Review A Little-Noted Element Propelled Mamdani's Rise: Gen Z Loneliness - The New York Times A mass exit from social media - Mashable Should you practice Appstinence? Gen Z and Gen Alpha are embracing this Harvard student movement - Fast Company 7 Reasons to Think Social Media Has Peaked The platforms have serious problems. - New York Magazine The Mysteries Of Superbrothers: Sword and Sworcery EP - Waltorious Writes About Games Social media is dead – here's what comes next - New Scientist EXTRAS NOT SPONSORS/AFFILIATES Appstinence Brick - Device to help you manage phone use Freedom - App to help you manage device use How to make your smartphone into a dumb phone - (Modern Dumbphone)

Air Date 12/14/2025 Albert Einstein said, "Life is just like a game, first you have to learn rules of the game, and then play it better then any one else." (Or just get some insider knowledge about which team is paid off to lose and bet on the game rather than playing it, am I right?) Now, while it's well known that sports gambling has great potential to corrupt the game, I'm sure being able to bet on literally anything in life all the time right from your phone with billionaires funding persuasion campaigns to convince you to do it will probably work out fine. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at 202-999-3991, 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! KEY POINTS KP 1: America Is Losing Big on Sports Betting Part 1 - The Gray Area with Sean Illing - Air Date 8-11-25 KP 2: The Nuzzi-Lizza Show & CNN's Prediction Play - The Powers That Be: Daily - Air Date 12-5-25 KP 3: Welcome to the Casino Economy - On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti - Air Date 11-13-25 KP 4: Is the Sports Betting Industry a Huge Mistake? - Good Work - Air Date 2-9-24 KP 5: Why The New Gambling Epidemic Should Terrify You - GEN - Air Date 11-8-25 (00:46:01) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On Best of the Left turning 20! DEEPER DIVES (00:49:22) SECTION A: GAMBLING ON EVERYTHING (01:30:27) SECTION B: THE UBIQUITY OF SPORTS BETTING (01:56:28) SECTION C: SPORTS BETTING IS BAD FOR SPORTS 02:34:14) SECTION D: GAMIFYING LIFE SHOW IMAGE CREDITS Description: Photo of a man staring up at multiple screens showing sports betting updates, along with a live football and hockey game, above the betting counter in a Las Vegas casino. Credit: "Sports Betting at a Las Vegas Casino" by Baishampayan Ghose, Flickr | CC BY-SA 2.0 | Changes: Cropped 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]