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

Air Date: 11/11/2026 Today we look at billionaires, wealth inequality, money in politics, and what happens to a society when those things get far out of whack. Outside spending on our elections has grown roughly 12-fold since 2008, and the same concentrated wealth that buys elections leaves governments answering to the ultra-wealthy while everyone else struggles with rising prices. That insecurity is the precise recipe that makes authoritarianism look viable. The last time inequality was this extreme was the Roaring Twenties, and what followed the crash was the New Deal era of steep taxes on the rich that built a healthy middle class for decades. We're due for a reset. Watch: Wealth Inequality in America (Updated 2026) Books from this episode (affiliate links: buying through them supports the show): This week's guests discuss their new books: Country of Lords by Kim Phillips-Fein: print at Bookshop.org · audiobook at Libro.fm Anti-Fascist Economics by Isabella Weber: print at Bookshop.org · audiobook at Libro.fm End Times Fascism by Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor: print at Bookshop.org · audiobook at Libro.fm Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice Message BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: "When the Bubble Bursts" Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor on Reclaiming Democracy From AI Oligarchs Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-21-26 KP 2: The US Tradition of Inequality with Kim Phillips-Fein Part 1 - Behind the News - Air Date 7-16-26 KP 3: Apocalypse Now Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Investigate the End-Timers Alliance Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 9-18-26 KP 4: Why California's Billionaire Tax Is Crucial Dave Regan Part 1 - The Majority Report W Sam Seder - Air Date 10-21-26 KP 5: Apocalypse Now Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Investigate the End-Timers Alliance Part 2 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 9-18-26 KP 6: Kim Phillips-Fein on the Anti-Egalitarian Strain in American Culture and Politics Part 1 - LARB Radio Hour - Air Date 7-24-26 KP 7: Anti-Fascist Economics (with Isabella Weber) - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 10-20-26 (01:00:48) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:12:27) SECTION A: HOW THE LORDS JUSTIFY THEMSELVES A1: The Long Struggle Against Equality in America (with Kim Phillips-Fein) Part 1 - Know Your Enemy - Air Date 8-24-26 A2: The US Tradition of Inequality with Kim Phillips-Fein Part 2 - Behind the News - Air Date 7-16-26 A3: Anti-Fascist Economics with Isabella Weber Fighting Fascism Part 1 - The Nation Podcasts - Air Date 10-19-26 A4: The Long Struggle Against Equality in America (with Kim Phillips-Fein) Part 2 - Know Your Enemy - Air Date 8-24-26 (01:48:52) SECTION B: HOW INSECURITY BREEDS FASCISM B1: Anti-Fascist Economics with Isabella Weber Part 1 - Factually! with Adam Conover - Air Date 10-28-26 B2: Authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on How to Resist End Times Fascism Part 1 - KQED's Forum - Air Date 9-22-26 B3: Anti-Fascist Economics with Isabella Weber Part 2 - Factually! with Adam Conover - Air Date 10-28-26 B4: "When the Bubble Bursts" Naomi Klein & Astra Taylor on Reclaiming Democracy From AI Oligarchs Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-21-26 (02:27:05) SECTION C: TAXING AND TAMING EXTREME WEALTH C1: Californians Are Voting on a Billionaires Tax - Brian Lehrer A Daily Podcast - Air Date 10-23-26 C2: A Wealth Tax on Billionaires California Voters to Decide on Prop 40 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-20-26 C3: In Conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Part 1 - The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich - Air Date 9-25-26 C4: Why California's Billionaire Tax Is Crucial Dave Regan Part 2 - The Majority Report W Sam Seder - Air Date 10-21-26 (02:50:52) SECTION