#1731 Raw Power, the Presidency, the Courts, and Democracy in the Balance
Release Date: 08/20/2025
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date 9/16/2025 Between recent Labor Day rallies and Republican Town Hall meetings, we're seeing that resistance to Trump's deeply unpopular policies is alive and well. Plus we're going to look at some historical legacies of resistance movements that can both inform and inspire us today. 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 Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) KEY POINTS KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: KP 7: (00:53:35) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR On what our...
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Air Date: 9–3-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - The surprising origins of Gerrymandering Ch. 2 - The options we have to improve congressional representation for everyone in the country Ch. 3 - Democratic states response to Republican gerrymandering threats Ch. 4 - The argument for DC statehood and the people to blame for why it hasn’t happened yet Ch. 5 - How to end homelessness and what you can do to help those being targeted in DC SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm: The only correct opinion about the Cracker Barrel rebrand (This episode drops on...
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Air Date: 8–28-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - How scientific empires fall Ch. 2 - How fascists of the past have destroyed their country’s scientific progress in fear of inconvenient truths Ch. 3 - How other countries are taking the opportunity to poach American scientists Ch. 4 - Living in a society that is shifting away from believing in evidence based science Ch. 5 - The 1938 pro-science manifesto that defended democracy against fascism BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm - Trump’s eugenicist mindset and what we didn’t have time for from our main articles ...
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Air Date 8/27/2025 RFK Jr. and the Make America Healthy Again movement aren't completely wrong about everything, they often identify the larger structural problems with the US health industrial complex even if their proposed solutions are wildly off the mark. But the problem they failed to see coming when partnering with Trump and the Republicans is that they're only going to be allowed to misguidedly defund and dismantle parts of the government that support health which is in line with the broader burn-it-all-down vibes of the MAGA movement, but under no circumstances will they be allowed to...
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Air Date 8/24/2025 The nature of politics and public policy is that there's always a need to balance opposing interests. Almost nowhere is there a more intractable set of opposing interests than in the attempt to protect children from harmful content on the internet while maintaining free access to adults, particularly because people wildly disagree about what qualifies as harmful and what degree of privacy invasion is an acceptable tradeoff. 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 Check out our new show,...
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Air Date 8/20/2025 There's been a faction of conservatives who have been trying to instill king-like powers into the presidency for a long time, so it shouldn't be surprising that Trump is getting so much help from the packed court and the apparatchiks in the states who are more than happy to turn their precious federalism on its head as long as their king is in charge. 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 Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to...
info_outlineAir Date 8/20/2025
There's been a faction of conservatives who have been trying to instill king-like powers into the presidency for a long time, so it shouldn't be surprising that Trump is getting so much help from the packed court and the apparatchiks in the states who are more than happy to turn their precious federalism on its head as long as their king is in charge.
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]
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KEY POINTS
KP 1: Justifying Democracy w/ Osita Nwanevu - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-11-25
KP 2: Texas Hold Dems - Today, Explained - Air Date 8-7-25
KP 4: Bruce Bueno De Mesquita The Five Rules of Power Politics - Big Think - Air Date 5-13-12
KP 5: When Unaccountable People Come for Your Vote - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-26-25
(00:50:56) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On how fascists run interference
DEEPER DIVES
(01:03:07) SECTION A: GRIFT AND FORCE
A2: Trump Threatens National Guard Deployment to DC - DSR Daily - Air Date 8-11-25
A3: Loyalty Over Competence At Trump's Justice Department - What A Day - Air Date 7-31-25
A4: Trump Deploys National Guard - HasanAbi - Air Date 8-14-25
(02:00:53) SECTION B: GERRYMANDERING
B1: Republicans Ramp Redistricting Fight up to a 10 - No Lie with Brian Tyler Cohen - Air Date 8-10-25
B3: TEXAS HOLD DEMS Part 2 - Today, Explained - Air Date 8-7-25
B6: Justifying Democracy w/ Osita Nwanevu Part 2 - The Majority Report - Air Date 8-11-25
(02:52:39) SECTION C: COURTS
C1: Stacking the Bench with Creeps and Kooks - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 8-4-25
C3: When Unaccountable People Come for Your Vote Part 2 - Amicus with Dahlia Lithwick - Air Date 7-26-25
C4: Stacking the Bench with Creeps and Kooks Part 2 - Strict Scrutiny - Air Date 8-4-25
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Image of a king of diamonds playing card with a king with orange skin and blonde hair, and a nervous expression on his face, against a dark American flag.
Credit: “king-card-casino-diamond” via Pixabay | Pixabay License
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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