#1762 Trump's Imperialistic Shakedown of Venezuela
Release Date: 01/03/2026
#1248 There you go again. Venezuela and America's addiction to imperialism (Remix)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Original Air Date: 2/8/2019 Amid the ongoing fallout of a contested presidential election, we take a look back, briefly, at the last 100 years of Venezuelan history to understand how they went from oil riches and inequality to revolution and social progress only to run afoul of American imperialism. 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 shop and for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! ! ...
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#1762 Trump's Imperialistic Shakedown of Venezuela
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 1/3/2026 Imperialism is best thought of as a "Wealth Pump," extracting wealth from one country and depositing it in another. Venezuela has wealth and wealth is the only thing Trump cares about, his willingness to break his promise of being the peace president and go along with traditional Republican hawks is not a complicated mystery. 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 shop and for a non-evil...
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SOLVED! SAMPLE! #30 - Everything is Ugly: How Convenience Killed Beauty—And How We Can Bring It Back
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date: 12-23-25 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - Why everything is so ugly these days Ch. 2 - The story of “Millennial Gray” and how our personal spaces are impacted by beauty Ch. 3 - How government intervention and regulation does (and could) impact the beauty in our surroundings Ch. 4 - How beauty impacts sustainability as well as our very important feelings of belonging BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm: Why people around the globe are unhappy despite increasing wealth and progress FOLLOW US ON: (This full episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please...
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#1761 Monthly-ish Mix: The Machine Cracks—Empire, Exploitation, and the Crumbling Facade
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date 12/30/2025 The Monthly-ish Mix™ is here to get you caught up on recent news without being overwhelming! This month we start with the infrastructure of imperial violence—from Dick Cheney's legacy to the arms race to Sudan's genocide. Then we expose how power exploits ordinary people through predation and financialized desperation. But here's the thing: resistance is working and the facade is crumbling. From courtroom wins to Mamdani's victory to young Republicans fleeing and conspiracies consuming the right, we end on the insight that authoritarian control is far more fragile than...
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#1760 Hot Mess: Conservative Chaos Below the Surface of Trump's Authoritarian Regime
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Air Date 12/26/2025 Authoritarian governments are always very focused on making it look like they have everything on absolute lock down. Everyone in lockstep, everything proceeding according to plan. But they do this for propaganda purposes, not because it has anything to do with reality. In fact, the opposite is always true. All of which is to say that conservatives are not in chaos because Trump is particularly chaotic, though he is. They're in chaos because that is the natural result of attempting to enforce monolithic thinking and ideological conformity. Be part of the show! Leave us a...
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#1500 America, A Beginner's Guide (Throwback)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
Original Air Date: 7/4/2022 Today, for this milestone episode, I attempted to squeeze in as many clever and interesting ideas as I could and ended up writing a starter guide to understand the United States. Plus, there are jingles! 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 ! Use our links to shop and for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! ! SHOW NOTES (00:01:30) Ch. 1: Political Structures of Our Country Tracking the political eras that proceeded...
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#1759 Why Dictators Are Lunatics and Their Followers are Fools
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 Check out our new show, SOLVED!...
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SOLVED! FROM THE ARCHIVES - “This is Really Happening” (Original Air Date: 12-12-24)
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
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...
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#1758 Why you think the Sudanese civil war doesn't involve you
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
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 Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! KEY POINTS...
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SOLVED! SAMPLE! #29 - “Don’t Be Cringe”: Is Gen Z’s Humor a Political Warning Sign?
Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy
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...
info_outlineAir Date: 1/3/2026
Imperialism is best thought of as a "Wealth Pump," extracting wealth from one country and depositing it in another. Venezuela has wealth and wealth is the only thing Trump cares about, his willingness to break his promise of being the peace president and go along with traditional Republican hawks is not a complicated mystery.
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 Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!
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KEY POINTS
(00:48:15) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
On the structure of imperialism
DEEPER DIVES
(01:02:10) SECTION A: DRUG WAR BS
(01:41:05) SECTION B: THE MONROE DOCTRINE 2.0
B2: Trump's Piracy in the Caribbean - The Real News Podcast - Air Date 12-23-25
B3: Why Do Horrible People Keep Winning Nobel Peace Prizes? - Overzealots - Air Date 11-15-25
(02:20:52) SECTION C: NIGERIA BOMBING
C1: Inside Nigeria's Bombed Border Communities - Focus on Africa - Air Date 12-29-25
(02:37:40) SECTION D: WAR WITH VENEZUELA
D2: They Finally Admitted Its All Fake - Chris Norlund - Air Date 12-29-25
D4: Venezuela? I Hardly Knew Ya - The Muckrake Political Podcast - Air Date 12-12-25
SHOW IMAGE CREDITS
Description: Composite graphic showing Trump looking proudly at strikes on a small alleged “drug runner” boat while the corner of the image is flipped up revealing his arm grabbing barrels of Venezuelan oil.
Credit: Internal composite design, Elements from Pixabay | Pixabay License | Unclassified boat image from U.S. D.O.D. shared on social media.
Produced by Jay! Tomlinson
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