D: WHAT COMES NEXT, ESSENTIALS AND HERE-NESS D1: Authors Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor on How to Resist End Times Fascism Part 2 - KQED's Forum - Air Date 9-22-26 D2: In Conversation with Naomi Klein and Astra Taylor Part 2 - The Coffee Klatch with Robert Reich - Air Date 9-25-26 D3: Kim Phillips-Fein on the Anti-Egalitarian Strain in American Culture and Politics Part 2 - LARB Radio Hour - Air Date 7-24-26 D4: Anti-Fascist Economics with Isabella Weber Fighting Fascism Part 2 - The Nation Podcasts - Air Date 10-19-26 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 11/4/2026 Israel was formed to create a safe haven for Jews in the wake of World War II, an admirable goal. Since then, there have been major wars every decade, terrorist attacks, and Netanyahu has been warning about Iran getting a nuclear weapon since 1992. There were prominent Jews at the time, including Albert Einstein, who saw all of this coming and warned against the creation of a Jewish state with borders and an army, because they feared exactly what has come to pass because of the peril it would put Jews in and the damage that Jewish nationalism would do to the Jewish faith. The tragedy of Israel is that those warnings were not heeded and then that this perspective was effectively removed from the discussion entirely, making the path to true safety for Jews and everyone else, essentially invisible. We're exploring that history and those perspectives today. Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice Message BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Olive Harvesters Part 1 - Newshour - Air Date 10-16-26 KP 2: "Origins of a Genocide"Al Jazeera's Marwan Bishara on "Twelve Days That Shook the Middle East" Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date KP 3: Mahmoud Khalil We Cant Afford to Stay Silent Part 1 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 10-2-26 KP 4: Arendt on Zionism Part 1 - Against the Grain - Air Date 11-7-23 KP 5: Destruction of the Jewish Bund with Molly Crabapple Part 1 - The Dig - Air Date 8-14-26 KP 6: Gaza Has Exposed the Hypocrisy of the West with Omar El Akkad Part 1 - Downstream - Air Date 10-18-26 (00:53:23) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR In 1948 There Were Two Answers to Keeping Jews Safe My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:09:19) SECTION A: THE JEWISH CASE AGAINST ZIONISM A1: Republicans Palpable Panic; The Jewish History Of Anti-Zionism with Benjamin Moser Part 1 - The Majority Report - Air Date 9-28-26 A2: Anti-Zionism, A Jewish History Benjamin Moser with Rashid Khalidi Part 1 - The New York Public Library - Air Date 9-22-26 A3: Republicans Palpable Panic; The Jewish History Of Anti-Zionism with Benjamin Moser Part 2 - The Majority Report - Air Date 9-28-26 A4: Anti-Zionism, A Jewish History Benjamin Moser with Rashid Khalidi Part 2 - The New York Public Library - Air Date 9-22-26 A5: Arendt on Zionism Part 2 - Against the Grain - Air Date 11-7-23 (01:55:41) SECTION B: THE BUND AND THE ROAD NOT TAKEN B1: The History of the Jewish Bund with Molly Crabapple Part 1 - American Prestige - Air Date 8-12-26 B2: Here Where We Live Is Our Country Part 1 - On the Nose - Air Date 7-23-26 B3: Destruction of the Jewish Bund with Molly Crabapple Part 2 - The Dig - Air Date 8-14-26 B4: The History of the Jewish Bund with Molly Crabapple Part 2 - American Prestige - Air Date 8-12-26 B5: Here Where We Live Is Our Country Part 2 - On the Nose - Air Date 7-23-26 (02:39:03) SECTION C: INSIDE ISRAEL, FROM THE WEST BANK TO THE BALLOT BOX C1: Israels Election Wont End the Genocide Part 1 - Current Affairs - Air Date 10-16-26 C2: Israeli Settlers Attack West Bank Olive Harvesters Part 2 - Newshour - Air Date 10-16-26 C3: Israels Election Wont End the Genocide Part 2 - Current Affairs - Air Date 10-16-26 (03:00:21) SECTION D: COMPLICITY, CRACKDOWN, AND REFUSAL D1: "Origins of a Genocide"Al Jazeera's Marwan Bishara on "Twelve Days That Shook the Middle East" Part 2 