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SOLVED! #32 - How the Left is Always Right Too Soon (With Receipts)

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

Release Date: 02/05/2026

#1786 Defeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook Worldwide show art #1786 Defeating Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the Authoritarian Playbook Worldwide

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

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 , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: KP 7: (00:48:33) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Trumpism Won't End With Trump, Here's What Comes...

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#1329 Our Longest War Has Been a Lie All Along (The Afghanistan Papers) (Throwback) show art #1329 Our Longest War Has Been a Lie All Along (The Afghanistan Papers) (Throwback)

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

Re-Air Date: 4-21-2026 Original Air Date: 1–18-2020 Today we take a look at The Afghanistan Papers which reveal in stark detail much of what the anti-war movement has known or strongly suspected since the beginning. Going beyond the scope of The Pentagon Papers of the Vietnam War era, The Afghanistan Papers feature interviews and documentation from top-ranking officials admitting from the start that they had no idea what they were doing in Afghanistan. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows...

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SOLVED! SAMPLE! #38 - Keepin’ it Class-y: How Class Structure and Wealth Inequality Keep Us Stuck show art SOLVED! SAMPLE! #38 - Keepin’ it Class-y: How Class Structure and Wealth Inequality Keep Us Stuck

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

Air Date: 4-8-26 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:   Ch. 1 - The history of the war on poverty in the U.S. Ch. 2 - How the wealthiest 9.9% are keeping the rest of us down with their heads in the sand Ch. 3 - The history and revival of the workers’ education movement SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): How your class impacts your tastes.   on our new system!   FOLLOW US ON: (This episode premieres on YouTube on Friday - please subscribe and share!)   REFERENCES - The Nation - Sage Journals - The Atlantic - The Nation BACKSTAGE -...

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#1785 Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never) show art #1785 Iran and the Chain Reaction: The War Nobody Thought Through (Or, Bomb First, Think Never)

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

Air Date: 4/17/2026 Today we examine how the U.S. war with Iran has exposed the deep structural rot at the heart of American power, the global economic catastrophe quietly building beneath the surface, and the cuts felt at home in order to pay for it all. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: KP 7: KP 8: KP 9: (00:52:25) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Eisenhower Warned Us: Trump's $1.5T Military Budget Is Gutting America DEEPER...

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#1784 Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides show art #1784 Who Gets to Be American, Who Gets to Vote, and Who Decides

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

Air Date: 4/14/2026 Today we examine the legal battles shaking the foundations of American citizenship and voting rights as Trump's legal team uses the courts as a weapon against democratic participation — and how advocates are fighting back. We'll hear about the three-D playbook of deceive, disrupt, and deny used by authoritarians and being deployed by Trump ahead of the midterms, and what ordinary people can do right now to protect their votes before November. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get...

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#1783 The Ideology of a Cancer Cell: AI, Surveillance, and Silicon Valley's Psychopath Problem show art #1783 The Ideology of a Cancer Cell: AI, Surveillance, and Silicon Valley's Psychopath Problem

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

Air Date: 4/10/2026 Today we examine the ideology quietly driving Silicon Valley — a worldview that treats growth, extraction, and the erasure of human messiness as virtues. We'll hear how tech leaders from Sam Altman to Larry Ellison embody a kind of corporate psychopathy, why Zuckerberg never understood what Facebook actually is, and how the cult of "go for its own sake" may be the most dangerous religion of our time. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads) TOP TAKES KP 1: KP...

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SOLVED! SAMPLE! #37 - Solidarity Forever: Boycotts, Strikes, & the Labor Movement We Need show art SOLVED! SAMPLE! #37 - Solidarity Forever: Boycotts, Strikes, & the Labor Movement We Need

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

Air Date: 4-1-26 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:   Ch. 1 - How to boycott better Ch. 2 - Why REI workers have voted to boycott the upcoming May sale and how you can help Ch. 3 - Why meatpacking workers are striking in Colorado Ch. 4 - Comparing the US labor movement with the Canadian labor movement Ch. 5 - Strengthening, and expanding the vision for, today’s labor movement SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): How politics killed the once transformational National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)   on our new system!   REFERENCES - Jacobin -...

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#1683 Oligarchy Unmasked: President Musk, the crackup of capitalism, and the MAGA meltdown (Throwback) show art #1683 Oligarchy Unmasked: President Musk, the crackup of capitalism, and the MAGA meltdown (Throwback)

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

Re-Air Date: 04-07-26 Original Air Date: 1-15-2025 Elon Musk is leading the way for his class of tech broligarchs anxious to take over the MAGA movement and shape it to their own ends of deregulation, tax cuts, and lucrative government contracts. The disappointment that is inevitable for the MAGA populists is coming even faster than expected. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , 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:  KP...

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#1782 Cuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime Change show art #1782 Cuba's Crisis: Trump's Deadly Embargo, Blackouts, and Dream of Regime Change

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

Air Date: 4/3/2026 Today we examine how decades of U.S. policy toward Cuba set the stage for the current crisis, we explore the human cost of the U.S. oil blockade on Cuba's 11 million people, and how the U.S. justifies an illegal siege while claiming to act in Cuba's interest using time-tested propaganda tactics. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP 2: KP 3: KP 4: KP 5: KP 6: (00:49:58) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR The Word "Sanctions" Is Hiding a Blockade...

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#1781 Your Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American Sports show art #1781 Your Team Is a Hedge Fund Now: How Gambling and Billionaires Captured American Sports

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

Air Date: 3–31-2026 Today we examine how money and power have captured American sports from every angle — gambling platforms operating as unregulated casinos, private equity turning franchises into financial assets, leagues suppressing player pay while selling access to politicians, and a sports media apparatus too compromised to report any of it. It's almost all the problems with America on display in one industry. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email Check out our new show, SOLVED! on ! (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP...

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More Episodes

Air Date: 01-28-26

Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss:

 

  • Ch 1 - Why it’s not actually “fun” to be right too early (despite being called ‘insufferable’)
  • Ch 2 - The political elites and neoliberals who are frantically changing their tune now that a left-wing populist movement is here
  • Ch 3 - The Cassandras of the Left who knew and tried to warn that Trump would be a fascist
  • Ch 4 - The Anti-Alarmists who stifled the Cassandras warnings
  • Ch 5 - What if we actually listened to the Left next time?
  • SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): That one time progressives were very wrong

 

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Nostr public key: npub1tjxxp0x5mcgl2svwhm39qf002st2zdrkz6yxmaxr6r2fh0pv49qq2pem0e

 

REFERENCES

The Left is Always Right Too Early - Current Affairs

Well, It’s Time for Populism, They Guess - Slate

The Trump Backers Who Have Buyer’s Remorse - The Atlantic

The Vibe Shifts Against the Right - NY Times

The Americans Who Saw All This Coming—but Were Ignored and Maligned - The New Republic

The Resistance Libs Were Right - NY Times

 

BACKSTAGE

Eugenics: the skeleton that rattles loudest in the left's closet - The Guardian

EXTRAS:

Hot Dog Car Sketch - I Think You Should Leave

CLIP: Leigh McGowan (Politics Girl) responds to Scott Jennings on CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip

“One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This” by Omar El Akkad (If you buy this book, or another, through this link, you support indie book stores and we get a small commission! Check out other great books on our Bookshop shelf)

“A Time to Be Cringe: Why Gen Z Needs Millennial Humor” (SOLVED! #29)

 

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Produced by:

Jay! Tomlinson

Thanks for listening!

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