Libsyn Directory

#1770 Getting in the Fight Against ICE and Authoritarianism

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

Release Date: 02/10/2026

#1771 They Need You in the Dark: Information, Journalism, and the Fight Against Fascism

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

Air Date 2/15/2026 Today we explore the gap between free speech rhetoric and the reality of arrested reporters. We'll hear how a decade of cancel culture panic over college students gave way to actual government suppression of journalists, why the DOJ is perverting a law designed to fight the Ku Klux Klan to prosecute Black journalists, how the administration that promised to "bring back free speech" is maintaining lists of forbidden words, and what history teaches about humor as a weapon against authoritarianism. Be part of the show! Leave a , message us on Signal at the handle , or email ...

SOLVED! SAMPLE! #33 - Be a Mosquito in a Swarm: How to Put Cracks in Authoritarian Power

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

Air Date: 2-3-26 Today, Jay!, Amanda, Deon, and Erin discuss: Ch. 1 - Trump’s Pillars of Support, and plugging into community building & local support networks Ch. 2 - Case studies in success: Avelo Airlines & Spotify and why they matter Ch. 3 - Pressure campaigns at home and abroad and why they are important Ch. 4 - The new cracks in MAGA, and building up the political opposition party we need SOLVED! BACKSTAGE: Beyond the Algorithm (Members Only!): The second amendment folks’ weird moment after ICE murdered Alex Pretti FOLLOW US ON: (This full episode...

#1770 Getting in the Fight Against ICE and Authoritarianism

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

Air Date 2/10/2026 Today we explore what effective resistance actually looks like. We'll hear why Jamelle Bouie says the panic of those in power signals that opposition is working, what abolitionists teach us about fighting without knowing the ending, and how Minneapolis proved that democratic force can overwhelm physical force. 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!) Use our links to shop and for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! ! TOP TAKES KP 1: KP 2: KP...

#1128 Confronting Fascism in the Land of Free Speech (Throwback)

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

Original Air Date: 8-25-2017 Today we look at the constant struggle between the freedom to speak and the necessary limits placed on that freedom due to the rights of others to not be substantially harmed by that speech 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!) Use our links to shop and for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! ! Show Notes Ch. 1: Ch. 2: Ch. 3: Ch. 4: Ch. 5: Ch. 6: Ch. 7: Ch. 8: Ch. 9: Voicemails Ch. 19: Ch. 20: Ch....

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

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...

#1769 Politics Beyond the Ballot Box: Elections and the Movements that Power Them

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

Air Date 2/1/2026 Today we examine what's actually working against the Trump regime and the role of this year's elections. Unsurprisingly, his own voter fraud investigation just proved him a liar, Democrats are overperforming expectations in House special elections, and Zohran Mamdani's campaign based on having fun in community needs to be a model for every movement 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!) Use our links to shop and for a non-evil book and...

#1768 The End of an Era: The International Rules-Based Order Gives Way to Trump's Might-Makes-Right Plutocracy

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

Air Date 1/29/2026 Today we examine the collapse of the American-led, rules-based world order (such as it was) in real time. Canada’s Prime Minister pointed out that the emperor has no clothes and declared US hegemony over while Europe called Trump's bluff on Greenland... all the more reason why he would prefer a fake “Board of Peace” that he can rule over as a worldwide plutocracy. 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...

SOLVED! FROM THE ARCHIVES - “Of Horse Races and Men: The Result of Decades of Media Atrophy (aka: Uncertain and Powerless”

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

Re-Air Date: 01–26-26 Original Air Date: 06-09-24 Unless you were a member in June 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: - How the media focus on the "politics" of an event trivializes the impact that event has on real people - The detrimental effects combining the daily news grind and the...

#1767 Wars Are Won By Teachers and Trump is Attacking Them Like a Foreign Adversary

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

Air Date: 1/25/2026 Today we examine education as the battleground for democracy itself. We'll hear how authoritarians erase history to maintain power, why liberal arts colleges don't exist in authoritarian societies, how the administration is punishing universities for their political views, and what the detention of student protesters reveals about the cost of dissent in Trump's America. 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...

#1766 The Fragility of State Violence: The ICE Occupation, Renee Good, and the Minneapolis Uprising

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

Air Date: 1/21/2026 Today we look at ICE's reign of terror as a paramilitary occupation force and the communities pushing back. We'll hear about Renee Goode, an unarmed woman shot dead by federal agents, and Keith Porter, killed by an off-duty agent on New Year's Eve, in addition to historical parallels from Civil-Rights Era Selma, Alabama and the Boston Massacre. The signs of hope here are that the oppressed won those fights and the oppressors were forced to retreat - there's every reason to believe that the same pattern can repeat today. Be part of the show! Leave us a message or text at...

More Episodes

Air Date 2/10/2026

Today we explore what effective resistance actually looks like. We'll hear why Jamelle Bouie says the panic of those in power signals that opposition is working, what abolitionists teach us about fighting without knowing the ending, and how Minneapolis proved that democratic force can overwhelm physical force.

Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Full Show Notes

Check out our new show, SOLVED! on YouTube!

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TOP TAKES

KP 1: What I've Learned From Reading History - Takes™ by Jamelle Bouie - Air Date 1-28-26

KP 2: Five Ways to Fight Trumps Fascism - Robert Reich - Air Date 8-19-25

KP 3: Abolish ICE! No Brainer. Then What? Also, How? - Matthew Cooke - Air Date 1-27-26

KP 4: "They Have Agency In This Moment. They Can Walk Away" - Maria J. Stephan's Message To ICE Officers - The Late Show with Stephen Colbert - Air Date 1-23-26

KP 5: Democrats Need To Change How We Talk About ICE | Kat Abughazaleh For Illinois - Kat Abughazaleh - Air Date 1-26-26