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-7-26 D2: News Brief 2028, Israel's Progressive Rebrand and the Risk of Genocide as Rhetorical Box Check Part 1 - Citations Needed - Air Date 10-6-26 D3: Mahmoud Khalils 104 Days in ICE Detention Part 1 - Fresh Air - Air Date 9-29-26 D4: News Brief 2028, Israel's Progressive Rebrand and the Risk of Genocide as Rhetorical Box Check Part 2 - Citations Needed - Air Date 10-6-26 D5: Mahmoud Khalil We Cant Afford to Stay Silent Part 2 - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 10-2-26 D6: Gaza Has Exposed the Hypocrisy of the West with Omar El Akkad Part 2 - Downstream - Air Date 10-18-26 D7: Mahmoud Khalils 104 Days in ICE Detention Part 2 - Fresh Air - Air Date 9-29-26 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 10/30/2026 Today we look at the midterm machinery. The administration's attempts to mess with the election continually lose in court, but the tampering attempts will keep coming: whose ballots get thrown out, which winners get certified, who ultimately gets seated. Voting too big to rig, early and in overwhelming numbers, is only the beginning, followed by people being ready to show up and protect the count. Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice Message BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: Republicans Should Have to Answer for Elon Musk - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 10-26-26 KP 2: Polarization Is Not Our Biggest Problem - On the Media - Air Date 10-9-26 KP 3: Can Trump Deport Ilhan Omar? - Today, Explained - Air Date 10-21-26 KP 4: The Republican Party & The Far Right - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Air Date 10-25-26 KP 5: EXCLUSIVE: 'No Kings' Demands Meta Explain Instagram Suspension - All In with Chris Hayes - Air Date 10-19-26 KP 6: What the Elections in Brazil and Serbia Don't Mean for Us - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 10-26-26 (00:54:13) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR The Progressive Left Was Right About Trump's Authoritarianism My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (00:58:09) SECTION A: RIGGING THE COUNT AND FIGHTING BACK A1: Trump Says He Ordered Suit to Block Alaska Senate Results if GOP Loses - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 10-23-26 A2: What Marc Elias Says Trump Is Really up to with Bogus Alaska Lawsuit - The Briefing with Jen Psaki - Air Date 10-24-26 A3: BUCKLE UP: National Security Officials Secretly Preparing for Post-Election "Contingencies" - The Humanist Report - Air Date 10-22-26 A4: Trump Launched Test Run To HACK Voting Machines? - Status Coup News - Air Date 10-21-26 A5: Polling, Vote Flipping, Mail Ballot Rejections, Trump's DOJ and Other Late Threats to the Midterms - The BradCast W/ Brad Friedman - Air Date 10-22-26 (01:35:44) SECTION B: THE GOP RADICALIZED B1: Well...what if They Are Actually Nazis? - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 10-14-26 B2: A.M. Homes', The Unfolding of an American Democracy - Absent Any Consensus on What Is Real and True, All Bets Are Sort of Off - Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture - Air Date 10-17-26 B3: Donald Trump Is Doing Everything He Can to Drive the GOP Off a Cliff - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 10-23-26 B4: Stupid Democrats, Evil Republicans and the Future King of America - UNFTR Media - Air Date 10-20-26 B5: JD Vance's Town Hall Was a Disaster - Some More News - Air Date 10-20-26 (02:16:04) SECTION C: ON THE BALLOT - CANDIDATES AND RACES C1: Trump Believes THOUSANDS Vote Illegally: They Charged 28 People - What A Day - Air Date 10-22-26 C2: Charles Blow Challenges Double Standards in Scrutiny of Abdul El-Sayed - CNN - Air Date 10-24-26 C3: Ohio Governor's Race: Trump Backs Ramaswamy Ad Siding with Opponent's Indicted Childhood Rapist - Democracy Now! - Air Date 10-23-26 C4: Trump DOJ Accidentally EXPOSES Republican ELECTION FRAUD?!?! - Legal AF - Air Date 10-21-26 C5: Claims of Vote-switching in FL, TN and GA. Here's the Truth. - Parkrose Resistance - Air Date 10-22-26 (02:51:39) SECTION D: WHAT THIS ELECTION IS ACTUALLY ABOUT D1: Questions About American Democracy and the Midterms on a Friday Morning - Resistance History with Tad Stoermer - Air Date 10-23-26 D2: Prediction Markets Have a Lock on the Midterms - The Intercept Briefing - Air Date 10-9-26 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 10/27/2026 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on the news from September and October without being overwhelming! Organized around a single idea: when something goes wrong, follow where the blame lands. Republicans staged a hearing over Anthony Fauci's diary while a food-borne parasite sickened more than 1,500 people after the Trump administration gutted the systems that track outbreaks. Housing costs get pinned on rent control, and the paperwork of being poor eats hours the wealthy pay someone else to spend. Meanwhile Boulder, Colorado is taking Exxon to court over what the company knew about climate change fifty years ago. The mix closes with the people organizing to protect the midterms and with what Occupy Wall Street left behind. Covering: September–October 2026 Full Show Notes BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) SECTION 1: THEY KNEW (00:01:45) #1827 - Deep Cuts: Exxon Knew - The History Behind the Case to Make Polluters Pay 1: Trump's Big Oil Case Heads to the Supreme Court - What A Day - Air Date 3-16-26 2: The Fight for Fossil Fuel Industry Accountability: Understanding Suncor V. Boulder Part 1 - Center for Progressive Reform - Air Date 9-3-26 3: What's Suncor V. Boulder? And Why Does It Matter to Climate Progress? - Covering Climate Now - Air Date 9-23-26 (00:25:05) #1824 - The Next Gilded Age: AI Doomsday and the Insatiable Business Model 4: The AI Bubble Is Bigger And More Dangerous Than You Think Part 1 - The Tea with Myriam François - Air Date 9-11-26 5: You Don't Hate AI Enough. - Nash Keune - Air Date 9-20-26 6: The 'End Times Fascists' of AI - Blood in the Machine - Air Date 9-13-26 SECTION 2: SENT TO THE WRONG ADDRESS (00:53:41) #1829 - Poverty Is Hard on Purpose in America and We All Pay the Time Tax 7: The Vague, Capital-Serving Co-Optation of Affordability Politics Part 1 - Citations Needed - Air Date 6-17-26 8: The Time Cost of Bureaucracy Part 1 - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 8-28-26 9: Merchants of Death The Men Who Killed Healthcare in America. Part 1 - UNFTR - Air Date 9-4-26 (01:17:56) #1826 - The Mechanics of Complicity from Nazis to Newsrooms to Fandoms 10: I Quit My Job Because of Harry Potter Part 1 - Hoots Hootman - Air Date 9-26-26 11: UK Sanctions Israeli Settlers. A Breakthrough Or A Cop-Out? - Owen Jones - Air Date 9-8-26 12: Why Centrists and Ezra Klein Are Ruining Everything - Benaminute - Air Date 11-21-25 SECTION 3: SHOW TRIALS AND REAL ONES (01:43:37) #1820 - Science and Public Health Under Attack by Our Own Government 13: Fauci Takes the 5th Amendment While MAGA Cracks His Diary Open & Calls Him Hitler - The Daily Show - Air Date 7-30-26 14: Fauci, RFK Jr., and the Latest in American Health Part 1 - Reveal - Air Date 8-11-26 15: We Need to Accept That We Elected an Actual Madman to Be President - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 8-11-26 (02:05:20) #1822 - The State Media Playbook: The FCC and Billionaires Are Waging a War on the Free Press 16: "Profoundly Corrupt": Trump Sued for Selling Early Access to His Truth Social Posts for $100K/Month - Democracy Now! - Air Date - 8-19-26 17: Trump's "Authoritarian Takeover" of the Media, ABC Suing FCC & the Meta Trial: Free Press's Jessica González - Air Date 8-19-26 18: Coyote Vs. Acme Proves the CEOs Don't Know S***. - Adam Conover - Air Date 9-4-26 SECTION 4: WHERE ANSWERING STILL HAPPENS (02:27:22) #1821 - Election Sabotage, Voting System Vulnerabilities, and the Defense of the 2026 Midterms 19: President Trump Is Trying to Change How Elections Are Run. Where Do Things Stand - Consider This - Air Date 8-28-26 20: Will Dems Risk Being Called 'Election Deniers' If They Need to Challenge Midterms - The BradCast - Air Date 8-27-26 21: Protecting the Midterms—at the Grassroots and in the Courts Part 1 - Start Making Sense - Air Date 8-19-26 (02:50:29) #1825 - We Are Still the 99%: Occupy Wall Street's Unfinished Business, 15 Years Later 22: The Long Fight Against Equality in the United States with Kim Phillips-Fein Part 1 - This Is Hell! - Air Date 9-3-26 23: We Are the 99 - 15 Years Later, Occupy Wall Street's Impact Is Still Being Felt Part 1 - Democracy Now! - Air Date 9-18-26 24: Episode 6 You Can't Evict an Idea Part 1 - Future Hindsight - Air Date 8-13-26 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]

Air Date: 10/23/2026 Today we look at the women's sports boom as a power story and explain how women's sports were held back on purpose, from England banning women's soccer for fifty years to colleges spending next to nothing on their women's teams, primarily because the men feared the competition. Full Show Notes Transcript Leave a Voice Message BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Support and Get No Ads!) Link in Bio - Everything in one place! (Support, contact, socials, books + merch) TOP TAKES KP 1: The Boom in Women's Sports: WNBA, NWSL & Brands Following the Money - Women's Sports Now - Air Date 8-17-26 KP 2: Why the WNBA Became a Battleground in America's Culture Wars - Political Breakdown - Air Date 8-21-26 KP 3: Why Trans Women Have a Place in the WNBA - Everyone Watches Women's Sports Pod and Togethxr - Air Date 8-16-26 KP 4: Equal Pay in the WNBA Ft. Aliyah Boston, Alysha Clark, and Terri Carmichael Jackson - Hearsay - Air Date 8-28-24 KP 5: Why Ashlyn Harris REALLY Walked Away From Soccer - Women's Sports Now - Air Date 6-17-26 KP 6: Title IX Trailblazers Part 1 - Torched with Molly Bloom - Air Date 9-6-22 KP 7: Celebrating the New WNBA CBA and Examining Its Leaguewide Cultural Ramifications - The Ringer WNBA Show - Air Date 3-18-26 (00:54:05) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (01:15:37) SECTION A: FOLLOW THE MONEY, FOLLOW THE BOOM A1: WNBA Valuations EXPLODE 💰 Up 59%… "This Isn't Charity, It's BUSINESS" - Chiney Today - Air Date 5-1-26 A2: How NIL Deals and Sponsorships Are Transforming Women's Sports - Women's Sports Now - Air Date 5-29-25 A3: Sarah Spain On the Evolution of Women's Sports Coverage - Front Office Sports - Air Date 5-16-25 A4: Everyone Watches Women's Sports - The Varsity - Air Date 4-16-25 A5: Gimme, Gimme, Gimme The Basketball with Betsy Riley - Good Game with Sarah Spain - Air Date 10-13-26 (01:53:40) SECTION B: THE CULTURE WAR, THE BACKLASH, AND WHO GETS CALLED A THREAT B1: The WNBA, Past and Present and Irish Sport for Palestine - Edge of Sports - Air Date 10-7-26 B2: The Caitlin Clark Effect with Sarah Spain - Here We Go Again With Kal Penn - Air Date 2-3-26 (02:14:40) SECTION C: THE CBA FIGHT - LABOR, PAY, AND POWER INSIDE THE W C1: The WNBA's Business Revolution: Lexie Brown and Mariah Rose on What Comes Next - Adspeak - Air Date 10-15-26 C2: WNBA CBA Deadline Drama: Emma Baccellieri and Lindsay Break Down the Labor Fight - Burn It All Down - Air Date 3-1-26 (02:30:50) SECTION D: HOW WE GOT HERE - TITLE IX, BARRIERS, AND BUILDING NEW LEAGUES D1: Title IX Trailblazers Part 2 - Torched with Molly Bloom - Air Date 9-6-22 D2: Title IX Discrimination and Women's Sports - The Brian Lehrer Show - Air Date 10-1-26 D3: Why Women's Sports Are Reaching New Heights in Popularity and Revenue - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 4-7-24 D4: Closing the Coaching Gap: Pam Baker's Mission to Empower Young Women - Women's Sports Now - Air Date 8-25-26 D5: Megan Rapinoe & Emma Hayes on Why Women's Soccer Isn't Just the Men's Game - A Touch More: The Podcast - Air Date 6-18-26 D6: Inside the WPBL's First Season and How We Got Here - Just Women's Sports - Air Date 8-26-26 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at [email protected]